Consulate General of Spain

Terrible services here! The worker acted worse than a robot; no matter what we are asking for, his answer is “ everything is on the website”. Then we asked do you mind giving us the website address? His answer is “ search on google”. I don’t even know what’s the purpose of his role.

BLS - SPAIN VISA APPLICATION CENTER, CHICAGO IL 121 W Wacker Dr, St 1307, Chicago IL 60601, USA I scheduled a visa appointment for 10:20 AM, and now it's almost 12 PM. I'm still waiting, which feels incredibly inefficient. I hope they don't close for a nap. ：（

POOR customer service. I dropped off some important documents as no one had picked up their phone for the past month so I couldnt ask question via phone. I was greeted by Spanish Embassy in Chicago (180 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1500) by their guard named Tracy (american) with yelling, scream, and treated me like i was a trash. Her first words while yelling was not even hi welcome but why do you have your phone?? turn it off! On top of her lungs. If she gave me a nano second to open the door, breathe, put my hands in my bag to turn off my phone, I would have done it. However, i have not even step foot. She was also being hysterical! Also, the sign does not say no phones allowed. But no taking of video or photos. So THAT IS RUDE! I know she is the security and have gun but dont threat people like that who came peacefully. You almost gave me a heart attack! I also work in a secured/classified environment but we do not operate like this. Your office needs to have a customer service training to your security guard and not treat people like animals who doesnt understand english (if she was so proud that she knows English, she could have atleast shown she can speak Spanish as well. Shouldnt that be a criteria to work in a consulate?). Be careful how you treat customers, I may have arrived in jeans / casual attire and not in suit or expensive outift, but i believe most of your customers are educated enough though. At the end of the day, customers come to your office / embassy for assistance as a person, as a human being. You should relook at how your security, Tracy, work. Or better yet, hire a new security contractor if she can't embody or represent Spanish Govt culture specially as the first line to greet in your office.

I am writing to share our experience at the Spain Visa Application Center in Chicago on October 4th. After submitting our application documents, the staff member assisting us insisted we pay a mandatory "Prime Time" (PT) fee. She informed us that it would be $70 if we chose to have our passports mailed back and $45 if we opted to pick them up in person. When we asked for clarification about the necessity of this fee, she provided no explanation and simply repeated that we had to pay it. She even stated that if we didn’t pay, we would need to leave the office and reschedule our appointment. Feeling confused and upset, we made the payment as it seemed to be the only way to continue with our visa application. Later, after contacting customer service, we learned that the PT fee was not mandatory, as we were led to believe. Additionally, we would like to file a formal complaint about the unprofessional and unfriendly service we experienced. At the beginning of the appointment, the staff member ignored us and was texting on her phone in front of us. She even answered a personal call during our meeting, which we found highly inappropriate.

I had a fantastic experience at the Spanish consulate in Chicago. Jaime was incredibly helpful, guiding my mother through the entire process with patience and professionalism. He made everything smooth and stress-free. Grateful for such exceptional service!

I had a wonderful experience working with the Spanish Consulate in Chicago. I was impressed by the efficiency and professionalism of the staff. All of my emails were responded to quickly, and I was able to schedule an appointment shortly after I requested it. At the appointment, I was treated very respectfully and kindly. The staff was knowledgeable and helpful, and they took the time to answer all of my questions. I would definitely recommend the Spanish Consulate in Chicago to others.

If you come prepared with all the paperwork required & specified on the website, the process is very smooth. Friendly staff and clean office. My visa interview only took 20 minutes and was very straightforward. I received my visa 2 weeks after application. FYI only money orders are accepted as a form of payment. Make sure to prepare that.

I had an appointment to get my visa to head over to Madrid for the fall of 20. They were very helpful, kind, friendly, and made everything less stressful! I came prepared with everything I needed which makes it much quicker on my end too! If you come prepared and have everything you need, you won’t have any problems and it will be painless. But if you have questions before heading in for your appointment, email them, they were fairly good about giving me the answer I needed. Keep in mind I went through all this during COVID which was a hard time for them too and they were excellent!

We had to apply for two types of visa - tourist and business. Due to tough schedules, me and my husband managed to get appointments for the consulate office, but at a very short notice. Mr. Angelo was very efficient in working through our visa applications and the required documents. He walked us through the visa process and patiently waited while we arranged for the health insurance as well! He was considerate of our time complications and was very helpful in working out the entire process for us - we got the visas well in time! The entire staff at the Consulate Chicago office is very warm, efficient and considerate. No wonder I would want to visit Spain again n again!

Worst consulate i ve been to in my life even the a/c is not working ......... french consulate is the best if you need transit through shengen area

I have never reviewed anything other than food establishments, but I had such a positive experience here that I couldn't resist. My boyfriend (a U.S. Permanent Resident) needed to get a tourist visa for a trip in March. The whole process is stressful, time consuming, and expensive. However, the staff here are extremely helpful and polite and it couldn't have gone smoother. Tips: 1. Make an online appointment in advance 2. Triple check to make sure you have all of your documents! Make copies of your passport, driver's license, green card, itinerary, everything. Give one copy to them and keep one for yourself. 3. Bring a money order. 4. Bring along a USPS express mail envelope that's self-addressed The entire appointment took about 15 minutes. They look through your paperwork, make sure you have everything, and get your fingerprints/photo. The staff who helped us was fantastic. He basically told us the visa would be approved barring any weird issues. He also gave us recommendations for places to eat in Sevilla! Appointment: Friday Passport (with Visa) received via USPS Express mail: Tuesday It doesn't get better than that, folks.

