I had an incredible experience this morning at the Consulate. I was called within 10 min, was able to complete all the procedures and every single one of my questions was answered thoroughly. Gabriela and Nes were absolutely wonderful, very professional, kind and patient. They made the whole process smooth and stress free. Taking one star off because the person at the reception could have been more welcoming and helpful. read more

Very pleasant staff that has been working very hard. Lots of us are getting Spanish citizenship for our family members and they have been overwhelmed. Yet they are very pleasant people to deal with despite the crazy amount of work. Best way to reach is by email and be patient because who does not want to go to Spain? Super busy. Be kind to the staff :) read more

they wont help and they dont do their job..no replies and when they do its not helpful at all but inaccurate and they need to be fired now ..whos the supervisor...I have asked. read more

My sympathies to anyone that has to deal with this consulate. Since November of 2021 I have had to interact with them in regards to my new Spanish citizenship. They are chronically understaffed. Procedures that should take 2 to 3 months take 18 months. They rarely answer their phones, even less frequently respond to emails. They let a vital document that I needed sit on their desk for no reason for 5 months before sending it to me. I read another review that compared their operations to Dante's 9 Circles of Hell. I'd like to add a few more circles onto that comparison. Ridiculously horrible. read more

Wanted to provide a final update -- we received our student visas about 6 weeks after submitting our application via mail. All in all this isn't an unreasonable amount of time to wait for a visa, so I'm grateful! I think the most nerve-wracking thing was the lack of communication. They required us to mail our passports to them, which made me very nervous. An email or call stating that they received our things would've made all the difference in our peace of mind. Instead, we only knew they received our stuff because we paid extra to track the package. The only email we received from them was one stating that EACH of our applications (student and spouse) costed $160 and that they needed another money order, which isn't stated on their website by the way. It just makes for a very suspicious experience. So many of our questions were answered by reading other Yelp reviews and Google, I feel lucky that we had no issues with the paperwork we turned in given the lack of clarity. read more

I just had my visa appointment yesterday, though getting the appointment was a struggle, t'was a total opposite during visa processing. I have everything ready so everything went smooth, I just had a little problem with biometric machine other than that , it's all great! Ana, who handled my application was so kind, she has a patience of saint. I was treated with utmost respect and dignity, they are far more better than the staff in our own Consulate. Please note that the Consulate is Short Staffed, There's only one person manning the Visa Section, SO.. give your self ample time to process your application. *FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT GOT THEIR APPOINTMENT Have all the required documents scanned and ready. Email a short intention letter and attach your documents . They email me back on the same day ( this is how I got my appointment, ) . They do email back, just be patient, dont be discourage. If you already attach your photo to your form, bring extra one. ( its not required, they need it for scanning, they will return it back) read more

I have applied for a Schengen visa in the Consulate General of Italy, France, Greece and a visa for Japan and they are all great and easy to deal with. The Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco is the WORST Consulate General to apply for a Schengen visa I have been to, in terms of setting up appointment, telephone answering and the receptionist in the lobby (male person). He, the receptionist, is very rude and does not have any customer relations personality. The Consulate should send him on a customer relations training. If I am the hiring manager I WILL NOT hire this guy. Especially since he is the first face you"ll meet at the consulate. He is like on a power trip. I was not the only one he was rude to but other applicants (his customers) as well. There were other people (ladies) that he had shouting match with because he is so rude and disrespectful. Also, they should hire someone who can answer the telephone instead of just getting a message that keeps going on a loop. They should also hire somebody to reply to your e-mail when you set up an appointment rather than just getting a canned e-mail reply without acknowledging whether your application or e-mail query was received or not. read more

A day after the consulate cashed our money orders, we were e-mailed a request for all documents already sent except for the FBI history report. We knew they lost our documents when we sent the original medical certificate and now it was expired. It was not expired when we sent it in May. E-mails never answered and phone rings twenty time and goes dead. A waste of hundreds of dollars. It would seem that consulate is in the business of cashing checks and tossing our private information in the round file. And of course the SFPD and sheriff department can't do a thing about it as we voluntarily sent our documents to them. No information was every sent to appeal their decision for denial in Madrid. read more

