Consulate General of Spain

I've been trying to schedule an appointment since the beginning of this year via the BLS system they tell us to use, and I haven't even been able to look at the calendar for appointments because there are "no slots available." I've checked almost daily for 4 months now. Do we have to just go to the consulate itself to even schedule an appointment or something? Because I want to apply for an NLV and I'm in this consulate's jurisdiction, and I can't even try to schedule anything. I live in Hawaii so I'd have to fly here to even try to do that. Can someone please help me out here? Nobody even picks up the phone when I call. Please, help me out here.

Anibal, Laura and the person by the door (can't remember his name, but super super kind) were super helpful and they even helped me to get my document on a day that they don't hand it that document because I told them my specific situations that I am flying tomorrow out of state. Very grateful with this consulate.

We had sent our application in November for study abroad. They received the certified mail and cases the money order in November. There has been no response and my daughter is unable to start school in Spain! This is the worst consulate. They don't answer their phones or email. We live too far to go directly to consulate. We will see legal help now

Ah, the Spanish Consulate—a place where paperwork dreams come true (eventually)! Sure, they’re busy, but after 25 years of visiting, they’ve always managed to help me out. Yes, I still need to inscribe my marriage, my kids, and probably my dog at this point. And yes, every time I sit down to tackle the forms, I feel like my soul is about to pack its bags and leave my body. 😂 That said, I wish I could hire an attorney, a wizard, or even a random hero to handle this for me. Back in the day, Maria José was my go-to—absolute legend! I heard Adolfo is the new rock star now, so fingers crossed he brings the same magic. Here’s the thing: once you get past the forms, the stamps, and the occasional existential crisis, think about what’s waiting for you on the other side—tapas, sangria, and roaming the streets of Spain! So, while I continue to procrastinate (and dramatically stare at my paperwork), I know it’ll all be worth it in the end. Hang in there, folks—we’re all in this together!"

I'm very pleased of the treatment the consulate gave me during my nationalization process. The consulate has to manage a large amount of processes, and it may seem that communication is slow at times, but rest assured they're working on all cases, and once you're directly in contact with with their offices, they're very polite and helpful.

the typical govt office treatment poor, unclear, slow etc don't expect anything. At the actual office the staff is pleasant but work ethics it's the govt way not highly functioning. Spaniards as a people are really nice tho. In spain don't expect anything other than a govt experience at govt offices tho

It has been 6 years since we started the Sefardi citizenship process. Six. Years. I have waited a while to write this review. In fact, I had two children since we got started on the citizenship journey, and all of us are still waiting for our birth certificates so we can move forward with a passport. The Spanish govt lost my paperwork in 2019 because, and I am not making this up: ‘someone resigned and left all their paperwork on a table somewhere’, so my file was only retrieved in late 2022 after our lawyer prodded them. Suddenly my application was approved, a whole 2 years after my mother and brother already had their Spanish birth certificates issued. I then finally, finally got an appointment at this SF consulate to swear in as a citizen in June of 2024, and I am still waiting to this day (Jan 2025) on my Spanish birth certificate so that I can get my passport. Note to others; you cannot move to Spain without this, as you need it to get your DNI. I sent in my FBI check and apostille again since it expired while waiting during this timeframe. According to USPS it arrived on November 14th 2024 at 11:09am. I emailed them a copy of all these documents asking for any kind of acknowledgement of receipt. Nothing. I asked again if they needed more information from me. Nothing. My cousin submitted his paperwork to the SF consulate to get his newborn daughter her birth certificate and citizenship a month after she was born. She is now 2 years old. We have heard nothing. I cannot fathom why this consulate is all right treating their own citizens so poorly. You cannot even make an appointment asking to be seen for this issue. My cousin begged me to take in his daughter’s paperwork during my appointment in June, but they wouldn’t accept it since he ‘needed to send it via post’. Which he had already done and received no answer for. We are New Citizens who want to be part of the Spanish economy and help it grow. My husband and I are both experts in our fields and would have loved to move as a young family and contribute to Spain. But we cannot because of how ridiculously long this process is taking. I understand things take longer in Spain. We lived in Spain previously for several years. My ancestral family settled in Venezuela and goodness knows their bureaucracy is brutal. But I thought Spain was a country that was set on reparation and doing a good thing. I thought they felt pride in helping make up for the collective ancestral trauma caused by the inquisition, and give our generation a chance to return ‘home’. I am sorely disappointed and heartbroken. I would write this out as well in Spanish, but seeing as I have not even been given the opportunity to move forward due to this consulate’s poor management, I will not be exuding any more effort on your behalf. Please do better.

