European students, Erasmus included
No visa is needed for students holding an EU, EEA or Swiss passport. Up to three months, an ID card or passport covers you. For a longer stay, a full year or a whole degree, you register on the EX-18 as a student, showing your enrolment, your health insurance (for many, the European Health Insurance Card) and a signed declaration that your resources are sufficient. The certificate carries your NIE, which the bank and your landlord will ask for.
From outside the EU: the visa comes before the journey
The first step happens at home: a visa for studies (estancia por estudios), requested from the Spanish consulate covering where you live. The consulate decides the list; it typically asks for the admission or enrolment letter, evidence of means and health insurance, and, for longer courses, a criminal record check and a medical report. A NIE is issued along with the visa.
A short course can be another matter. If your nationality allows visa-free visits, a few weeks of Spanish lessons can fit within an ordinary visitor’s stay; check the rules for your passport before you book.
Your first weeks here
Once you have a room, put your name on the padrón, the town hall’s roll of residents, at that address: the Ayuntamiento de Valladolid’s if you live in the city, your own town’s if not. (In the city, Europeans do this after the green certificate, which the Ayuntamiento asks to see.) Staying beyond six months, book fingerprints for the TIE in your first weeks, choosing Valladolid as the province. On policia.es, the brigade on C/ Gerona s/n lists “estudiantes” (students) as well as TIE issue.
A second year
An extension (prórroga) is asked for while your present authorisation still runs, with fresh proof of enrolment for the coming year and of your means and insurance. Two offices list the subject: the Oficina de Extranjería on Calle Arzobispo José Delicado names stays for studies among its matters and links to Mercurio, the online service for filing those stays and their extensions, while policia.es lists students and extensions at C/ Gerona. Let your procedure and your confirmation decide where you go, and never let the date pass.
A stay for studies allows some paid work alongside the course, under conditions the regulations set; the Oficina also lists the work authorisation of students. Ask before you sign a contract.
Language assistants
Language assistants (auxiliares de conversación) placed in schools follow the same split. Europeans register on the EX-18 once they pass three months; others obtain the visa for the programme before travelling, then a TIE if the placement is long enough. The school year fixes your dates, so book early in the term.