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Spain scholarships for Pakistani students at a glance
Spain scholarships for Pakistani students fall into a few real routes, and the headline government schemes are not among them: MAEC-AECID and Fundacion Carolina are closed to Pakistan. The routes that are open are the fully funded la Caixa INPhINIT doctoral fellowship for STEM PhD researchers, merit and tuition-fee awards from individual Spanish universities, and Erasmus Mundus joint master’s funded through Europe. MTZ helps you apply through the route that matches your level.
Quick facts before you apply
Spain offers Pakistani students one fully funded national route (the la Caixa INPhINIT doctoral fellowship), a set of university-level merit and tuition awards, and Erasmus Mundus through Europe, while its two flagship government schemes do not accept Pakistani nationals.
Country: Spain, a member of the European Higher Education Area and the European Union.
Levels with a real route for Pakistani applicants: PhD through the la Caixa INPhINIT fellowship; Bachelor’s and Master’s through individual university awards; Master’s through Erasmus Mundus (covered on the Europe page).
Flagship government schemes, status for Pakistan: MAEC-AECID is closed to Pakistan (modalities limited to Latin America, the Philippines, Africa and the Middle East). Fundacion Carolina is closed to Pakistan (Ibero-American Community of Nations only).
Fully funded route: la Caixa INPhINIT Incoming Doctoral Fellowships, 30 places per year, open to applicants of any nationality, funded for up to 4 years.
Language: English-taught programmes accept IELTS, TOEFL or an English medium-of-instruction letter; Spanish-taught programmes require Spanish (commonly DELE). The rule is set per programme, not nationally.
Main intake: Autumn, with most programmes starting in September or October.
la Caixa application cycle: The call typically opens around October to November and closes in late January, with results around late May and a start between September and November.
How you apply: Through your chosen university, or through the funder’s own portal for la Caixa. There is no central Pakistan government portal for Spain.
Age: No universal age limit is published. la Caixa INPhINIT uses a career-stage rule (within the first 4 years of your research career, with no prior doctorate), not an age cut-off. Verify any age condition for a specific award at its official source (SC6).
MTZ offices: Islamabad (G8 Markaz) and Lahore (Gulberg III).
Author: Mubbashir Qureshi, CEO, MTZ Global Visa Consultants Pvt Ltd.
Last verified: 13 June 2026.
Your three real routes into Spain
Pakistani students have three real routes to fund study in Spain: the fully funded la Caixa INPhINIT doctoral fellowship for STEM researchers, merit and tuition-fee awards from individual Spanish universities, and Erasmus Mundus joint master’s funded through Europe. Spain’s two flagship government schemes, MAEC-AECID and Fundacion Carolina, are not on this list because neither accepts Pakistani nationals, and the block below explains why.
The la Caixa INPhINIT doctoral fellowship
The la Caixa INPhINIT Incoming fellowship is the one fully funded national route open to you, and it funds a PhD, not a master’s. The la Caixa Foundation awards 30 Incoming doctoral fellowships each year to researchers of any nationality, to be carried out at a Spanish research centre that holds a Severo Ochoa or Maria de Maeztu seal of excellence, or a Carlos III Health Institute centre. It runs in STEM, health and life sciences fields. The contract is a one-year full-time labour contract, renewed each year after a favourable report, up to a maximum of four years. The funder sets the amount at EUR 35,800 per year, which includes your gross salary plus the employer’s social security contribution and compulsory taxes, so your in-hand salary is the portion left after those deductions. Doctoral tuition is covered, and the programme adds a structured training programme. The mobility rule suits a Pakistani applicant: you must not have lived or carried out your main activity in Spain or Portugal for more than twelve months in the three years before the deadline. You also need accredited English and no prior doctorate.
University scholarships and Spain’s low tuition reality
For Bachelor’s and Master’s study, your route is the individual Spanish university, not a national scholarship. Several universities run merit awards and tuition-fee reductions that accept non-EU applicants, including IE University, ESADE, Nebrija University and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Most of these are partial rather than fully funded, and each sets its own amount, eligibility and deadline. Spain helps here in a second way: tuition at public universities is comparatively low against the United Kingdom or the United States, so a partial award placed on top of a low base fee can bring a self-funded master’s within reach. MTZ confirms the current fee and the live award terms for your chosen programme in writing before you apply, because these change each intake.
