What It Actually Costs
Key facts
- ⛔ No figures appear on this page. Fees change and vary by post and nationality.
- Document costs are frequently larger than the fee itself.
- Legalisation and sworn translation are separate costs, each per document.
- Insurance is a real cost and it starts before approval.
- Build in a repeat. Something usually has to be done twice.
The application fee is usually not the largest number, and it is the only one most people budget for. The rest arrives in pieces, from different places, over several months.
The categories
The application fee. Varies by post and by nationality. Published by the post handling you, which is the only reliable source.
Obtaining documents. Certificates, records and official extracts from another state's bureaucracy, each with its own charge.
Legalisation. A separate process with a separate fee, usually per document. This is where budgets break, because people count documents and not steps. The documents and their traps.
Translation. Also per document, and a sworn translation costs more than a translation.
Medical certificate. A private appointment in most cases. The medical certificate.
Insurance. Bought before the decision, which means it is a cost you carry while the outcome is unknown. What happens to the policy if the application is refused · annual or monthly.
Travel. Appointments are in person and may not be in your city.
Help, if you use it. Published separately on the service pages rather than estimated here.
The multiplier people miss
Per person, and per document.
A family does not pay one fee and share one set of documents — most of this scales with the number of applicants, and the document costs scale with the number of documents, not the number of applications.
Build in a repeat
Something usually has to be redone. A certificate expires before the appointment; a translation turns out to need to be sworn; a statement needs reissuing because the window moved.
Budget for one repeat and you will mostly be right. Budget for none and the overrun feels like a failure rather than the norm.
Why we quote nothing
Because a figure here would be wrong for most readers. Fees vary by post and nationality, document costs vary by country, translation and legalisation vary by provider, and all of it moves.
and the quotes you obtain yourself. Anything else — including anything we could write — is a number with a shelf life.
If you want our service pricing, it is on the service pages with the payment stages, rather than estimated in a guide. Spanish visa services.
Frequently asked questions
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change — for advice on your situation, speak to a qualified professional.
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