Great experience with consulate staff. However, they become unhelpful and rude once they have no business with you. Its a long story but overall I find the staff helpful. What you cant bring to the consulate? There is a photo I posted which lists items you cant bring to the consulate. We took backpack and kept it at the corner where other bags were kept. Do I need to come back for passport pickup? If you are travelling from different state, you can provide them with a prepaid envelope and they will mail your passport. This information is not on the website. read more

General Consulate of Spain - List of items that are prohibited in Spain Consulatat SF. However, there is a place to keep backpack once you enter the door. - Embassy Near Me - San Francisco, California

Five stars because I'm really happy to now have my Spanish citizenship and passport after working closely with the consulate here in SF. It was a bit of a process for sure, plus plenty of paperwork to track down and take care of. But they outline the instructions pretty clearly on the website and can be responsive via email--though there were definitely times it took a bit to hear back. I will say, though, they've been really responsive during COVID and very helpful in making this happen. That's why I'm giving out the five stars. When showing up for my passport, I didn't have the right photo and they let me leave real quick to go to the nearby Walgreens and take a valid photo and waited til I got back. Then I forgot to bring cash and they waited for me to run across the street to an ATM. So props for the patience! read more

To give one star is to give too much. I've been sending emails to get a Schengen tourist visa for four months, I ended up going myself and the staff didn't even care about it. These people have no clue of how an organized country looks like. Worse experience I've had read more

Do not apply, they have the worst tourist visa system so far i have seen (i have applied to tons of countries). They dont have online application, you have to spam them with emails. And all of a sudden, they will try to give you an appointment time 2 days before you planned journey, even though you have clearly mentioned your intended date of departure. An online application system/scheduling system seems to be a far-fetched solution, ohh wait isn't the embassy located in Silicon Valley? read more

I want to share a wonderful experience I had in this place, people working in Spanish Consulate are so Nice, we went to get a Schengen Visa for our Europe visit and this place made it feel like a "Walk in the Park. The credit goes to this one person name "Blanca" Tezanos Solorzano who was nothing but an "ANGEL", we were delayed by 10 minutes for our meeting due to traffic and she put us at ease and the whole 30 mins we were there it was just a fun filled, but with a very PROFESSIONAL approach from taking our fingerprints to accepting our applications Blanca was so POSITIVE and PROFESSIONAL, I would recommend all those who want to go to EUROPE visit Spain first so you can go to this Consulate and have the same EXPERIENCE my wife and I had. Let me be HONEST my own INDIAN EMBASSY treats us like shit and do so much of DRAMAS, it's pathetic there, In comparison to our embassy Spanish Consulate gives you a FIVE STAR treatment and respects you as a HUMAN being first, So I have to give five star review to this place. Highly recommended!! Go ask for "BLANCA" she will help you, One of the very best human we crossed paths with. read more

I would like to acknowledge employees Ana and Davinia who helped me process my daughters Spanish passports and also supported me with my request to maintain my Spanish citizenship even though I had no appointment for it but they both tried their best to provide a great service. They even noticed my family book needed to be updated and worked on that right away. It seems like there is an urgent need to add more staff to accelerate the high demand for consular services and obviously the facilities need to be updated to better accommodate Spanish citizens and to ensure the interim employees get fair working conditions to manage the working load and to afford living cost in a city like San Francisco. Please be kind to the employees and be aware that the issue behind delated services is not beyond their competence and should be resolved my the Exterior Ministry of Spain immediately. Nuria Martinez Lee Resident of Spain in San Francisco for over 20 years. read more

Everyone at the Spanish consulate was kind even if clearly understaffed. I am especially grateful to Anibal who went out of his way to assist me personally with additional questions and provided me with the necessary forms. read more

