You want to visit family or friends in Spain. You will stay at their home, not in a hotel. Then you need a Spain Invitation Letter from UAE. Your host in Spain gets this letter from the police there. You add the original letter to your visa papers at BLS.
Bolo Asan wrote this guide in plain words for people who live in the UAE. We checked every fact on the official pages of the Spanish police and BLS.
Quick Answer: A Spain Invitation Letter from UAE is a police paper from your host in Spain. Your host asks the police station near their home for it. You give the original letter to BLS with your visa papers. It proves where you will stay in Spain.
What Is This Letter
You stay with family or friends in Spain. The Spanish police give your host a paper that proves this stay. Its Spanish name is Carta de Invitación.
The letter is an official form. It carries a number, a police stamp, and a police signature. The facts on it appear in Spanish, English, and French. You can read your own name and dates on it.
The letter proves one thing only. It proves you have a place to stay in Spain. It does not prove you have money for the trip. It does not replace your visa. It does not promise that the border police will let you in.
Important: This letter proves your stay only. You still need bank papers, a return ticket, and travel insurance. The visa officer reads your whole file, not this letter alone.
BLS asks for one of three stay proofs. You can show a hotel booking. You can show a lease or a property deed. Or you can show this letter. One of the three is enough.
Who Can Invite You
Your host must live in Spain with legal papers. Four types of people can invite you. A Spanish citizen can invite you. A citizen of another EU country can invite you. A family member of an EU citizen can invite you. A foreigner with a legal residence permit in Spain can invite you.
Key Point: Only your host applies for this letter. You cannot apply for it from the UAE. Your host does all the work in Spain.
Your host takes on the cost of your stay at their home. A tourist in Spain cannot invite you. A company cannot use this letter. Companies write a different invitation letter for business trips.
What Your Host Does in Spain
Your host goes to the police station near their home in Spain. The police call this station a Comisaría de Policía. Your host books an appointment when the station asks for one.
- Your host books an appointment at the police station near their home.
- Your host fills in the official form with your passport facts and the trip dates.
- Your host shows proof of the home, such as the house papers or the rent contract.
- Your host pays the first fee of €75.05 with the form.
- The police read the papers and may call your host for a short talk.
- The police tell your host the result. Your host pays the second fee and picks up the letter.
The form asks for a lot of facts. Your host writes their own full name, birth place and date, nationality, ID number, and home address. Your host writes your full name, birth place and date, nationality, home address, and passport number. Your host also writes how you know each other. Your host writes the first and last day of your trip. Your host signs a line that says all the facts are true.
Your host must show the home papers. The house deed works. A rent contract works. Any other paper that proves the home works too. The police want proof that your host can house you.
Checklist: Your host needs your passport number, your full name, the trip dates, and the home papers. Your host needs the fee receipt too. Check each item with your host before the police visit.
What the Letter Shows
The letter shows your host in full. It shows the host name, birth place and date, nationality, ID number, and home address. It shows you in full too. It shows your name, birth place and date, nationality, passport number, and home address.
The letter shows how you know your host. It shows how long you will stay. It shows the names of other guests when more than one person travels with you. It carries a number, the police stamp, and the police signature. It also has a space for the border stamp when you land in Spain.
What Does It Cost
Your host pays two fees in Spain. The first fee is €75.05. Your host pays it with the form. The second fee is €6.54. Your host pays it when the police approve the letter. The two fees add up to €81.59 for one guest.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| First fee, with the form | €75.05 |
| Second fee, for the letter | €6.54 |
| Total for one guest | €81.59 |
Your host pays with the official fee form, modelo 790 código 012. Your host can pay at a bank in Spain. Your host needs no bank account for this payment.
Your host must pay the second fee within one month of the approval notice. Your host shows the payment receipt to pick up the letter. The police charge €1.09 more for each paper they stamp as a true copy.
Good to Know: You pay nothing for this letter in the UAE. Your host pays both fees in Spain, in euros. You pay only the visa fee and the BLS service fee at BLS.
Bolo Asan checked both fees on the live police page. The police page lists the same two amounts. Check the page again before your host pays, because fees can change.
How Long Does It Take
A Spain Invitation Letter from UAE has no fixed wait time. The police give no day count on their page. Their page says the process is not quick. The police read the form first. Then they approve it and print the letter. Then your host picks it up and sends it to you. Each step takes time.
Warning: Do not book a fixed BLS date before your host holds the letter. The police give no date promise. Start early, weeks before your trip.
The police may call your host for a short talk. They do this to check the facts on the form. Your host must come to the talk. The police give your host up to 15 days for it. A host who does not come loses the request.
Bolo Asan found no fixed time on the police page. If the police do not answer, the request counts as refused. The police must give the reason for a refusal. Your host can ask the police to look at the decision again.
