Spanish education is not built the way the Russian system is, and the main differences show up in the rules of access rather than in quality. A foreign school certificate does not lead into a Spanish university on its own: it is either recognised or put through a separate assessment. Vocational education starts earlier here and carries more weight than the college route people expect. And a year at a public university is not priced as one figure but counted in credits, at a rate that differs from region to region. Below: how the stages work, what admission requires and what it costs.
Why people study in Spain
Degrees from Spanish universities are recognised across the EU without extra procedures, and some programmes are taught in English — which removes the language barrier at the entrance, though not the need to learn Spanish for daily life. The University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Madrid and the University of Seville hold steady places in international rankings; our full list of Spanish universities by city, with the type of institution and its profile, is collected separately.
The second argument is money. A year at a public university costs less than in the UK or the US, and living expenses are lower than in most of Western Europe. For a family moving with children this is often the deciding argument: education becomes not the reason for the move but a welcome consequence of it.
How the stages work
Compulsory education runs from six to sixteen: six years of primary school (Primaria) and four years of compulsory secondary school (ESO). After that the road forks: Bachillerato leads to university, vocational training (FP) leads to a trade, and — if you want them to — the two paths meet again.
Schools come in three kinds — public, concertada with state funding, and private — and the language of instruction depends on the autonomous community, which decides more than the price of housing does. How a Spanish school works from the inside, what it costs, when to apply and what to do if your child has no Spanish is covered in a separate article: schools in Spain. What follows here concerns what comes after.
Vocational training (FP): the college route after the 9th grade
The Spanish equivalent of a Russian college is the vocational training cycles, ciclos formativos. In Spanish the word “colegio” means a primary school, while FP is delivered by secondary education institutes and vocational training centres (article 111 of the education act LOE). There are three levels (article 41 LOE):
- Grado Básico: from age 15, but only within a Spanish school: a pupil is moved into it after the 3rd year of ESO, or exceptionally after the 2nd, on the teachers’ recommendation. It lasts 2 years and is free as part of compulsory education.
- Grado Medio: after the ESO certificate or through an entrance exam from age 17; 2–3 years (RD 659/2023).
- Grado Superior: after Bachillerato, a Grado Medio diploma or through an entrance exam from age 19; 2–3 years.
A teenager with a Russian certificate for 9 grades can enter Grado Medio from age 17 through the entrance exam held by the regions. The other route is homologation to the ESO certificate: the ministry requires proof of the last four years of study, and there is no fee. Whether a 9-grade certificate is accepted is not stated in the published rules — the ministry decides on the documents. A Russian 11-grade certificate is homologated to Bachillerato.
How to apply with a foreign school certificate
The main difference from local pupils: a Spanish school leaver sits the EBAU, while a foreigner with a non-European certificate goes through UNEDasiss. This is the service of the National Distance Education University that assesses the academic records of international applicants and issues an acreditación — the document you then use to apply to universities (unedasiss.uned.es).
The order is as follows:
- Check the criteria at the specific university. Requirements for international applicants differ from university to university and from programme to programme — that is the first thing to check, not the last.
- Prepare the documents in advance. The certificate and transcript must be legalised (an apostille for Russia) and translated by a sworn translator. This is the longest part, and it has to start months ahead.
- Apply to UNEDasiss online and obtain the acreditación.
- Sit the PCE if required — pruebas de competencias específicas, subject exams. They are needed where a university requires a subject grade, and they serve as a way to raise your final mark in a competitive intake.
The application windows and exam dates are published annually under fechas clave, and they cannot be moved: a missed window means a lost academic year. Separate from the university side is the consular one: a criminal record certificate, health insurance and proof of funds are submitted for the student visa, and working while studying is allowed only within limits — the conditions and the options after graduation are collected in our overview of work in Spain.