My family and I applied for nationality and were assisted by Adolfo. Unfortunately Adolfo is the only person assigned to assist with the nationality acquisition process. He has worked diligently to make sure that the new format for submitting an application is clear and to ensure that it matches the criteria. After the new process was launched (thanks Adolfo!), eveything was much more streamlined. When I had questions, he was responsive by email and made me confident I had everything in order for the appointment. The day of the appointment, with his help and preparation prior, everything was efficient and clear. We received our paper to that certifies the documents were reviewed and submitted. Adolfo has really made this experience much better. Without him I'm not sure if our application would ever get submitted since the process before was incredibly unclear. The Consulate can improve on the following: - Adding more employees (there are only 3!) to help Adolfo and to answer calls. - Make it easier to find out about LDM on their consular website. - Create some sort of application tracker that gives you an approximate date of when you will receive your documents, or at least a way to see where it is at in the process. After submitting my application, we received a handwritten number. Unfortunately there is no way to tell when we will receive our formal documents (could take 2 years).

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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?

The Consulate General of Spain in Los Angeles is useless. For months, I've been trying to make an appointment for Spanish nationality to no avail. It's been impossible to make the appointment online, "there are no appointments available" says their ridiculous website. Spain passed a law allowing grandchildren of Spanish citizens who immigrated to other countries to get Spanish nationality; however, this sounds more and more like a Trojan horse since they don't seem to have the infrastructure -- or the desire -- to help. I even wrote a complaint to a top figure in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Spain and to date have not gotten a response. It sounds like the whole system is messed up. Que lástima!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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! :-)

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.

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....

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I waited about 1 hour after my scheduled time. When I finally got in, the lady looked at my documents and said I couldn't read it, get out and organize you document while my documents had already been sorted in time order. Then, it's another 30 mins wait. It took 2 hours (1.3 hours waiting) to get visa approved. The officer is rude, who doesn't know how to show any respect.

The people in the consulate are very accommodating. Hovewer, the process of scheduling an appointment is very frustrating. It takes months to book an appointment. If there's any docs missing and you need to go back, you have to wait another 2months to find a slot. What makes it worse, is that outside companies make fake appointments and then sell the slots for $200-400. My advice, if you have to go back, make sure you make your next appointment before leaving. The consulate is understaffed and the email to make an appointment will be gone without a response.

I personally had a good experience here. I live in Seattle and went in on a Thursday for a Schengen visa. When they learned that I was coming from out of town, they said I could come and pick up the visa on Friday. I really appreciated their effort of being considerate. Much to my surprise, a pleasant one, it was ready on Thursday afternoon! I wondered why it received so many low ratings and read a few those reviews. I admit I do agree with some of them. For one, availability of appointments was very limited, especially in summer. When I made my appointment back in May, the earliest time slot was in August! Also another thing is that they are really specific about the travel insurance. My school insurance actually covered traveling abroad, but they HAD to see the specific language in the insurance document (such as how much dollar limit of coverage etc). So when I couldn't find such language, I just went online and bought a second travel insurance for like $30. One could argue that was totally redundant and a waste of money. But I'd say that was a very minor aspect of inconvenience, as I had seen much worse from other consulates!

Needed the schengen visa. Had a great experience.Had a nice experience. The man at front desk was nice and helpful. Application process was pretty smooth, and the fact that you can pay the fee in cash (and no troubles of money order) is great. Update: Got the visa in 2 days by post. However, the entry/exit dates on the visa were wrong. I took advice of a friend and showed up at the Consulate just after opening time. I told a person about the issue, she immediately prioritized me and gave me new visa in an hour. Great people! Although, the hour long wait was super boring since i had to remain seated and couldn't use phone/laptop. But can't complain, given prompt resolution of situation.

