When you are considering the option to extend from fall to a year, you have to take into account the administrative procedure (visa) and the academic procedure:
Administrative Procedure: VISA
When landing in a Schengen area country, police authorities will stamp your visa. This stamp does not have to be neccesarily from a Spanish airport. The date written in that stand will be the official entry date. It is important that you get your visa stamped so we can manage all steps related to your residency card. The staff of EAP will check your visa as soon as you arrive to the summer residence where they will receive you to see if you have gotten this stamp and the duration of your visa.
Students with a 90 days visa:
- If you do not have the entry stamp, you have three working days from the date you have landed to obtain this stamp in any police station or foreign office.
- You have 30 days from your official entry date to start arranging the extension of your visa. The staff of EAP will take care of all this arrangement.
Students with another duration visa:
- Usually visa last for 90 days or 180 days, but it may have a few more or less days.
- If your visa last for 180 days and your stay in Spain will be no longer than a semester, you will be fine with your visa.
- If your visa last for 180 days and you are thinking in staying in Spain for the whole academic year you will have to rearrange your visa back in the US during Christmas.
Students with a European Union passport:
- You will not need a visa to stay in a European Union country or travel around the Schengen area. For any question related to this kind of passport go to the EAP staff.
Academic Procedure
In order to extend your stay from a semester to an academic year you need to come to our Study Center office in the Political Science Faculty to fill an application form.
There are two application forms depending on the papers you have done in California.
1. If you have ticked in your home university Department and College Pre-Approval to Extend form (DPA): “Yes, I am considering the following extension open from fall to year” your procedure will be simpler.
2. In the other case, your extension procedure will be a bit longer because you do not have your home department’s approval.