Guides
Everything nobody tells you before your exchange
Bank accounts, renting and sending money, explained for Latin American students moving to Europe.
How to open a bank account in Europe without residency
The real options for getting a European IBAN before you're a resident: non-resident accounts, financial apps and student accounts. Which documents to prepare and what rights you have in the EU.
7 min read
How to open a bank account in Spain as an international student
Which documents Spanish banks ask for, the difference between resident and non-resident accounts, the NIE, and how to avoid being left without an account in your first weeks.
6 min read
Renting an apartment in Madrid without a Spanish bank account: what they ask for and how to break the cycle
Which documents Spanish landlords ask for, how much the deposit is by law, who pays the agency, and why an IBAN from another SEPA country should be accepted.
7 min read
Renting in France as a student: garant, Visale and attestation de solvabilité
What a garant is, how the free Visale guarantee works for people under 30, what an attestation de solvabilité is, and how much the security deposit can be in France.
6 min read
How much it really costs to send money from Latin America to Europe
The two parts of an international transfer's cost (fees and exchange rate), how to calculate how much actually arrives, and tips so your family loses less money on each transfer.
5 min read