This consulate is terrible. They ate not only extremely rude if you are able to get anyone on the phone, but also unable to help with general and simple request as to update an residence address. I have been waiting to get an email reply for over 3 weeks now...it's ridiculous. read more

I went to the Spanish consulate to get my study visa last minute, when I got there the security guard working was wonderful. Giving me tips and tricks while I waited on how to help with the process. The other employees were also very very incredible! The consulate seemed very understaffed but the staff was working overtime to help all in line. I was able to get my visa thanks to those people and am now studying in spain! It was a great experience and I recommend going in person above all else to get a visa. read more

Okay honestly, the whole process to apply for the traveling visa is not that bad for as long as you follow and organize all the requirements that's written on the picture I've attached. Also, please please please schedule an appointment at least 2 months in advance to guarantee yourself an appointment that's within 30 days before you leave. Deducted one star for the very unhelpful website because even though you click on English, it comes back to Spanish so it's harder to find what you need. Luckily for me, my questions were all answered by their "frequently asked questions". I have a green card so the fee is $72.00. Make sure to bring exact change or do what I did and I just brought money order for that amount. My appointment was at 9 but I didn't get called in until 9:45, which can be considered as a long wait but luckily I took the day off. So yeah, just make sure you have all the documents and you'll breeze through it! :-) read more

I want to acknowledge the smooth process we experienced at the Spain Consulate. Getting an appointment was initially difficult, but if you email them with documents attached they do get back to you with an appointment date. The key is to request this appointment well in advance. We were initially worried since the appointment date was close to our travel date, but they processed the visa very quickly. The people at the Consulate were friendly and efficient. We were in and out in 20 minutes. read more

I applied for a student visa here back in July 2005. What a process! I downloaded the application from their website, but had to email the office to receive a document that contained more detailed instructions. These instructions were KEY! (And VERY specific.) If you can't get them by email, they're also posted on the wall of the waiting room at the Consulate. Be sure to follow the instructions exactly to avoid making multiple trips to the consulate. They do turn people away--even those who travel from as far away as Nevada--for submitting a handwritten doctor letter in place of a typed one. You may have to wait awhile before being called up to the little window, so bring something to do. If you live in the Bay Area, it's not like you have your choice of Spanish consulates, so good luck! Office hours to apply for visas are from 9:00am to 12:00pm, Monday through Friday. They observe Spanish national holidays, so be sure to check in advance before going. Consulate email: conspsfo@mail.mae.es read more

General Consulate of Spain - Embassy Near Me - San Francisco, California

Terrible experience at this consulate. The staff is extremely rude, unhelpful and impatient. Be prepared to wait for 2 to 3 hours, even with an appointment. Be prepared for multiple visits (mostly as travel insurance requirements are very specific and the consulate does not provide any details beforehand about the acceptable deductible amount, repatriation amount. You find this only at the counter where they will ask you to return with the correct form). The passport pickup time is very specific between 12:00 noon till 1:00 pm. It would be best to keep the Spain trip the shortest in your travel itinerary and avoid going to the consulate. read more

No response to multiple emails (with scanned documents attached) and nobody picks up the call. It's very frustrating since I have to travel To Spain urgently. read more

I needed an Schengen tourist visa in order to take a transatlantic cruise. The appointment was a little hard to get due to lack of staff because of the pandemia but when I got my appointment the whole process was fast, I didn't have to wait, the staff was very friendly. They are very well situated with 3 hotels less than a block away, many parking places, many restaurants nearby. Because my appointment was in the morning I didn't want to risk to be late so I stayed overnight. The whole experience was very nice and specially the staff that was really friendly and willing to help. read more

