Malaga province hosts more than 2,000 international students with residence permits

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Their numbers have doubled in the last ten years, during which the Costa del Sol has overtaken Granada and Salamanca as student destinations

Cristina Vallejo

Thursday, 9 April 2026, 12:13

As of 31 December 2025, Malaga had 2,010 foreign students with residence permits in Spain. It ranks seventh among Spanish provinces, behind Madrid (26,013), Barcelona (15,805), Valencia (9,090), Seville (2,424), Alicante (2,310) and Navarre (2,235). It is just ahead of two provinces renowned for the long-standing tradition and prestige of their universities, Granada and Salamanca, which have 1,856 and 1,719 international students with residence permits, respectively.

In total in Spain, there are 83,264 foreign students with residence permits, to which the statistics add their relatives, which makes the total number of people who have moved for study reasons, directly or indirectly, 85,690 in Spain, while in Malaga province the number reaches 2,056.

Just the number of the students in the Costa del Sol has increased by 161 per cent in the last decade - it has more than doubled, in other words. There were fewer than 800 students in December 2015. This means that their number has grown twice as much as in Spain as a whole, where the increase over the same period has been 78 per cent.

In other parts of Andalucía, such as Cadiz, for example, the growth has been much more dramatic, with the number multiplying more than fivefold, rising from just over 200 in 2015 to more than 1,100 by December 2025, according to figures from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.

One of the major milestones in the growth of the student community in Malaga over the last ten years has been that it has overtaken Salamanca and Granada as destinations for international students. In 2015, Salamanca was only surpassed by Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. Seville and Granada followed. Malaga held seventh place.

By nationality, the largest group in Malaga is Moroccan: there are currently 376 Moroccans in the province of Malaga with student residence permits, more than triple the number from ten years ago (114). Next are Colombians, with 200, compared to just 17 in 2015. In third place are Americans and Britons, with 93 each. Russia follows immediately, with just 89 students in Malaga, half their number in 2015 when there were more than 170.

The nationalities that follow, however, have registered significant increases: Argentinians (78), Mexicans (63), Indians (56) and Chileans, Peruvians, and Ecuadorians (around 50 each). Along with the Russians, the number of Chinese students has also declined considerably: from 130 in 2015 to 46 in 2025.

Student residence permit conditions

Holders of a residence permit are foreign nationals from countries outside the EU who may remain in Spain for periods exceeding 90 days for the sole and primary purpose of pursuing further studies at an authorised educational institution in Spain in a full-time programme leading to a degree or certificate.

This permit may also be used for research or training activities, participation in student exchange programmes, work placements or volunteer work of general interest. The right to remain in Spain is granted for the duration of the activity for which the permit was issued, with a limit of one or two years, depending on the specific circumstances (the two-year limit applies to higher education).

Periodically updated data from the ministry tells us a lot about the people in Spain (and in Malaga) with student permits. The figures reveal that of the 2,010 foreign nationals in Malaga, more than half, over 1,200, are pursuing higher education. The second largest group is in the unclassified studies category (547), followed by those in research (146).

There are 38 people pursuing non-higher education; 29 in Au Pair programmes, where a visa can be obtained solely to live with a family and help with household chores in exchange for learning the language; and 19 completing their MIR (medical residency) here. These are the main reasons why there are non-EU students in Malaga.

Regarding their ages, the largest group is those between 20 and 24 years old (821), followed by those between 25 and 29 years old (351), while those between ten and 16 number 314.