Verify award terms on each university’s own official admissions or scholarships page at the time you apply
Erasmus Mundus, funded through Europe
Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s degrees are fully funded by the European Union, many run partly in Spain, and they are open to Pakistani students. Because Erasmus Mundus spans several countries rather than Spain alone, MTZ covers it in full on the Europe page so the detail stays in one place.
Who can apply
Eligibility for Spain scholarships depends on the route: the la Caixa INPhINIT fellowship is open to PhD applicants of any nationality who meet its mobility and English rules, while university awards set their own academic and language bars per programme.
The la Caixa INPhINIT fellowship is open to applicants of any nationality, so Pakistani citizens qualify on nationality. University awards are generally open to non-EU international students, including Pakistanis, unless a specific award states otherwise. Spain’s two government brands are the exception: MAEC-AECID and Fundacion Carolina do not list Pakistan, so a Pakistani national cannot apply to either.
la Caixa INPhINIT funds doctoral study only, and you must already hold the degree that lets you enrol in an official PhD programme, with no doctorate started before the fellowship begins. University awards exist at Bachelor’s and Master’s level and set their own grade requirements. Erasmus Mundus, on the Europe page, funds Master’s study.
English-taught programmes accept IELTS, TOEFL or, at many universities, a medium-of-instruction letter confirming your previous degree was taught in English. la Caixa INPhINIT requires accredited English through one of the certificates named in its rules. Spanish-taught programmes require Spanish, commonly a DELE certificate. The language rule is set per programme, so confirm it for the exact programme you choose.
Spain has no central Pakistan government portal and no Pakistan sending-partner step. You apply in one of two ways: directly to the la Caixa Foundation’s own application website for the INPhINIT fellowship, or directly to your chosen Spanish university for a university award, alongside your admission application. Your foreign degree will need recognition or equivalence so the Spanish institution can read your grades on its own scale, and MTZ helps you prepare that. There is no HEC two-portal step as with Hungary, and no admission-first national portal as with Italy.
la Caixa INPhINIT is limited to STEM, health and life sciences disciplines, so applicants in arts, humanities or pure social sciences are not eligible for that route and should look to a university award or to Erasmus Mundus. University awards usually carry no field restriction beyond the programmes that university teaches.
No universal age limit is published for Spain scholarships. la Caixa INPhINIT uses a career-stage rule, that you sit within the first four years of your research career with no prior doctorate, rather than an age cut-off. For any specific university award, verify whether an age condition applies at that award’s official source before you rely on it (SC6). The MTZ enquiry form does not ask for an age cut-off.
Why MAEC-AECID and Fundacion Carolina are closed to you
Many Pakistani students lose an application cycle preparing for MAEC-AECID or Fundacion Carolina, only to find at submission that neither scheme accepts Pakistan. Both are real Spanish government scholarships, and both are limited by country in ways that exclude Pakistani nationals, so it is worth knowing this before you spend effort on a closed door.
MAEC-AECID (Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation).
MAEC-AECID is a development-cooperation programme, not a general international student scholarship, and it is split into separate modalities each with its own named country list. The University Master’s modality is open only to public-sector employees from named Latin American countries and the Philippines. The AFRICA-MED modality covers Africa and the Middle East. The Diplomatic School, Musica and ASALE modalities serve Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, the Philippines, Ukraine and Ibero-American applicants. Pakistan appears in no MAEC-AECID modality, and the recently awarded cohorts came from countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania. The headline phrase Latin America, Africa and Asia means the Philippines in practice, not Pakistan.
Verify the current MAEC-AECID modalities and country lists:
Fundacion Carolina.
Fundacion Carolina states plainly that it serves the Ibero-American Community of Nations, the group of Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries of Latin America together with Spain, Portugal and a small number of associated states. Pakistan is not a member, so a Pakistani national is not eligible to apply, at any level.