So my high school best friend got married in Spain last September and I was one of her two bridesmaids. Tried to book appointment for visa interview online but the nearest availability was on November. Emailed the consulate and they told me they do have emergency visa service and I have to email them a week before the trip with all the complete documents ready. Or the other option is that I can check their website early morning because people cancel their appointments. And that's what happened. Someone cancelled and I booked mine. Had 10:20am appointment. Got there at 9:40am and interviewed at 11:40am. Actual processing time was 5 mins including finger printing and etc. Staffs were super friendly. read more

I'm currently in the process of getting a study visa.... good luck to anyone embarking upon this journey. Visas are complicated to get in any case but a lack of communication/information makes the process that much harder. It's tough to give even one star. I'm sure everyone there works as hard as they ought to but still the delays and general problems are appalling. Prepare yourself if you plan on interacting with the Spanish Consulate here.... read more

I had a great experience getting a Schengen Visa at the Consulate. Ana was extremely helpful and very considerate towards our tight schedule. Everyone I interacted with at the Consulate was super nice! read more

This is the worst possible country to apply through for a Schengen visa. They don't answer calls, respond to emails or have any online system to book appointments and get information. I had been trying to reach them as I had to travel urgently but since they weren't responding, I tried to do a walk-in early in the morning right after the consulate opened. The guard was kind enough to let me in but the person inside the consulate was the rudest and most disrespectful person I have ever met. I told him how I have been trying to reach them and would really appreciate any help. I understand they don't have any appointments but at least wanted him to let me know which month I can expect an appointment in. He said I can't tell and that I should email him every 3 days if he is not responding to emails and some day he will, can you believe that?? He then said this conversation is over and called the guard to take me out of the consulate and mind you I had a little baby with me too. The guard then took me out of the consulate. I could never imagine that this was possible and it was so humiliating. All because I inquired about the current status of Schengen visa? How else are we supposed to know with all our flights and hotels booked, we have a lot on stake. Its not like they have an online transparent system so of course we need to at least ask which month we can book appointments in. And all this time I was extremely polite with him while he was the rudest. Would never ever recommend this consulate to anyone and I myself have changed my plan of traveling to Spain and am traveling to Portugal now. read more

Before visiting the consulate, I found myself in a unique situation. I discovered I needed an immediate visa appointment. There were none available. This being the case, I took a risk and made a 4 hour trip, showing up just as the doors opened. I made sure to have all required documents in hand. Still, I didn't know what to expect. They could easily have turned me away. Fortunately, and to my surprise, everyone at the consulate was very gracious and helpful. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. Crazy. Now, I'm not sure why there are so many bad reviews, but this certainly wasn't my experience. As long as you're organized, and clear as to what you're there for, I don't see any reason as to why there would be trouble. Also, food for thought, it's probably get old real quick dealing with frantic people all day. Don't be a frantic person. Go in prepared. And if there's a wait, then wait. These people are ultimately here to help. A good attitude goes a long way. read more

This is an unbelievably inefficient/slow and corrupt establishment. Nothing works here. There are no appointment slots available for 3-4 months in advance, but if you pay $50 to a third party, they can get you a back door appointment within a week. The passport pick up link they give you shows that it is available, but when you actually go to pick up the passport, it is not ready. If you call them they do not pick. If you email them, they have an automatic response. Even third world countries have better management. read more

Terrible place! They don't see you on time, they don't care when your appointment starts, tons of people are waiting in a tiny room practicing patience, staff is slow, unfriendly and inefficient, front desk/security is rude. They give a piece of paper with the info IN WHICH ORDER to present documents (wtf!). If they need a copy of your passport they would send you to make a copy somewhere outside in stead of using a copy machine on their desk right in front of them. At first they refused to accept my insurance that have been recently accepted by other European embassies just fine. They wanted to see a deductible in the insurance. But then they accepted it. What a bs!! They are operating in America with a 3rd world country mentality, ultimate laziness, lack of customer service and knowledge that no matter how bad they are there's no authority to punish them. I have been to many embassies and this one is the worst by far. read more

