MEC scholarships Spain (beca general) for foreigners: who can apply

In short: the MEC scholarships Spain (beca general) are the general grants of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, and foreigners who meet the nationality, residence, income and grade requirements can apply. The 2026-2027 call closed on 19 May 2026, and the 2027-2028 call had not been published on 17.10.2026.

In person or by representative? Online. The application is filled in and signed electronically on the Ministry's e-office; if the student is under 18, the legal representative signs (art. 47). The call also accepts filing at registries, post offices and Spanish consulates, but only as an additional route (art. 48.3).

Status of the call

• The 2026-2027 call was open from 7 April 2026 to 19 May 2026 at 15:00 (mainland time). The original deadline was 18 May; it was extended by a day because of a technical incident.
• After the deadline, applications are accepted until 31 December 2026 only if the main breadwinner of the family died or was forcibly retired. They are filed with the autonomous community or the university (art. 48.2).
• Each academic year has its own call. If you are already studying this year and did not apply in time, there is no ordinary route until the next call.

Requirements

Nationality and residence (what foreigners ask most)

• Spanish, or a national of an EU Member State (art. 15.d of the call and art. 4.1.d of Royal Decree 1721/2007).
• EU citizens and their family members with free movement and residence rights: permanent residence, or proof of employment or self-employment. These requirements do not apply to the tuition grant. «Family members» are the spouse or legal partner, direct dependent ascendants and direct dependent descendants under 21.
• Non-EU foreigners: the call gives no list of its own and applies the rules on the rights and freedoms of foreigners. In Organic Law 4/2000, art. 9.1 gives under-18s access to the public grant system on the same terms as Spaniards, and art. 9.2 gives it to foreign residents over 18.
• The date that counts: these requirements must be met on 31 December 2025. Only for applicants with refugee status or subsidiary protection can the residence permit be obtained until 30 June 2026.
• What the text does not settle: it does not define «resident» or expressly mention someone on a student stay. Organic Law 4/2000 separates stay and residence (art. 29.1) and authorises students under a stay regime (art. 33.1); art. 9.2 speaks of residents. For under-18s, art. 9.1 does not require residence. We found no official rule we read that says whether that situation counts. Before applying, ask the scholarship unit of your university or of the Ministry. About that permit, see student stay.

Studies, grades and income

• Enrolment in 2026-2027 in one of the studies in art. 3: Bachillerato, intermediate and higher vocational training, arts and sports education, languages at official schools, official Bachelor's and Master's degrees, among others. Doctorates, specialisation courses and universities' own degrees are excluded. For university and higher arts education, fees must be paid to a Spanish university or centre (art. 3).
• No official degree already held of the same or higher level than the studies you apply for, on 30 September 2026 (art. 15.a), with exceptions for master's degrees and complementary credits towards a Bachelor's.
• Grades: each level has its own academic requirement (arts. 21 to 39). For example, first-year Bachelor's students need an access mark of 5.00 points (art. 24.1) and Master's students an average of 5.00 in the previous studies (art. 29.1).
• Family income and wealth: the 2025 income of the countable family members counts (art. 16) and there are wealth limits (art. 20). The 2026-2027 income thresholds, in euros per year (art. 19), are:
  • 1 member: threshold 1 of €8,843, threshold 2 of €13,898, threshold 3 of €14,818
  • 2 members: €13,264, €23,724, €25,293
  • 3 members: €17,685, €32,201, €34,332
  • 4 members: €22,107, €38,242, €40,773
• Each threshold decides one component: threshold 1 opens the income-linked amount, threshold 2 the residence-linked and variable amounts, and threshold 3 the tuition grant, academic excellence and the basic grant (arts. 5 to 10). They are set by Royal Decree 179/2026.

Amounts (academic year 2026-2027)

• Tuition grant: the public price of the credits enrolled for the first time (university and higher arts education).
• Fixed income-linked amount: €1,700. Fixed residence-linked amount during the course: €2,700. Only if, because of the distance to the centre, you must live away from the family home during the course and prove rent or residence costs; never more than the real cost (art. 7). Students claiming independence do not get it (art. 17.3).
• Academic excellence: from €50 to €125, depending on the average grade (from 8.00 points).
• Basic grant for non-university studies: €300 (€350 in Grado Básico vocational cycles). Variable amount: a minimum of €60.
• With 48 to 59 credits (university and higher arts education), the income-linked amount is €350 and the residence-linked amount up to €350, instead of €1,700 and €2,700 (arts. 11.2, 23.2.a and 28.2.a).
• There are extra amounts for island homes, Ceuta and Melilla and for students with disabilities (arts. 12 and 13). The basic grant is incompatible with the income-linked amount (art. 9.3).