Recognition of a degree you already hold
Those coming to work rather than to study need not an acreditación but recognition of the degree they already have. That is a separate procedure with its own timescales and cost, and it decides whether you can work in your profession: degree homologation in Spain is covered in its own article. In short: homologation equates a foreign degree to a Spanish one and is required for regulated professions, while for unregulated ones an equivalence declaration — or nothing at all — is often enough.
Higher education
The system is the standard EU one: grado — a bachelor’s degree, 3–4 years; máster — a master’s, 1–2 years; doctorado — a doctorate, 3–5 years ending in a thesis defence. Some programmes are taught in English, particularly at master’s level and particularly in business schools.
A practical detail that is rarely mentioned: master’s admissions are not limited to matching bachelor’s degrees — some programmes accept graduates of adjacent fields and make up the difference with extra courses. That opens a door for people changing profession as they move.
Language courses
Language schools operate in every major city — Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Valencia — and differ less in their syllabus than in intensity: from a few hours a week to a full day.
Since 2025 language courses have provided a separate basis for staying in the country, and after two years they open a route to regularisation through study — what exactly the new regulation changed is covered in our piece on the immigration reform and in the article on arraigo socioformativo.
What it costs
At a public university you pay not for a year but for credits. The price per credit is set by the autonomous community, so the same degree costs differently in different regions, and in some regions non-EU students pay a higher rate. As a guide, a year of a bachelor’s degree at a public university runs from €1,000 to €3,000; at a private one it reaches €20,000 and above.
| Stage | Public | Private |
|---|---|---|
| School | free, with costs for materials and uniform | €5,000 to €20,000 a year |
| Bachelor’s | €1,000–3,000 a year | up to €20,000 and above |
| Master’s | depends on the programme and region | higher than a bachelor’s, especially in business schools |
| Language courses | — | €150–500 a month |
On top of tuition come living costs and rent — roughly €500–800 a month outside Madrid and Barcelona, and noticeably more in them. Proof of funds for that period is a compulsory part of the student visa file, and the amount there is not estimated but measured against a set threshold.
Since August 2026 a doctorate is filed as residence rather than a student stay: deadlines, funds, family and what it gives you towards permanent residence is covered in the research residence permit in Spain.
Frequently asked questions
Does a foreigner have to sit the Spanish EBAU?
No. The Spanish school exam EBAU is taken by leavers of Spanish schools. A foreigner with a non-European certificate goes through UNEDasiss: the service assesses the record and issues an acreditación, and where necessary the PCE subject exams are taken.
Does the school certificate have to be homologated before applying to university?
For access to a bachelor’s degree through UNEDasiss, homologation of the certificate is usually not required — the service assesses the record itself. Homologation is needed in other cases: to enter FP, to move a child into a Spanish school, and to work in your profession with a degree you already hold.
Can you study in English?
Yes, but not everywhere. English-taught programmes are more common at master’s level and in private universities and business schools; at bachelor’s level in public universities there are noticeably fewer. Outside the lecture hall you will still need Spanish.
Can you work while studying?
Within limits, and the conditions are set by immigration law rather than by the university. What exactly is allowed and what opens up after graduation is covered in our overview of work in Spain.
How much does a year at a public university cost?
Roughly €1,000–3,000 a year for a bachelor’s degree, but the exact sum is counted in credits and depends on the autonomous community, and in some regions a higher rate applies to students from outside the EU.
What does FP give compared with university?
Vocational training is shorter and closer to the labour market, and Grado Superior additionally opens the way into university. In Spain FP is not treated as a fallback: in a number of trades its graduates find work faster than university leavers.
The essentials
- A foreign school certificate leads into a Spanish university not directly but through UNEDasiss and, where required, the PCE.
- Documents must be legalised and translated by a sworn translator — the longest part, and it starts months before you apply.
- FP is not a fallback: Grado Superior opens the way into university on the same terms as Bachillerato.
- At a public university the cost is counted in credits and depends on the region; in some regions non-EU students pay a higher rate.
- If you already hold a degree, what you need is not an acreditación but homologation — a different procedure on a different timescale.
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