General Consulate of Spain - You need to organize your papers in the right order to present. What are they thinking about themselves? - Embassy Near Me - San Francisco, California

Wow! Just wow! The level of unprofessionalism and just plain rudeness is so discouraging. I made an appointment, just to find out that everything I brought was wrong, despite everything I followed on the checklist. There are unwritten "requirements" that are not on the document checklist before arriving to your appointment. This experience has discouraged me to even plan my trip to Spain. I wont let 1 bad apple ruin an entire country's impression, but geez this lady Marta is the rudest person I've ever met. If it wasn't for the guy across the street at the cafe( who is also from Spain) apologizing on his countries behalf, I would have had the worst impression of Spaniards. So save yourself the trouble and when you arrive make sure you have these "unwritten" requirements that aren't on your checklist. Tips for Student Visa's: -Make sure your two passport sized photos are on "good paper", once again a dumb pointless requirement that was probably made up. Also, make sure this is professionally photographed picture. - Make sure that the Spanish University you are going to is registered in the Ministry of education. Also, you have to have an original copy of this letter, meaning via mail! She will not take a scan, e-mail, or anything other than a letter sent through the mail. - Make sure you have proof of funds with 3 bank statements, 3 credit card statements, and a notarized letter stating that your parents will declare full financial responsibility while you are in Spain. This is true even if you are an adult, and will be personally providing your own funding. - Make sure you have your health insurance send you a letter stating the following: - $0 deductible - $0 copay - $30,000 euro coverage I wasted an entire day, and had to drive back home after a 3 hour commute because of these unwritten rules that aren't presented in your paperwork. Please don't make the following mistakes, just be prepared to be condescended at this embassy. read more

I went to renew my passport and it went fast, very efficient and everyone was very polite and helpful! Adriana was very sweet!

If you need a Tourist Schengen visa, I cannot stress this well enough: Please plan ahead and do your online booking at least 6 months before your trip and pick an appointment date that will be within 3 months allowed to start applying in person at the consulate. For example, if your planned trip starts in September start booking for appointment online at their website BOOKITIT around March. In our case, for our early September cruise, instead of booking early, we focused first on collecting all the pertinent documentation for getting a visa. Worst we have paid for our cruise, hotel accommodations, round trip tickets, and travel and health insurance. By June 2019, when I logged in for an appointment, the forest available date was already in October 30, way past our trip date. Every day since, we log in many times a day to check for cancellation, but nobody cancelled. Two weeks passed, a cancellation popped on my screen for July 8. I booked it anyway. The website clearly states, no drop in but did not mention switch booking. When we arrived at the consulate at 9:15 am, the lobby was full of people already. The reception guy was holding and reviewing his list of appointment for the day. You walk to the window, and he will check if you are on the list. When my wife went to the window and said she has an appointment for a passport but needed a visa, He said that that is not allowed and we have to go home and keep looking for cancellation online.we were crushed! He came out of his office and walked out to the lobby and explained that they can't handle people not on the list and they're sorry for the inconvenience. We explained that we cannot get appointment online in time for our trip, that their not answering phone calls, their email response was generic, that we wrote letters as well. We explained we paid for everything already. He said sorry again, that they were understaffed. We stood our ground and pleaded, until he said under his breath "Let see what I can do" We sat and waited, and waited, until most of the people at the lobby have gone inside to the interview room. Finally, he motioned my wife inside, and gave permission to get the interview for her visa. Happy and relieved, we thanked him profusely. Being persistent, being calm, acting polite and diplomatic in the face of desperation may have helped, perhaps. But, I think the guy in front was really nice in spite of his outward strictness and gruff exterior. The lady inside, window 2, Alba was very nice as well, helpful and thorough. I totally understand now why they don't answer phones, email or letters. The number of people applying everyday will overwhelm them (counted only three staffers that day) one at the front and the two ladies on Window 1 and 2. My rating is based on the fact that their website did not mention to book appointments online very early. Previous Yelp members did not mention it clearly on their comments as well. Now you have been forewarned. read more