They don't answer their phone and emails are automated. There's no way to reach these people and it's ridiculous. I have so many questions regarding the required documents cause they don't list exceptions for people who are just students and don't work and people who don't have a credit card. it's ridiculous to deal with.

Front Desk guy is an idiot... I spent 3 hours getting to the consulate in SF. A combination of walking, Barting, and Ubering. I had scheduled an appointment in advance and I had the confirmation of the appointment with me. But the guy at the front desk told me I did not have an appointment. He was so damn lazy, he refused to help me, even after I showed him the confirmation of my appointment. He then turned around and spent the rest of the time flirting with his female co-workers. He had the time and bandwidth to help me, but he did not care. It was such a rare negative moment where I felt so powerless and frustrated. No matter what I said to him, he would ignore me. Really wish I could get this guy fired. With public institutions though, there's no oversight and no manager to appeal to. There's no consequences for this guy being an idiot. I had to skip an entire day of school and waste an entire day in commute for nothing. And, I had to do it all again when I scheduled another appointment. Terrible idiot, really want to find him and punch him in the face.

I have to say when I first walked into the Consulate of Spain in San Francisco I thought it was going to be a long stretch. Yes, it took months and months of getting the correct paperwork but Maria Jose was always gracious, although extremely busy. After becoming a citizen of Spain today I realized good things are worth waiting for with patience and persistence. It can be frustrating for many that do not have patience. You do have to go in person to get what you want, calling will not work and email can be slow.

Came to accompany my daughter. The process to make an appointment it more difficult from what it should be and if you tried and called them well they barely answered the phone .The guys in the front desk were abrupt and rude . When people tried to ask a questions he would say " sit " Went someone ask to used the restroom he told them the restroom was not working. They lack of customer service!

The staff is very friendly. All you need is prepare the paperwork as the website says and the interview process goes pretty smoothly. It's super efficient to get our tourism visas done.

Great experience! Quick and fast. I had all my documents in order, fees in exact change, appointment at 9am, got called in at 9 am, and was out by 9:20 am. Applying for a tourist visa. Alba was great- sweet, smiling, and she said she loved her job! She also gave me travel tips. Parked in the garage on Bush and Fern ($5 per hour).

My tourism visa application went pretty smoothly. All you need to do is following the informative instructions on the website/ in the email, preparing all the required documents and being there on time. I'm impressed by the efficiency of the whole process. The staff was friendly, professional and flexible. Great experience!

I had to travel to San Francisco from Seattle to get Schengen visa. Extremely friendly staff and asked very few questions. Since I had to travel back same day, officer provided visa same day!

I was taken aback by all the negative Yelp reviews when preparing for the Spain visa application. After going through it, I have to say it's very quick and smooth process. Make sure you read the instruction in detail for the visa application. I'm in and out of the consulate office in less then 30 minutes total. Visa/passport back in a week.

Guys I was super skeptical about going to the Spanish consulate for my visa after reading all the negative reviews here today. I am pleasantly surprised and I forced myself to write this to reassure newer applicants. They key to ensuring a smooth an easy visa process is to prepare properly. I had a tight situation, I applied on a Wednesday and needed a visa before the end of the week as my trip was planned for Sunday. The Visa officer was super cool about it. Checked every document, asked a few questions, took my finger prints and asked me to come pick up the visa on Friday! As easy as that! In all fairness, the guys at the embassy also get harassed. When I was there, a 50+ year old guy walked in and asked them, I am an American and I want to go to Brazil and I lost my passport, can you help me with it (at the spanish consulate!) He did not look crazy, but he was being stupid! he then left and came back in 15 mins and said, his mom found his passport and wanted to know if the spanish consulate could talk to the brazilian consulate and get him a visa! like WTF! Cut them some slack! The consulate works if you do your homework! simple as that!

It goes quickly as long as you have all of the items required on the list they hand you upon arrival. It's slightly different from the online version for student visas, including needing copies of pretty much everything. Just make a copy of everything and you'll be fine.

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.