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Spain for Cabo Verdean passport holders: Embassy visa

Your circumstances

Passport:
🇨🇻 Cabo Verdean
Lives in:
Not specified (general rule)
Going to:
🇪🇸 Spain
Purpose:
Holiday

Route summary

Embassy visa

Schengen visa required

Cabo Verdean passport holders need a short-stay Schengen visa (type C) for Spain, applied for before travel at the consulate or its visa centre.

Conditions

  • A Schengen visa is valid for the whole Schengen area: up to 90 days in any 180 days.
  • Apply at the consulate of Spain if it is your only or main destination (longest stay), or of the first country you enter if stays are equal.
  • Apply where you legally live, no earlier than 6 months and no later than 15 days before travel; an appointment may be needed.
  • If you already hold a valid residence permit or long-stay visa issued by a Schengen country, you can visit other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in 180 without a new visa (Schengen Convention art. 21).
  • Fingerprints are taken when you apply (some exemptions) and your entry is recorded in the EES at the border.

About this route

Route type
Embassy visa: you apply through an embassy, consulate or appointed visa centre.
Documents
5 listed by the official source.
Fee
€67.50 (as published).
Processing
15 days as a rule; up to 45 days if more checks are needed.

Next step

Book an appointment with the consulate or its visa centre

Official application pageexteriores.gob.es ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Last checked 4 Oct 2026 against eur-lex.europa.eu · EUR-Lex consolidated text + EC "Applying for a Schengen visa" page read 2026-10-04

Documents

5 documents listed by the official source
  • Passport valid 3+ months after leaving the Schengen area, issued within the last 10 years, with 2 blank pages
  • Completed application form
  • ICAO-standard photo
  • Travel medical insurance (emergency care, hospitalisation, repatriation)
  • Proof of purpose, accommodation, funds and intention to return

Fees

Official government fee
€67.50
Visa-centre / service fee (not a government fee)
None stated by the official source
Notes from the source
EUR 67.50 for applicants from Cabo Verde (EC "Applying for a Schengen visa" page); a separate child rate for Cabo Verde is not stated there; visa centres may add a service fee.

These notes may mention other charges that we have not yet separated into government and service fees. Visa-centre, service or other third-party charges are never official government fees.

Processing and validity

Processing time
15 days as a rule; up to 45 days if more checks are needed
Validity
Single or multiple entry, as stated on the visa
Maximum stay
Up to 90 days in any 180-day period, as stated on the visa

How to apply: Schengen visa required

4 steps from the official source
  1. Step 1: Book an appointment with the consulate or its visa centre
  2. Step 2: Submit the form, documents and fingerprints
  3. Step 3: Pay the fee
  4. Step 4: Wait for the decision (usually 15 days)

Where: Consulate of Spain (or its external visa centre) responsible for where you live

Official application page: exteriores.gob.es ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Requirements for all visitors to Spain

These apply on top of the visa rules above, whatever your passport, unless an item says otherwise.

  • Proof of fundsProof of means of subsistence: 10 % of the gross minimum wage (EUR 122.10) per day, minimum EUR 1,098.90

    Applies to: non-EU/EEA/Swiss visitors at the external Schengen border, on request.

    Official source: home-affairs.ec.europa.eu · Last checked 2 Nov 2026

Quick answers

Do Cabo Verdean passport holders need a visa for Spain?

Schengen visa required. Cabo Verdean passport holders need a short-stay Schengen visa (type C) for Spain, applied for before travel at the consulate or its visa centre. Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02018R1806-20251230

Business, work or just passing through?

The rules above are for a holiday: tourism and visiting family and friends. Business visits, paid work and transit are covered separately below.

Business visits to Spain

Option 1
Embassy visaBusiness visit (meetings, conferences – not paid work)

Business visit: Schengen visa required

Short business visits (meetings, conferences, negotiations – not paid work) follow the same route as a holiday, because the official source covers business visits (Tourism, family visits, business (short stay)). Cabo Verdean passport holders need a short-stay Schengen visa (type C) for Spain, applied for before travel at the consulate or its visa centre.