I came to this consulate for an appointment to submit a student visa application. I am giving the consulate a 5 star rating because despite how ridiculously difficult it was for me to apply for this visa, I was very impressed with the staff. Prior to my appointment I had corresponded with the consulate via email and they responded promptly. While at the consulate for my appointment I saw four different people meet with Alba, the visa officer, none of whom had the correct documents needed to submit their applications. Alba was very accommodating and kind to these people even when they got angry with her for their own unpreparedness. As for myself, I didn't have the correct insurance and Alba told me exactly what I needed to do to fix the problem, allowed me to come back the same day with the required documents and submit my application. I had flown from Alaska for the appointment so I was very relieved the consulate didn't require me to schedule a new appointment to fix my mistake. There's nothing pleasant about the bureaucratic processes that occur at a consulate but I think the staff here are doing an amazing job of making it the least painful process possible. Some tips for student visas: -- Make sure your insurance has no deductible. Tokio Marine HCC has a good plan for this -- When you arrive at the consulate be sure to arrange your documents in the order shown on the flyer you are given. If you are called to the window for your appointment without your documents organized in the correct order you will be told to come back when you are prepared -- If you are coming from out of town, check to see if there is an honorary Spanish consulate in your state. If yes, the SF consulate will mail your visa to the honorary consulate closest to you when it is completed. If no, then you will have to travel back to SF when your visa is completed and pick it up in person. The processing time for a student visa is 2-4 weeks. -- Book your appointment as soon as you even start considering studying in Spain. Appointments need to be booked months in advance and can always be cancelled. read more

Overall I'm pretty happy with the experience, but the consulate can make things a lot more easier for visitors who plan to travel to Spain. Was checking online booking system constantly for cancellations, was able to get one at 11:30am. Drove about 2 hrs and arrived around 10am. The gentleman out front verified appointment time and name and checked me in. Since there's only about 4 seats inside in the visa section, a few applicants including myself waited in the small lobby. As soon as an applicant finishes inside and leaves, he would call another to from the lobby to go inside. You leave bags and phones in the lobby area. Once inside, there's many another 30mins of waiting time assume on average 8mins/applicant. There is only one visa window for everything visa, student, tourist, business, etc....... Got out around 1pm, on the receipt there's a website and application number where you can check status of the application and when it's ready to be picked up. Was told it would be ready the following week (went on Tuesday). Around 5pm that same day I checked status and it showed ready for pick up. Drove to city again the next day and sure enough it was ready for pick up. 2 things I think they can do to improve the overall experience 1. Provide mail back service for everyone, not just applicants from out of state. Or, if the visa would be ready so quickly, inform the applicant, I would have waited in SF for a few hours, grab lunch and come back later if I knew visa would be ready that same afternoon for pick up. 2. Duration of the visa. Instead of a very short month, should do as the other EU countries, give out longer ones. Tourists are good for economy, the very time consuming visa process definitely shy away a lot of potential tourists who are thinking about going to Spain, or people who may are thinking about going a 2nd or 3rd time. read more

They don't answer and the phone number on Yelp does not work. I've emails multiple times and I have not gotten a response

