International Students

Immigration regulations

If you are a citizen from a country belonging to the European Union you will not need to follow any administrative procedure to become a UPC School student.

Students from non-EU countries who wish to study in Spain for a period of more than three months must:

  • Apply for a student visa at the Spanish embassy or consulate in their home country before coming to Spain.
  • Obtain the application forms for the student card and the residency number (NIE) from the International Relations Service of UPC. The student card will be proof that you are legally residing in Spain.
  • For further information, contact:

    Student Mobility Unit of Barcelona (OMIB)
    Campus Nord (A4 building)
    C/ de Jordi Girona, 1-3
    08034 Barcelona
    Tel.: 00 34 93 401 69 37
    oficina.mobilitat.internacional@upc.edu
    Timetable: from Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed in August.
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Legalisation of qualifications

In order to register for a Master's degree or a postgraduate course, you must submit to the School of Professional & Executive Development a photocopy of the second-cycle university qualification (degree or similar).

Students of countries of the European Union or signatories of the Agreement on the European Economic Area do not need to authenticate the photocopy of their qualification.

Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Through a bilateral agreement with the EU, Swiss citizens also do not need to authenticate their qualification.

All other foreign students must obtain the verification of their qualifications, in accordance with the following conditions:

  • Unique verification or "Apostille" issued by the competent authorities of the country if the latter is a signatory of the Hague Agreement of 5th October 1961.

    Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Colombia*, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominica, El Salvador, Ecuador, United States of America, Russian Federation, Fiji, Grenada, Hong Kong, Honduras, Mauritius, Niue, Marshall Islands, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Liberia, Macao, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Namibia, New Zeland, Panama*, Puerto Rico, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Independent State of Samoa, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Saint Lucia, Saint Vicent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Seychelles, South Africa, Surinam, Swaziland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey and Venezuela*.

    Extensions: The Netherlands (the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba); United Kingdom (Anguilla, Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands).

  • Verification through diplomatic channels when the qualification has been issued by one of the signatory countries to the Andrés Bello Agreement:

    Bolivia, Colombia*, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador*, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela*.

    (*) When a country is a signatory of the Hague Agreement and the Andrés Bello Agreement, students may follow the process of verification through diplomatic channels, which eliminates the last process of ordinary verification and is simpler.

    Students must apply for verification to:

    The ministry of education of the country of origin;
    The diplomatic or consular representation of Spain in the country of origin.

  • Verification through diplomatic channels, when the qualification has been issued by any other country. Students must apply for verification to:

    The ministry of education of the country of origin;
    The foreign ministry of the country in which the qualification was issued;
    The diplomatic or consular representation of Spain in the country of origin.

  • Verification at the foreign ministry when the qualification was issued in Spain by diplomatic or consular authorities of other countries.
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Translation of qualifications

Foreign documents or qualifications in languages other than Spanish must be translated into Spanish according to Article 36.1 of Law 30/1992, of 26 November, regulating public administrations and common administrative procedure.

The following people can perform an official translation:

  • a sworn translator, or a translator who is duly authorized or registered in Spain;
  • any diplomatic or consular representative of Spain abroad;
  • the diplomatic or consular representative of Spain in the applicant's country of origin, or, if necessary, in the country the document comes from.
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Languages

The School of Professional & Executive Development is located in Catalonia, a region that, due to its unique historical and cultural situation, enjoys significant political autonomy within Spain. Catalan and Spanish are the official languages of Catalonia. 93% of the inhabitants of Catalonia can understand Catalan, 68% can speak it and 67% can write it. Both languages are derived from Latin and have much in common.

Social attitudes towards both languages are cordial and flexible. Both are used freely in day-to-day affairs and it is quite common for people to switch from one to the other or to have bilingual group conversations.

If you are interested in learning Catalan, we suggest you contact:

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Accommodation

To find accommodation in Barcelona, the city's universities have an agreement with Barcelona University Centre and its centralized booking centre, Barcelona Housing Service for Students, which will advise you on the accommodation options that are available to you (halls of residence, shared flats, rented flats, living with a family, etc.), their cost and the requirements for finalising a contract.

The UPC School would like to warn you about a kind of business that is proliferating in the real estate sector: they claim to be agencies that charge in advance to find you the sort of accommodation you are looking for. Most of these businesses are not to be trusted, as once they have charged their fee, they don't provide the service they offered.

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