Trying to deal with the Consulate of Spain in Chicago, one would think that Spain does not want visitors. Trying to obtain a student visa has been a nightmare, with 2 failed appointments not having appropriate documents, which was not clear by the directions on the forms. Moreover, the person handling the appointment was simply rude and unhelpful. In an effort to get it right a third time, I tried calling the consulate to ask questions. Even during business hours, I received a recording saying they were closed. Subsequently, I remained on hold for an hour without a live person picking up and finally gave up. It is unfortunate that we may miss the opportunity to study abroad.

Online appointments are required. I have been here twice for the schengen visa. As long as you have done your homework, the whole process is smooth. The consulate officials are very polite and if you forget a document or two, they guide you through the process. There's a 711 in the building next door, incase you did not bring the money order along. 7/18: I had my passport back with the schengen visa in 6 days via express mail.

It can be difficult going through many documents when visiting other countries. It can be frustrating and time-consuming. However, this consulate office is always willing to assist and work with you to understand frustrations. They are extremely patient and I thank them for helping my husband when another consulate could not even help at all. We were going to lose a lot of travel expenses so Gracias Consulate of Spain por tu ayuda!

Just wanted to say that I was really impressed with the kind of service I got, the guy that helped me, his name was Pedro Alarcon , was very nice and very polite, my interview lasted about 6-8 minutes, and I was the only one at the consulate at 10am on a Thursday, he did make me go get a notarized letter and I had to come back BUT he tried to make the process as smooth as possible. I heard a few bad things about people and their experience at Spanish consulates- but my experience was great, and I got the visa rather quick - I have a lot of respect for people that do their job and are helpful at the same time. 5 stars for you guys! Ps come prepared - if you are married and don't work you will need a letter saying that your spouse will be financially responsible for you - you can have it notarized at any current exchange or some banks! It takes 2 minutes! My bank did it for free for me.

So close to 5 stars! I went with my son a little over four weeks ago to apply for a student visa as he is studying abroad next year. We did our homework and had everything in order, plus multiple copies of everything. The process was painless and the agent was very helpful and polite. We had to fly in to get his passport back as he had an upcoming trip and they were very accommodating. I took off one star because they NEVER answer the phone and did not respond to 2/3 of my emails about the pick up process. The one email I got back did not address my question at all. So, they are great to deal with in person. Have all of your paperwork done and it will go smoothly! Overall, it was much, much easier than I anticipated.

Took me three separate times coming in to get my visa because the website was so unclear. I dealt with unhelpful workers each time, with a man in particular that was extremely rude in handling my documents and made demeaning insults at me about how I didn't have all the forms ready. They were also over 45 minutes behind my scheduled appointment time. Overall very unprofessional consulate and I highly recommend going elsewhere.

I was late to my appointment due to traffic and when I got there I waited until everyone else was helped because I didn't want to cut anyone off. The lady in the window saw me standing there but she continued to work on her computer and then started calling other people's names even though everyone else had been helped. She was rude, completely ignored me, and didn't even try to listen to me so I sat back down. The man at the other window saw that I had been sitting there for a while and he finally helped me which took about 5 minutes because I had all my paperwork ready. I'm grateful that he actually has some sense of customer service otherwise I could've wasted my entire day there.

Unprofessionalism at its highest. Having to drive 6 hours straight from Ohio to get there, and getting lost several times, I finally made it to the office about 4-5min after my appointment time of 1:40pm. I was greeted by absolutely no one, and only told by another man waiting what was going on. They were an hour and a half behind schedule for Visa processing and were just catching up. After waiting about 10 minutes my turn came. I was greeted by the rudest and nastiest government employee I have ever met to date. A young brunette Spanish male who looks to be in his twenties. Upon sitting he sighed and actually frowned at me. Great start. Next, he threw my visa application at the window after I hadn't filled it out completely. He didn't even let me explain that I had questions and he shoved it through the window slot, muttered a comment in Spanish to his other coworkers and walked away. I was too tired and hungry to be mad, in that moment, so I said sorry and hurried to fill in what I think was the right information. He then sat back down, texted a few things on his cell phone and continued demanding (not asking) for my other documents. He more than once asked if my documents were "authentic" or "originals", which made me feel like he was accusing me of forgery. Finally, after giving me one last sarcastic tone he said "That's all, it'll take 4 weeks." I don't know if he had a bad day, or was racist or whatever, but his attitude and handling of my personal information was completely unprofessional and made me feel awful. I would stay away from this Consulate if possible or ask for a different interviewer if I had to do it over again.

Worst online system ever. I made an appointment last Fri, and received a confirmation. It is just so STUPID of me to trust their confirmation and booked hotel and transportation that are unrefundable. Now they tell me that my appointment is canceled as "good friday". WHY made the time slot even avaliable if they want to enjoy their holiday?? Well, maybe these guys don't even have a clue in how to do that. What can I say? Spanish people.

I finished my appointment in 7 minutes. The guy who handled the documents for me was very reasonable and helpful. If you do your homework, you'll be fine- just be sure to review all of their requirements and prepare everything for your appropriate needs. Don't forget a money order because they don't accept cash/credit. Also you need a copy of your passport/drivers license because they need the original + 1 copy (for a student visa, they keep your passport until they send it back or you pick it up).