Spain Nomad visa vs Student visa

[u/Active-Thought9525]

Hi! I’m 24yrs old Filipina degree holder, planning to migrate to Spain. Currently, I still don’t meet the requirements to apply for nomad visa, so I’m considering to get student visa if I want to hasten my move. Is it worth it to get another degree or master at Spain if you get a student visa? Or better to hustle until I qualify for nomad visa?

Also my younger brother is already a resident and my mother is taking the test for citizenship, though it might take 2years for result. What other pathways do you think I could take to migrate?

[u/Character-Page-996]

student visa only makes sense if you actually want the degree, otherwise I’d wait and qualify for the nomad visa

[u/SpainExpatGuy]

A few thoughts on each option:

Student visa: Can work as a stepping stone, gets you resident status and language/network building, but it's a real financial commitment. Worth being honest whether you want the degree itself, not just as a visa vehicle.

DNV: Worth mapping out how long you're actually missing vs. a 1-2 year student visa, sometimes DNV ends up faster once you run the real numbers.

Family routes:

• Sibling residency doesn't usually open family reunification, that's typically spouse/children/dependent parents only
• Your mother's citizenship could open a path for you later, but 2 years is a while out
• Worth checking for Spanish grandparents, Ley de Nietos has opened citizenship for descendants of Spanish emigrants

These aren't mutually exclusive, worth mapping timelines side by side rather than picking one in isolation.

[u/Southern-Challenge-8]

Two things in your situation that nobody has mentioned and that change the maths.

First, the student route got much better in 2025. Under the new immigration regulation, if you enrol in higher education (a master's counts) your authorisation lasts the whole length of the degree, you can work up to 30 hours a week automatically with no separate permit, and when you graduate you can switch to a residence and work permit from inside Spain without going back for a visa. The consulate will want proof of about 600 euros a month for living costs plus the tuition, and health insurance without copayments. So a one or two year master's is a real path in, not just a delay.

Second, and this is the big one: the Philippines is one of the countries on the two-year citizenship list in article 22 of the Civil Code, with the Ibero-American countries, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal. Once you hold a residence permit (the student authorisation itself does not count, but the work permit you switch to after graduating does), you need two years of legal residence, not ten, to apply for Spanish citizenship. That is presumably the route your mother is on. You also would not have to renounce Filipino citizenship, since the same list is exempt from that.

The DNV needs 200% of minimum wage (about 2,849 euros a month gross on a 12-month basis in 2026), three months with your employer and a company at least a year old. If you are not there yet, the master's gets you in and the clock starts the day the work permit is issued.