How You Get the Letter
Your host picks up the original letter from the police station. Then your host sends the original to you in the UAE by post or courier. A scan or a copy will not do. BLS wants the original letter and a copy of it.
Tip: Ask your host to send the letter as soon as the police hand it over. You need the original in hand before your BLS date.
You give the original letter and a copy to BLS with your visa papers. You go to a BLS centre in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. A Spain Invitation Letter from UAE takes the place of a hotel booking. You do not need a hotel booking too.
Example: Your sister lives in Madrid with a legal residence permit. She goes to the police station near her home. She pays €75.05 with the form. The police approve the letter. She sends the original to you in Dubai. You add it to your visa papers at BLS.
Bolo Asan shows the booking steps in our Spain visa appointment guide. It covers the Dubai and Abu Dhabi centres.
Check the Letter When It Arrives
Check the letter the day it arrives. Read your name letter by letter. Read your passport number digit by digit. Read the trip dates. Look for the police stamp and signature. Tell your host at once when a fact is wrong. A fresh letter takes time, so check it early.
Note: The letter states how long your stay lasts. The police print the stay dates on it. Plan your trip dates with your host before they apply.
How Long Does the Letter Stay Valid
A Spain Invitation Letter from UAE stays valid for 9 months. The 9 months start on the day the police tell your host the good news. Your trip dates must fall inside these 9 months. Ask your host to apply close to your trip, not a year early.
Benefits: One letter can cover more than one guest. Your host lists each guest on the same form. Your host must have room for all of them.
A short-stay visa lets you stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The letter covers the stay you name in the form.
Emirati passport holders do not need a Spain visit visa for short stays. They do not need this letter either. This guide is for UAE residents who hold other passports.
The Letter Is One Paper in a Bigger File
BLS wants more than this letter. You still need more papers. Bring the visa form, your passport, and a photo. Bring travel insurance of €30,000, bank papers for 3 months, your trip plan, and a return ticket. Bolo Asan lists every paper in our full Spain visit visa guide. It shows the fees and the steps too.
Common Mistakes
Common Mistakes: Do not send a scan. Do not send a plain letter from your host. Do not let the letter end before your trip.
- Your host writes a plain letter at home. BLS does not take it. Only the police letter counts.
- You send a scan of the letter. BLS wants the original and a copy.
- Your name on the letter does not match your passport. Check the spelling with your host first.
- Your host applies too late. The police give no fixed time. Start early.
- Your host is a tourist in Spain. A tourist cannot invite you.
- You think the letter means a sure visa. It proves your stay only. The officer still reads your bank papers and your return ticket.
Pro Tip: Ask your host to check the spelling of your name on the letter before they send it. A wrong name can slow your file at BLS.
What If the Police Say No
The police can refuse the letter. They refuse it when facts are missing or wrong. They must tell your host the reason. Your host can ask the police to look at the decision again. Your host can send a fresh request with full and true facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bolo Asan answers the most common questions about this letter below.
What is a Spain Invitation Letter from UAE?
It is a police paper from your host in Spain. Your host gets it from the police station near their home. You add the original to your Spain visit visa papers at BLS. It proves where you will stay.
How much does a Spain Invitation Letter from UAE cost?
Your host pays €75.05 with the form and €6.54 after approval. The total is €81.59 for one guest. You pay nothing for the letter in the UAE.
Who can invite me to Spain?
A Spanish citizen, an EU citizen, a family member of an EU citizen, or a foreigner who lives in Spain with a legal residence permit. Your host must pay for your stay at their home.
How long does a Spain Invitation Letter from UAE stay valid?
It stays valid for 9 months from the day the police tell your host the good news. Your trip dates must fall inside these 9 months.
Can I use a copy of my Spain Invitation Letter from UAE at BLS?
No. BLS wants the original letter and a copy of it. A scan or a plain copy will not do.
Does this letter mean I will get the visa?
No. The letter proves your stay only. You still need bank papers, a return ticket, and travel insurance. The visa officer reads your whole file.
Do I need a hotel booking with my Spain Invitation Letter from UAE?
No. The letter takes the place of a hotel booking. BLS takes one of three stay proofs, a hotel booking, a lease or deed, or this letter.
Official Sources
- Policía Nacional, Autorización de expedición de carta de invitación, who can invite, where to apply, and why the process takes time.
- Policía Nacional, Tasas de extranjería, the €75.05 and €6.54 fees on the live police page.
- Orden PRE/1283/2007, carta de invitación, the full rules, the 9-month validity, and the facts on the form.
- Embassy of Spain in the UAE, Schengen Visa Category C Tourism checklist, what BLS asks for at the centre in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Disclaimer: Bolo Asan is an independent guide. It is not the Spanish police and not the Embassy of Spain. Visa rules and fees can change, so check the official pages before you apply. This guide gives general facts only, and it is not legal advice. The police and the embassy make the final call on each visa.
Last Updated: 7 November 2026