Changes in residence permits for foreign students

11/05/2023 GDGlobalMobility

Following the publication of Organic Law 2/2023, of March 22, on the University System, which enters into force on April 12, 2023, a series of amendments are being implemented in the field of migration, with regard to Organic Law 4/2000, of January 11, on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration, as well as Law 14/2013, of September 27, on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalization, which seek to make Spanish universities more international, helping to attract foreign talent, and guaranteeing agility in migration processes for students, researchers and teachers.

Student residence permits: main modifications

Cinthya Bonilla, our professional in international mobility and immigration, uses this post to analyze the main changes that these authorizations will undergo from April 11, 2023.Student residence permits: main amendments

Changes to the Immigration Act

With regard to Law 4/2000 or the Immigration Act, the main changes implemented in the new University System Law are:

With regard to higher studies, the permit of stay was granted for one year. With the entry into force of the Law, the study permit will have the same duration as the course that gives rise to the application.

That is, if it is a master's degree lasting 18 months, the permit will be granted for that same period of 18 months. On the basis of this Law, verifying compliance with the requirements that gave rise to this permit has been introduced.

In general, prior to the reform, study stay authorizations could be extended annually if it was demonstrated that the holder still fulfilled the conditions required for the issue of the initial authorization. With the reform this authorization can be extendedwith a limit of one year, with the same conditions of demonstrating that the established requirements are met.
The possibility of establishing prices or fees for the processing of visas by external service providers is included. In this regard, we can understand that, for example, if BLS is one of the suppliers, they will be allowed to charge public prices for the processing of authorizations.
Applications for visas may be submitted electronically or through external service providers.

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Changes to the Law on Entrepreneurs

Likewise, in the Law on the University System, amendments are mentioned to the Law on Entrepreneurs that were already included in Law 28/2022, of December 21, on the document of the ecosystem of emerging companies or "Law on Startups", regarding the following issues:

The foreign person who has completed the higher education studies (level 6 according to the European Qualifications Framework) for which the residence permit was granted, may remain in Spain for a period of up to 24 months in order to seek a job or undertake a business project.
The period of validity of the residence permit for internships will be 12 months or equal to the duration of the internship agreement.

Main conclusions

What the administration intends with these changes is to benefit not only the student community and make Spain an attractive destination for the development of training, research or teaching activities, but also those foreign persons who, having completed their studies, intend to establish themselves in the country by extending their registered situation for the search for employment, implementing public policies aimed at facilitating the processing of permits and the extension of the deadlines for granting them.