Verify the Fundacion Carolina scope and current call:
The point is not that Spain is closed to you. It is that these two famous brands are the wrong door, and your effort belongs on the la Caixa INPhINIT fellowship, a university award, or Erasmus Mundus instead.
Documents you will need
The documents you submit for a Spain scholarship are broadly the same across routes: a recognised degree, transcripts, a language certificate, a CV, a motivation letter or research proposal, a passport, and references. This block lists what you submit; who can apply is covered in the eligibility block above.
The la Caixa INPhINIT route asks for:
⚫ Your degree certificate, at the level that lets you enrol in an official PhD programme, with recognition or equivalence so the Spanish centre can read it.
⚫ Official academic transcripts, translated where the centre requires it.
⚫ An accredited English certificate from the list named in the la Caixa rules, such as IELTS, TOEFL or Cambridge.
⚫ A research statement or proposal aligned to an accredited host centre, with contact made with a prospective supervisor where the centre advises it.
⚫ A current CV.
⚫ A valid passport.
⚫ Evidence that you meet the twelve-month mobility rule, since you have not been mainly resident in Spain or Portugal.
The university scholarship route asks for:
⚫ Your most recent degree certificate and official transcripts, with recognition or equivalence for the Spanish university.
⚫ Proof of English (IELTS, TOEFL or a medium-of-instruction letter) or Spanish (DELE), set by the programme.
⚫ A motivation letter or statement of purpose.
⚫ A CV.
⚫ One or more reference letters, where the award asks for them.
⚫ A valid passport.
MTZ checks your document set against the exact award you are applying for before you submit, because a single missing translation or an un-recognised transcript is the most common reason a strong Pakistani application is rejected on a technicality.
What each route covers
The la Caixa INPhINIT fellowship is the only fully funded route, paying a salary contract of EUR 35,800 per year for up to four years plus covered doctoral tuition, while university awards are mostly partial and cover a share of tuition rather than living costs.
covered by la Caixa INPhINIT (fully funded PhD):
⚫ A salary contract set by the funder at EUR 35,800 per year. This figure includes your gross salary plus the employer’s social security contribution and compulsory taxes, so your in-hand salary is the amount left after those deductions.
⚫ Up to four years of funding, as a one-year contract renewed each year after a favourable report.
⚫ Doctoral tuition fees.
⚫ A structured training programme and a supervised research place at an accredited centre of excellence.
covered by, university awards (usually partial):
⚫ A share of tuition, set by each university, ranging from a part-tuition reduction up to a full tuition waiver at a small number of institutions.
⚫ Spain’s comparatively low public-university tuition means a partial award can still bring the total cost down to a manageable level.
Not covered, the honest part:
⚫ University awards usually do not cover your living costs, accommodation, flights or visa fees, so budget for these yourself.
⚫ The la Caixa salary is a contract subject to social security and tax deductions, so plan around the in-hand amount, not the headline figure.
⚫ Neither route includes a guaranteed family allowance, so do not assume dependant support unless the official call states it.
All figures here are stated in euros, the scheme’s own currency. Any rupee equivalent is indicative only and moves with the exchange rate. Use a conservative rate when you plan, and WhatsApp MTZ Islamabad on +92 315 155 5507 or Lahore on +92 328 900 2222 to confirm the current rupee position before you make any financial decision.
The la Caixa amount and the list of accredited centres are set by the la Caixa Foundation and can change each call, and every university award sets its own coverage. Confirm the live figure at the official source, linked in the route block above, before you rely on it.
How to apply, step by step
You apply for a Spain scholarship in one of two places, the la Caixa Foundation’s own application website for the INPhINIT PhD or the Spanish university’s own system for a university award, because Spain has no central Pakistan portal and no sending-partner step.
step-1 →
Decide your route and level.
Choose the la Caixa INPhINIT fellowship if you are heading into a STEM, health or life sciences PhD; a university award if you are applying for a Bachelor’s or Master’s; or Erasmus Mundus, on the Europe page, for a fully funded Master’s.
step-2 →
Secure your admission or your host first.
For la Caixa, identify an accredited centre of excellence and make contact with a prospective supervisor. For a university award, apply for admission to the programme, since most awards are tied to an admission offer.
step-3 →
Apply through the correct portal.