Documents

• The call has no closed list of documents. This is what appears in the text, and the selection bodies may ask for more (arts. 47 and 51).
• NIF or NIE of the applicant and of each countable family member, with the support number (IDESP or IXEPS) or the expiry date of the document (art. 47.2). If you do not have a NIE yet, see how to apply for it and the TIE.
• Municipal certificate of empadronamiento or cohabitation when grandparents living in the home count as members or there is shared custody (art. 17.1); cohabitation is checked on 31 December 2025. See how to get the empadronamiento certificate.
• A bank account or passbook of which you are the holder or joint holder, for payment (art. 47.4).
• If your family income or grades come from another country, the selection body will ask for the documents it considers necessary, and income can be entered in the country's currency, converted at the lower official rate of the first working day of 2026 (art. 61.2).
• Anyone claiming family and financial independence must show enough own means and that they own or rent their usual home (art. 17.3).

Foreign studies and degrees, and homologación

Foreigners applying must prove the requirements in the way the selection body sets and declare the level of their academic qualification (art. 61.1). When the record comes from a foreign university or centre, the selection commission sets the equivalence of marks to the Spanish decimal system, subject by subject (arts. 22.7, 30.8 and 32.9). The call does not mention homologación as a requirement. A degree already held is taken into account in art. 15.a and in art. 40.d, which obliges you to declare whether you hold, or could legally obtain, a degree of the same or higher level. The homologación of a university degree or of vocational qualifications is a separate procedure with its own route.

Where: how to apply

• Online: the Ministry's e-office, sede.educacion.gob.es, or educacionyfp.gob.es, with the applicant's electronic signature. The call speaks of «any of the electronic signature systems accepted by the e-office»; confirm there which it accepts and, if you have none, see how to get Cl@ve or a certificate. Applications that are not fully submitted do not count: keep the receipt (art. 47.1).
• Tracking: «Mis expedientes» on the e-office (art. 51.11), or the scholarship unit with your NIE. The award and proposed refusals are notified in «Mis Notificaciones», after an alert email (art. 52.4).
• Basque Country and Catalonia: the call does not apply to students with administrative residence in the Basque Country in university or higher non-university studies, to non-university students at centres located in the Basque Country, or to students whose family home is in Catalonia, in face-to-face or distance studies (art. 68). Check your community's website.
• Ministry grants portal: becaseducacion.gob.es. We could not open it automatically on 17.10.2026; confirm the current call there.

Deadlines

• 2026-2027 call: from 7 April 2026 to 19 May 2026 at 15:00 (mainland time). Late applications, until 31 December 2026, only for the death or forced retirement of the main breadwinner.
• If you are asked to fix documents, you have ten days from the request; if you do not, the file is closed (art. 51.1).
• The resolution is published on the Ministry's website; applications that do not appear in it are treated as refused (art. 52.7). An appeal for reconsideration can be filed within one month, or a court appeal before the Audiencia Nacional (art. 57).
• 2027-2028 call: not published on 17.10.2026. We give no date because there is no official announcement.

Cost

• The text of the call mentions no application fee. University students who apply for the grant can enrol without first paying the public price of the credits enrolled for the first time (art. 54.1), although the centres' administrative offices (secretarías) may ask for payment as a precaution from those who do not meet the requirements (art. 54.2).

Steps

1. Check the Ministry's website and the e-office for an open call, and whether your studies are among those in art. 3.
2. Check nationality, status and residence against the requirements above, and ask the scholarship unit if your situation is not clearly covered.
3. Gather the NIF or NIE of all countable family members, your bank account details and, if it applies to you, the municipal certificate of cohabitation.
4. Fill in the application online and sign it with the electronic signature system the e-office accepts; keep the receipt.
5. Follow the status in «Mis expedientes» and download notifications in «Mis Notificaciones».
6. If the selection body asks you to fix something, reply within ten days.

Official source: BOE, extract of the Resolution of 23 March 2026 (general scholarships 2026-2027), BOE, deadline extension and the call's record in the BDNS. For degree recognition: homologation of a university degree. If you study with international or temporary protection because of Ukraine, see also the 2026-2027 university scholarships for those groups. The terms NIE and TIE are in the glossary.

Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.