General Information

This Visa is granted for residents wishing to travel to Spain with a family member who is an EU citizen or to join this EU citizen in Spain.

Certain family members of Spanish citizens and of the nationals of the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States and to benefit from all facilities to obtain necessary visas.

All applicants that jointly meet the following three conditions will have the right to benefit from the special regime of EU family member:

• Having a family relationship with the European citizen who is:
  • National of the Member States of the European Union or of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, as long as he/she resides in a country other than his/her own.
  • Spanish national, regardless his/her place of residence.
• The family relationship with the European citizen is one of the following hypothesis:
  • The spouse, as long as there is neither agreement nor declaration of nullity of the marriage relationship or divorce. It is understood that those who are separated, both legally or de facto, from a European citizen covered by the Directive, are included under the concept of “spouse” and thus have all the rights to benefit from the stipulations of the Directive.
  • The officially registered partner.
  • The direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or those over 21 years of age but are dependents or disabled, as well as those of the spouse or partner of the European citizen covered by the Directive, as long as there is neither agreement nor declaration of nullity of the marriage relationship or divorce.
  • The dependent direct relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or partner of the European citizen covered by the Directive, as long as there is neither agreement nor declaration of nullity of the marriage relationship or divorce
  • Extended family:
    • Any other family members, not falling under the above-mentioned hypothesis who can irrefutably prove, at the moment of the visa application, that they meet one of the following conditions:
      • That they depend on or live with the European citizen in the country of origin
      • That serious health grounds strictly require the personal care of the family member by the European citizen covered by the Directive.
    • the de-facto partner with whom the European citizen has a stable relationship duly attested
• The visa applicant is travelling or meeting/regrouping with the European citizen at his place of destination.

Processing Time

Please note as per the instructions received from Embassy of Spain minimum processing time is 15 days (without taking into account the days interrupted from the moment of requirement for additional documents by the Embassy, if any, to the moment of the presentation of these additional documents). Therefore applicants are kindly requested to submit visa application well in advance. Otherwise the Embassy does not guarantee that the visa will be issued in time.

Important Notice

• Except territorial-limited visas, Schengen visas are valid for the following countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, Polonia, Portugal, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
• Visa applications are to be lodged personally.
• The Member State competent for examining and deciding upon a uniform visa application shall be: (a) the Member State whose territory constitutes the sole destination of the visit(s); (b) if traveling to more than one Member State, then the Member State intended as the main destination, that is, the one where the main purpose of the intended stay is to be carried out. If the main purpose can not be established then the Member State in which territory the applicant intends to stay the longest; c) when no main destination can be established according to these rules, the Member State whose border the applicant intends to cross first.
• Visa applications must be submitted within 6 months prior to the intended journey. In all cases applications are to be submitted at least 15 days in advance of the intended journey.
• Applications will not be admitted to processing in the following cases:
  • Failure to comply with the 6-months term
  • Application form different from the official one of the Embassy of Spain,
  • Passport or travel document not valid at least up to 3 months after your departure.
  • Photograph which does not meet established conditions.
  • Non-payment of visa fee –except for cases of exemption.
• Visa fee (except for cases of exemption) must be paid once application has been admitted to processing. It will only be reimbursed if the application is later considered not admissible or when the Embassy is not competent for processing your application.
• Applicants have the RIGHT TO SUBMIT ANY OTHER DOCUMENT that they consider relevant in support of their sapplication. The Embassy may request the submission of any other additional document deemed necessary or the applicants’ presence for a personal interview.
• Visa dossiers must include original documents –which will be returned to the visa applicants once the procedure is finished - and a good-quality copy of each document. The documents must be presented in order, following the document checklist for each kind of visa. If it is impossible to include original documents in the dossier, these can be replaced by their certified true copies, duly legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. As an exception, documents directly addressed to the Embassy or its officers will not be returned, so copies are not required –eg: letters of recommendation or in support of the application when addressed to the Embassy rather than to the applicant, etc. Should you fail to submit a copy of any of the originals you will be deemed relinquishing your right to be returned its original to the Embassy. Documents in languages other than Spanish or English need to be translated into either Spanish or English. Groups of applicants applying together must submit one copy of every shared document per application.