When you need an invitation at all
You can prove where you'll stay in Spain in different ways: with a hotel or apartment booking, a letter from a tour operator with the itinerary and addresses, or an invitation from your host — if you're staying with friends or relatives rather than renting accommodation yourself. An invitation is needed precisely in this case: when you'll actually live at the address of the person inviting you, not simply get moral support from them on paper for the consulate.
If you'll spend part of the trip with people you know and part in a hotel, it makes sense to show the consulate both documents for the relevant dates of your itinerary: the invitation only covers the days stated in it, not the whole trip.
How your host arranges the invitation in Spain
The document's official name is Carta de Invitación; it's sometimes called a Certificado de Hospedaje. It's arranged not by the applicant or the consulate but by the person inviting — and they do it in person, by applying at the local police station (Comisaría) where they live in Spain. This procedure can't be done remotely, by power of attorney or online: the host must physically go to the police station.
This leads to a practical limitation: an invitation can only be arranged by someone who is already in Spain and has a permanent address there. You can't agree it "verbally" or exchange scans of a handwritten letter — the consulate expects a document issued by the police under the established procedure.
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Take the quizWhat the invitation must include
The invitation states the host's details, their address in Spain, the length of the guest's stay and confirmation that the guest will be staying at that address. Before your host goes to the police station, check the dates with them in advance: if the invitation gives one period and your application form and itinerary another, that's exactly the kind of discrepancy the consulate treats as a contradiction between documents rather than a technical detail.
The same goes for how names are spelled — if the host's or applicant's name appears differently in the passport and the invitation (a typo, a different transliteration), it's better to ask for it to be corrected before applying rather than explaining the discrepancy on the spot.
An invitation isn't everything: what else you'll need
An invitation covers only one item on the list of requirements — proof of accommodation. It doesn't cancel or replace the other documents: medical insurance with cover of at least €30,000 with no excess or co-payments, financial documents proving you have enough money for the trip (usually a bank statement for recent months, not a one-off deposit), and a confirmed return ticket booking. The consulate still checks each item separately, and an invitation from relatives doesn't in itself make up for a weak spot in your other documents.
It's also worth thinking about the financial side in advance: if your host is willing to cover part of the costs, it's better to arrange this with a separate sponsor letter with their own financial documents attached, rather than relying on the invitation itself implying support. Before gathering further documents, it's more sensible to check the full list of requirements for your situation than to build it up as you go.
If your host can't arrange the invitation in time
You can apply for a visa no earlier than 6 months before the trip and no later than 15 calendar days before it, and processing takes 15 to 45 calendar days. Getting the invitation at the police station is a separate process with its own timescales on the Spanish side, and it may not match your application schedule — especially if your host is going through the procedure for the first time.
There's a second difficulty too: the original invitation has to be sent to the applicant in their home country, and there's no uniform practice on whether a copy with an apostille or legalisation can be submitted instead of the original — the current procedure is worth checking directly with the police station and your consulate or visa centre at the time of applying, rather than going by what happened to friends last year. If time is tight and sending the original risks not arriving in time, it's more honest to consider a fallback in advance — for example, a hotel or apartment booking for the first days of the trip, which can be arranged and cancelled much faster.
Final checklist
- An invitation (Carta de Invitación / Certificado de Hospedaje) arranged by your host at the police station where they live in Spain.
- Matching dates and names in the invitation, application form and itinerary.
- The original invitation (or a copy option confirmed with the police station/consulate) sent to you in advance.
- Medical insurance with cover of at least €30,000, with no excess or co-payments.
- Financial documents — a bank statement for recent months, not a one-off deposit.
- A confirmed return ticket booking.
- A fallback proof of accommodation in case the invitation doesn't arrive in time.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, an invitation can be issued for any guest; no family relationship with the host is required. What matters is that the host has a permanent address in Spain and applies in person at the local police station.
As a rule, yes — the original document is sent to the applicant. But there's no uniform practice on whether a copy with an apostille or legalisation is accepted instead of the original, so it's best to check the current procedure directly with the police station that issued the invitation and with your consulate or visa centre at the time of applying.
It only replaces proof of accommodation — and only for the dates stated in the invitation itself. The other requirements (insurance, proof of funds, return ticket) apply independently and aren't covered by the invitation.
Formally, the procedure for applying at the police station doesn't depend on the host's housing status — the invitation is arranged by the person themselves at the address where they're registered. But the police station's exact requirements for proving that address may differ from place to place, so it's sensible for your host to check this locally in advance rather than on the day they apply.
If something in your situation doesn't fit the general pattern, that's normal — visa cases almost always have nuances. and we'll look at it for free and suggest your next step.