Conditions

  • A Schengen visa is valid for the whole Schengen area: up to 90 days in any 180 days.
  • Apply at the consulate of Spain if it is your only or main destination (longest stay), or of the first country you enter if stays are equal.
  • Apply where you legally live, no earlier than 6 months and no later than 15 days before travel; an appointment may be needed.
  • If you already hold a valid residence permit or long-stay visa issued by a Schengen country, you can visit other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in 180 without a new visa (Schengen Convention art. 21).
  • Fingerprints are taken when you apply (some exemptions) and your entry is recorded in the EES at the border.
Government fee
€67.50
Processing
15 days as a rule; up to 45 days if more checks are needed
Validity
Single or multiple entry, as stated on the visa
Max stay
Up to 90 days in any 180-day period, as stated on the visa

About the cost: EUR 67.50 for applicants from Cabo Verde (EC "Applying for a Schengen visa" page); a separate child rate for Cabo Verde is not stated there; visa centres may add a service fee.

Steps, documents & where to apply

How to apply

  1. 1Book an appointment with the consulate or its visa centre
  2. 2Submit the form, documents and fingerprints
  3. 3Pay the fee
  4. 4Wait for the decision (usually 15 days)

Where: Consulate of Spain (or its external visa centre) responsible for where you live

Official application page ↗

Documents checklist

  • Passport valid 3+ months after leaving the Schengen area, issued within the last 10 years, with 2 blank pages
  • Completed application form
  • ICAO-standard photo
  • Travel medical insurance (emergency care, hospitalisation, repatriation)
  • Proof of purpose, accommodation, funds and intention to return

✓ EUR-Lex consolidated text + EC "Applying for a Schengen visa" page read 2026-10-04

Official wording

“Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Annex I (consolidated 30 Dec 2025): Cape Verde listed among third countries whose nationals must hold a visa when crossing the external borders.”

Working in Spain

Main work visa routes for Spain

These are the main routes and what they require. Whether you qualify depends on your circumstances; the official page decides.

Highly qualified professional authorisation (Large Companies Unit, UGE)

For: Foreign professionals with a job offer in Spain for a management post or a job requiring higher-education qualifications

  • Job offer in Spain
  • Management post, or job requiring a higher-education qualification (exceptionally, at least three years of comparable professional experience)

Source: Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones – Profesionales altamente cualificados (Spanish) (inclusion.gob.es).

What the source says

"Profesionales extranjeros con una oferta de trabajo en España para el desarrollo de una relación laboral o profesional en un puesto directivo o actividad para la que se requiera contar con cualificación de enseñanza superior o, excepcionalmente, se acredite un mínimo de tres años de experiencia profesional"

Initial temporary residence and work authorisation – employed (cuenta ajena)

For: Non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals hired by an employer in Spain

  • The national employment situation must allow the hire: the job is on the quarterly hard-to-fill occupations list, or the employer shows the vacancy could not be filled locally (job offer published on Empléate and the public employment services)
  • No criminal record in Spain or in countries of residence in the last five years
  • Not irregularly present in Spain
Fees
Fees payable by the worker (form 790 code 052) and by the employer (form 790 code 062)
Processing
Decision within three months (no answer = refusal by administrative silence)

Source: Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones – Hoja 12 (inclusion.gob.es).

What the source says

"Que la situación nacional de empleo permita la contratación." … "La ocupación que va a desempeñar el trabajador en la empresa está incluida en el catálogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura que el Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal publica trimestralmente." … "Para ello se deberá presentar una oferta de empleo en el portal Empléate y los Servicios Públicos de Empleo." … "Carecer de antecedentes penales en España y en los países donde haya residido los últimos cinco años" … "No encontrarse irregularmente en territorio español." … "Modelo 790 código 052" … "Modelo 790 código 062" … "Plazo de resolución de la solicitud : tres meses" … "se podrá entender que la solicitud ha sido desestimada por silencio administrativo"

EU Blue Card

For: Highly qualified non-EU employees

  • Work contract or binding job offer for highly qualified employment of at least 6 months
  • Salary at or above the national EU Blue Card threshold (see the official page)
  • Higher professional qualifications (or national requirements for regulated professions)
  • Spain does not apply a labour market test for third-country nationals applying for an EU Blue Card.
Processing
Up to 20 days (maximum in national law)

Source: European Commission – EU Immigration Portal: EU Blue Card in Spain (page dated 1 April 2025) (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu).