Submit the la Caixa INPhINIT application on the la Caixa Foundation application website, or submit the university award through that university’s own application and scholarship system. There is no Pakistan government portal to register on and no HEC sending step for Spain.
step-4 →
Submit before the deadline.
The la Caixa INPhINIT call follows an annual pattern, opening around October to November and closing in late January. University awards follow each institution’s own admissions calendar, with deadlines often months before the intake. MTZ confirms the live dates for your specific route before you apply, so you are never working from a closed cycle.
step-5
Selection and result.
la Caixa INPhINIT results are published around late May, with the fellowship starting between September and November. University awards announce on each institution’s own timeline. If you are selected, MTZ helps you move into the visa and enrolment stage.
How MTZ helps you apply
MTZ does not award or decide any Spain scholarship, and no consultancy can. What MTZ does is assess your profile honestly, match you to the route you can realistically win, and help you build an application that competes.
MTZ starts by reading your degree, grades, field and target level against the three open routes, then tells you plainly whether the la Caixa INPhINIT fellowship, a university award, or Erasmus Mundus is your strongest shot, or whether Spain is not the right destination for your profile this cycle. You get a straight answer, not an upsell.
For a PhD, MTZ helps you find accredited centres of excellence that fit your research area and flags those actively taking la Caixa fellows. For a Bachelor’s or Master’s, MTZ shortlists universities whose awards accept non-EU applicants and whose tuition and award mix gives you a workable total cost.
MTZ checks your degree recognition or equivalence, your transcripts and your language evidence against the exact award, then helps you shape your motivation letter, research statement or proposal so it reads the way Spanish selectors expect. This is where most strong Pakistani applications are saved or lost.
MTZ guides you through the correct portal for your route, the la Caixa Foundation application website or the university’s own system, and helps you meet the deadline with a complete file, confirming the live dates so you are never working from a closed cycle.
If you are selected, MTZ helps you move into the Spain student visa and enrolment stage, including the document set the Spanish mission asks for. MTZ offices in Islamabad and Lahore support you through to departure.
Start with the free scholarship eligibility assessment:
The honest limits you should know
The honest limits matter as much as the opportunities: MTZ does not award or guarantee any Spain scholarship, the funders decide, and Spain has fewer open routes for Pakistani students than the aggregator blogs suggest.
Read these limits before you apply.
Spain’s two flagship government schemes, MAEC-AECID and Fundacion Carolina, are closed to Pakistani nationals, so any blog that lists them as open to you is wrong.
The one fully funded national route, la Caixa INPhINIT, funds a PhD only, in STEM, health and life sciences, with 30 places a year for applicants worldwide, so it is competitive and not a fit for every field or level.
University awards are mostly partial, cover a share of tuition rather than living costs, and differ by institution and intake.
Selection on every route is decided by the funder or the university on merit. MTZ prepares and submits a strong application; MTZ does not influence the decision and cannot promise an outcome.
Figures and deadlines change each call. Treat every euro figure and date on this page as accurate at the last-verified date and confirm the live position before you rely on it.
MTZ would rather tell you Spain is a stretch for your profile than take you through a cycle you cannot win.
Compare the three Spainish routes
Use this table to see at a glance which Spain route fits your level and field: la Caixa INPhINIT for a fully funded STEM PhD, a university award for partial Bachelor’s or Master’s funding, and Erasmus Mundus for a fully funded Master’s covered on the Europe page.
| Feature | la Caixa INPhINIT | University awards | Erasmus Mundus (Europe page) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level | PhD only | Bachelor’s and Master’s | Master’s |
| Funding depth | Fully funded | Mostly partial | Fully funded |
| What it pays | EUR 35,800 per year for up to 4 years plus doctoral tuition | A share of tuition, set per university | Tuition plus a living stipend and travel, per consortium |
| Fields | STEM, health and life sciences | Most fields the university teaches | Wide, by consortium |
| Open to Pakistanis | Yes, any nationality | Yes, generally open to non-EU | Yes |
| Places | 30 Incoming fellowships a year | Varies per university | Varies per consortium |
| Where you apply | la Caixa Foundation website | The university’s own system | The consortium, via the Europe page |
| MAEC-AECID or Carolina? | Not relevant, both closed to Pakistan | Not relevant, both closed to Pakistan | Not relevant, both closed to Pakistan |
Questions Pakistani families ask about Spain scholarships
These are the questions Pakistani students and parents ask most about scholarships in Spain, answered honestly and with the official position as at the last-verified date.
