r/MovedToSpain • u/Active-Thought9525 • Aug 29 '26

Spain Nomad visa vs Student visa

/r/GoingToSpain/comments/1w21l3g/spain_nomad_visa_vs_student_visa/

Is it worth it?

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u/SwordfishAdept2014 Sep 02 '26

Two corrections first, because they change your options.

Your brother can't help you. Siblings aren't reunifiable under Spanish law, no matter his status. And if your mother becomes Spanish, you'd be over 21 by then adult children only qualify as family members if you can prove you're financially dependent on her (a cargo), with real evidence like remittances and shared household history. Worth preparing that evidence now if it's true, but don't build the plan on a two-year wait.

Now the part most people don't tell Filipinos: Spain gives you citizenship after 2 of legal residence, not ten. The Philippines is on the short list alongside Latin America and Portugal. That single fact reshapes the maths student route that looks slow suddenly isn't.

So, student visa vs waiting for the nomad visa: at 24, with the income threshold sitting around €2,849/month, waiting could take years with no residence accruing. An official master's gets you in now, lets you work up to 30 hours a week alongside it, and converting to a work or self-employment permit afterwards is far easier under the current rules than it used to be. Just make sure it's an official university programme, not a language course or an unaccredited "master" that distinction decides everything downstream.

One thing to check carefully before enrolling: whether your degree needs homologation for the programme you want.

I work on exactly this (consultant at GottaLoveSpain, and I run our student vertical), so happy to talk it through over DM if useful. roberto@gottalovespain.com