From the moment you walk through the front door, you will hear her scolding and yelling. You'll see a line of pale-faced people in the waiting area sitting in silence looking like kettles-- oops I mean "cattle"-- waiting in line to be slaughtered. It won't take long for you to become one of them. From this moment on, you'll continue to hear the screaming voice of the lady whose face you won't see until you reach the call window. You'd imagine her face to resemble that of Medusa or Ursula the Sea Witch. Most visa applicants are just young college kids wanting to get a student visa to study abroad in Spain. Little did they know that the process of getting a visa is more gruesome than being interrogated by the FBI. She will scream at you and tell you how unintelligent you are and how your mother didn't raise you right. She will also make sure she screams loud enough so that everyone in line behind you could hear. At this point, the only thing in your head is whether you should just bolt. Unfortunately, you're too frightened that all you can do is wait for your name to be called. There is still a one in ten chance that she will let you go without any blood shed but you'd better pray to your dear lord. One thing you can be sure of is that everyone is treated equally here. Even though you drive all the way from Oregon just this morning and have to drive back just to drive down again the next morning, as she instructs you, because you didn't bring all the papers, she will be equally mean and rude to you as she is with all the rest of the people. She will scream at you that you are a disgrace to your family, that you didn't learn anything in school and that you should not reproduce so your line of genes could end with you. That is to say the least. read more

It's weird to review a consulate on Yelp. It's not like you can comparison shop consulates. You don't wake up one morning, and say, "I could really use a 180 day visa to Spain, I wonder if there are any good Consulates of Spain in my neighborhood?" If you need a visa and live in Nor Cal, Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest, and a few states in between SF and Brooklyn you can only go to one place: the Consulate of Spain in San Francisco. All that said, it's good to know what you're getting into when you come here to apply for a visa, and things have changed since Dave K's review in 2006. The biggest change is that appointments, scheduled via the consulate website, are now required to apply for a visa. These fill up quickly and need to be scheduled a few weeks in advanced, but it makes the day-of experience easier. The long lines and bootcamp mentality of the bad ol' pre-appointment days are no more. Don't expect tapas to be served when you arrive, but the process is more relaxed and the consulate people are more friendly, than before. read more

I thought coming to the consulate was supposed to be a haven for help not a place to be patronized. It sickens me how these people are supposed to represent Spain. If you have all your documents- yes, your experience will go smoothly. Just be aware that their customer service (like smiling) is non existent. But if you are confused about particulars or are missing anything at all (we are all human right?) be prepared to be spoken to condescendingly and made to feel as if your a complete idiot. These "people" have a power trip and its apparent they absolutely hate their jobs. Take it from personal experience, if you call them out on their unprofessionalism, they will threaten to not do your Visa at all. It boggles my mind how the man at the front desk has his job- he is a terrible, unhappy and rude human being and has no shame yelling at you. This unpleasant woman, "Marta" literally had to tell him to "calm down" at one point while he was berating me. Unfortunately they are "safe" due to being a consulate of another country-which is apparent why they believe treating others in this fashion is ok. Frankly, I feel sorry for them and their negative dispositions. read more

One of my worst experiences ever-- I almost left in tears. I had a 10:30am appointment to obtain a student visa for study abroad but they were running late (as usual), so I didn't even get helped until almost NOON!!! The people at the front desk were very rude to me and the other non-Spanish people. As I was waiting, one girl came in to pick up her visa for study abroad and they said it still wasn't ready, even though they had previously assured her that it would be ready that day. Then, when I was finally called to my appointment, I walked into Marta's office and she immediately started YELLING at me because I didn't knock on the door! Her office door was already ajar, so I just walked inside, but for some reason she was FURIOUS that I didn't knock. She said things like, "Do you know how to knock?" "Do you even knock in your own house?" "When your parents are in the bathroom, do you knock on the door or just barge in?" The things she was saying were so inappropriate and ridiculous, and I cannot believe that she is still working there. She literally spent 20 minutes berating me before she even looked at my documents. Luckily, I had all my paperwork with me or else she would've made me come back another day. SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL YOUR COMPLETED FORMS WHEN YOU GO! I'm giving the consulate two stars because they did process my visa on time, which was the important part. (though it did take 4 weeks...) It's unfortunate that Marta and the other workers at the consulate were so rude because it is a TERRIBLE representation of what Spanish people are like. Every Spaniard I met in Spain was absolutely lovely. Anyway, if you ever need a visa to Spain, unfortunately there's really no other option than to go see Marta. Just remember to bring all your paperwork and knock on her freaking door. read more