What the source says

"meet the minimum salary threshold in the Member State concerned" … "present documents proving that the relevant higher professional qualifications are met" … "with a duration of at least 6 months" … "Spain does not apply a labour market test for third-country nationals applying for an EU Blue Card." … "maximum processing time for issuing an EU Blue Card in Spain is 20 days ."

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Overview: Ministerio de Inclusión – Unidad de Grandes Empresas. Requirements, fees and thresholds change; confirm on the official page before applying.

Transit through Spain

Option 1
Visa-freeAirport transit (changing flights in Spain)

Airside transit: no airport transit visa needed; leaving the transit area needs normal Schengen entry

Unless your nationality is on the EU common airport-transit-visa list or Spain's national list (those passports have their own rule here), you don't need an airport transit visa to change planes in the international transit area of an airport in Spain. If you have to pass through border control (e.g. to collect bags, change airport or terminal outside the transit area, or your onward flight is to another Schengen country), you are entering the Schengen area and the normal entry rules for your passport apply - see the holiday section.

Conditions

  • Stay in the airport's international transit area (do not pass border control).
  • Flights to or from another Schengen country count as entering the Schengen area: normal entry rules for your passport apply.
  • Hold the documents required for your final destination; your airline may check them.
Government fee
Fee not officially published
Processing
Not verified yet
Validity
Not verified yet
Max stay
Not verified yet
Steps, documents & where to apply

How to apply

Steps not verified yet — follow the official source below.

Documents checklist

Document list not verified yet — check the official source.

✓ Checked on the live official page

Official wording

“Visa Code (Reg. 810/2009) Art. 3: an airport transit visa is required for nationals on the common list (Annex IV; Handbook Annex 7A) and, where a member state has notified one, its national list (Handbook Annex 7B, 1 July 2026). Nationals not on these lists need no airport transit visa.”

Alert me if this route changes

Get an email when we update the guidance for Cabo Verdean passport holders going to Spain, after we've checked the change against the official source. Nothing else.

Tell me about changes to

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Before you go to Spain

Customs cash limits and the scams official travel advice warns about in Spain.

Cash you can bring in and take out

Bringing cash in
Declare cash of EUR 10,000 or more (or equivalent) when arriving from outside the EU.
Taking cash out
Declare cash of EUR 10,000 or more (or equivalent) when leaving to a country outside the EU.

Official source: taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu · Last checked 4 Oct 2026 · Details

Common tourist traps

  1. Distraction thefts at airports and car hire

    How it works: Teams distract you while you collect or check in bags or sort out a hire car, and take passports or wallets.

    How to avoid it: Keep a hand on your bag at counters and do not carry all your valuables together.

  2. "Highway pirates"

    How it works: Someone flags down a foreign-plated or hire car claiming a fault or damage, then robs it while you check.

    How to avoid it: If you must stop, do it in a lit public place like a service station and be wary of "helpers".

  3. Fake police asking for your wallet

    How it works: People posing as plain-clothes police ask to inspect your wallet or bag, on the street or after stopping your car.

    How to avoid it: Real police may ask for ID or vehicle papers but never your wallet; unmarked police cars show a lit "Policía"/"Guardia Civil" sign.

All 8 traps for Spain →

Emergency numbers in Spain

Other traps paraphrased from official travel advice: gov.uk · FCDO page updated 12 Aug 2026 · Last checked 4 Oct 2026.

Explore Spain

Planning more than the paperwork? Our Spain guide picks out places to visit, things to do and where to shop, with a source for every tip.

Places to visit:
Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen museums · Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol · Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Casa Batlló and La Pedrera
Things to do:
Go for tapas the local way · Watch flamenco at a tablao · Book the Alhambra in advance
Shopping:
El Rastro flea market · Weekly street markets: Els Encants, Las Dalias, La Alcaicería · La Boquería market
Read the full Spain guide

Cabo Verdean passport: of the 150 destinations with a rule verified from an official source, 28 visa-free, 12 visa on arrival, 29 eVisa or travel authorisation, 81 embassy visa.

Spain: rules verified from an official source for 197 of 198 passports. Spain guide and every passport →

Where else can Cabo Verdean passport holders travel? See every destination we cover →

Optional travel offers

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Plan your trip to Spain

Verify with the embassy before you book. Visa rules change without notice. We link every rule to its official source and last checked it on 4 Oct 2026, but the embassy, official e-visa portal and your airline have the final say. MyVisaPort is not a visa agent and is not affiliated with any government.