My daughter will be studying for the next 4 years in Madrid so we wanted to make sure we had a good (yet economical) way for her to withdraw money while there.

Just wondering if you can open up a bank account in Spain if you are a foreigner? What do you need to have to open one?

What have others on the board done about this issue while studying in Spain?

It seems a number of foreigners have had recent success, relatively easy to my experience, opening bank accounts here in Spain I know we've discussed this topic a number of times here.

I'm not all that sure it matters if she's in Spain on a student visa or just living here.

esperanza, I must have misread your other thread about your daughter going to study in Madrid. I thought she was ONLY going for the autumn semester but she's actually going there for FOUR YEARS!?!?!!?!? Wow! That's great. Quite a different scenario than a 3-month stay.

Saludos, MadridMan

Well I opened a bank account here ( as a European ) and it was a breeze . The guys at BBVA just wanted to see various official documents such as a passport ...They asked me about what I did for a living and I said "nothing" and still they opened up an account for me and gave me a bank card .
But be warned .. the banks here , I find , do not really respect their customers AND you will always be charged for withdrawing money at an ATM ... crazy as it's YOUR money !
I have a friend here who had a lot of money in a bank account and , quite frankly , the bank could not have cared less . She threatened to move the account and the reply was " OK go ahead " .
All part of the "Spain" experience

In my experience I can say that it's not hard to open up a bank account in Spain... most banks just want a passport; however, some will ask for a NIE number or other type of documentation.

My best advice would be to decide on a few possible banks and then go and ask to open an account at your first choice... if they won't open one for you, go to your next choice. Your daughter shouldn't have much trouble.