The Organising Committee (OC BCN2013) will facilitate assistance in obtaining entry visas to Spain to the representatives of the FINA Family (Athletes, Team Officials and Team Staff of Member Federations, FINA Bureau, Members of Committees and Commissions, FINA Partners and Sponsors). Media professionals should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for visa assistance.

Any person who doesn’t represent the FINA Family and is not a member of a national team should contact a visa processing office of Spanish embassy/consulate or appropriate travel agent in their home country for information on the visa application.

Please note that for your travel to Spain you should have a valid passport or other appropriate identification document with an expiry date not less than three months after the expected departure from Schengen territories.

All foreign participants of the 15th FINA World Championships - Barcelona 2013 requiring an entry visa to Spain need to apply for such visa before travelling to Spain.

Please refer to the list of the countries/nations that do have to apply for the entry visa to travel to Spain (see below).

Please note that Spain is a signatory of the Schengen Treaty, which allows borderless passage through signatory countries of the European Union. Therefore a valid visa to any of the country within this union will be also valid to enter Spain. Please refer to the list of the countries of the Schengen Treaty following this link.

Acceptable forms of identification

The acceptable forms of identification for the 15th FINA World Championships - Barcelona 2013 include the following:

For dual nationals, please use the nationality of the identification document you will use throughout your application and travel for the 15th FINA World Championships - Barcelona 2013.

The identification document used to enter Spain and applying for entry visa must match the information provided during application process at online service (GMS).

Visa assistance general terms

All foreign participants of the 15th FINA World Championships - Barcelona 2013 requiring an entry visa to Spain need to apply for such visa before travelling to Spain.

Visa requirements for entering Spain vary for different nationalities and it is always advised to check regulations with a Spanish embassy/consulate in the country of your residence or any other appropriate authorities.

The OC BCN2013 will provide visa assistance for single entry visa to be valid for three months.

The invitation letters will be provided only to the applicants who submit their applications/entries through online service (GMS) followed APPROVAL process. The registration should be completed through “GMS” available through the Championships’ website. Upon confirmation of registration the OC will issue an invitation letter to be sent to the applicant by e-mail or fax, and the original to be sent by post to the Spanish Embassy applied.

Last date to accept visa assistance application: June 28th, 2013.
All participants who submit their personal details after that date will need to follow the standard immigration requirements for entry into SPAIN.

The Spanish Foreign Affairs Ministry has informed to all the Spanish Embassies around the world that the entry visa will be free of charge for all the 15th FINA World Championships Barcelona 2013 attendees. This point will be reflected in the Invitation letter.

Important note: The invitation letter will be provided for single entry into Spain; therefore your travel plans and your stay in the country should be arranged accordingly. Is not possible to apply for the entry visa before than three months the arrival date.

Visa assistance to representatives of the National Federations

Each National Federation is required to designate a person to collect and fill in the registration information of all members of its national team. Online registration has to be completed for every member of its national delegation (Athletes, Team Officials and Team Staff). The invitation letter for the national delegations will be sent to the assigned contact person of the team via e-mail or fax. We recommend that delegation members applying for visa with the same embassy/consulate apply in groups.

We strongly recommend all the National Federations who need the entry visa to Spain, to start the registration process as soon as possible from 19th May 2013, in order to receive the invitation letter with enough time in advance to process the VISA in the Spanish Embassy.

Last date to accept visa assistance application: June 28th, 2013.
All participants who submit their personal details after that date will need to follow the standard immigration requirements for entry into SPAIN.

Contact information

For any visa-related issues please feel free to contact the OC BCN2013 at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Media professionals should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for visa assistance.

List of the countries/nations that do have to apply for the entry visa to travel to Spain

* HONK KONG: The visa exemption applies only to holders of passport "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region".
* MACAU: The exemption from the visa requirement only applies to passport holders "Macao Special Administrative Region".
* CHINESE TAIPEI: The exemptions from the visa requirement to enter the European Union only apply to those who hold a passport issued by Taiwan that contains an identity.