Ongoing Delays for Obtaining Spanish Visas and Visa Appointments
Since the 14th of March, diplomatic staff at the Spanish embassies and consulates have been on strike nationwide in the UK. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight any time soon for this indefinite strike. The embassy and consulate staff are striking to protest against a 14 year wage freeze imposed by Spanish Ministers. This is understandable considering the significant cost of living increases throughout the UK.
Following Britain’s exit from the European Union, British citizens are now required to apply for a visa to stay in Spain longer than 90 days in every 180 day period, whether this is for lucrative or non-lucrative purposes. This has led to a considerable increase in visa applications at the Spanish Consulate who, to date, have struggled to provide appointments on time for every applicant over the past year.
This has had a direct impact on the customers we support by getting their documents legalised and translated as part of their visa application. Prior to the strike, many of our customers experienced difficulties getting visa applications in the first place. The strike has exacerbated this issue substantially. We anticipate there being extensive delays in the issuing of Spanish visas for the foreseeable future, as well as very low availability of visa appointments if there is any availability at all.
We remain at hand to assist our customers with legalising and translating the documents needed when applying for a Spanish Visa; which is generally a medical certificate of good health and an ACRO police check. We can provide the apostille service for just £54.00 per document and we also offer a Spanish Sworn Translation service for £90.00 per page too. You can order this service here.
Preparing these documents in advance should put our clients in the best position to be one of the first to obtain a Spanish visa once the strike has ended. We do advise checking with the Spanish authorities to clarify if they have any specific requirements with regard to how recently the apostille on each document should be issued, more so considering there is no current end in sight for the strike. In our experience, the medical documents are only valid for 3 months from the date of issue.
We understand why the strike is taking place and we are concerned for all staff involved. We hope the Spanish Authorities are working towards a suitable resolution to this that satisfies all parties involved.
If you need any assistance with the legalisation and translation of your documents please do not hesitate to contact us.