No. MAEC-AECID does not accept Pakistani nationals. It is a development-cooperation programme split into modalities limited to named Latin American countries, the Philippines, Africa and the Middle East, and Pakistan appears in none of them. If a blog lists it as open to you, that blog is wrong.
No. Fundacion Carolina serves only the Ibero-American Community of Nations, the Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries of Latin America with Spain and Portugal. Pakistan is not a member, so a Pakistani national cannot apply at any level.
Yes, one national route. The la Caixa INPhINIT Incoming doctoral fellowship is fully funded, open to any nationality, and awards 30 PhD places a year in STEM, health and life sciences fields. It pays a salary contract of EUR 35,800 per year for up to four years plus doctoral tuition.
It pays EUR 35,800 per year, which the funder sets to include your gross salary plus the employer’s social security contribution and compulsory taxes, so your in-hand salary is the amount left after those deductions. Doctoral tuition is covered and a structured training programme is included, for up to four years.
Not through a Spanish national scheme, because la Caixa INPhINIT funds PhDs only. For a fully funded master’s you would apply through Erasmus Mundus, which is open to Pakistani students and covered on the MTZ Europe page. University master’s awards in Spain exist but are mostly partial.
Not always. English-taught programmes accept IELTS, TOEFL or a medium-of-instruction letter confirming your previous degree was taught in English. la Caixa INPhINIT requires accredited English from the certificates named in its rules. Spanish-taught programmes need Spanish, commonly a DELE certificate.
You apply in one of two places. For the la Caixa INPhINIT PhD you apply on the la Caixa Foundation’s own application website. For a university award you apply through that Spanish university’s own system, alongside your admission. Spain has no central Pakistan portal and no sending-partner step.
No universal age limit is published. la Caixa INPhINIT uses a career-stage rule, that you sit within the first four years of your research career with no prior doctorate, rather than an age cut-off. For any specific university award, verify whether an age condition applies at its official source before you rely on it.
The mobility rule works in your favour. To apply for the Incoming fellowship you must not have lived or carried out your main activity in Spain or Portugal for more than twelve months in the three years before the deadline. A Pakistani applicant living in Pakistan meets this easily.
Public-university tuition in Spain is comparatively low against the United Kingdom or the United States, so a partial university award placed on top of a low base fee can make a self-funded master’s manageable. MTZ confirms the current fee for your chosen programme in writing before you apply.
The la Caixa INPhINIT call follows an annual pattern, opening around October to November and closing in late January, with results around late May and a start between September and November. University awards follow each institution’s own admissions calendar. MTZ confirms the live dates for your route.
No. MTZ does not award or guarantee any scholarship, and no consultancy can. Selection is decided by the funder or the university on merit. MTZ assesses your profile honestly, matches you to the right route, and helps you build and submit a strong application.
STEM, health and life sciences only, including technology, engineering, physics, mathematics, health and the life sciences. If your field is arts, humanities or pure social sciences, this route is not for you, and a university award or Erasmus Mundus is the better path.
A university award or Erasmus Mundus. la Caixa INPhINIT is closed to non-STEM fields, so for arts, humanities, business or social sciences you would target a Spanish university’s own merit or tuition award, or apply for a fully funded Erasmus Mundus master’s through the MTZ Europe page.
Start your Spain scholarship application
Tell MTZ your degree, your field and your target level, and you will get an honest read on whether the la Caixa INPhINIT fellowship, a university award, or Erasmus Mundus is your strongest route into Spain.
Author: Mubbashir Qureshi, CEO, MTZ Global Visa Consultants Pvt Ltd. 25+ years personal experience guiding Pakistani students into study abroad and international education.
Last verified: 13 June 2026. Next review: 1 October 2026.
