UniMate
Our story

It started with one student getting lost in Spanish paperwork.

UniMate is the guide Mengkoung Key wishes someone had handed him on day one in Barcelona. This is how a Harbour.Space student's two years of confusion turned into a clear, step-by-step playbook for every international student who comes next.

Read the story·Chapter 1 of 3
Chapter one · April 2025

Lost on the very first day.

Mengkoung arrived in Barcelona to start his bachelor’s at Harbour.Space carrying two suitcases, a student visa, and a vague idea that “there’s some paperwork to do.” Like most international students, he had never heard the word empadronamiento before.

He learned the hard way. To open a bank account, he needed empadronamiento. To book the TIE appointment, he needed empadronamiento plus several other documents he’d never come across. To even find an appointment slot, he had to refresh the cita previa page like it was a concert ticket.

He spent his first month piecing things together from scattered forums, WhatsApp groups, and friend-of-a-friend advice — each source helpful in its own way, but none of them giving the full picture in one place.

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What that turned into

Two years of confusion, distilled into something concrete.

4+
Guided flows
24+
Documented steps
9+
Barcelona offices mapped
What we believe

Four principles that shape every guide.

Friendly language

Each step is written the way I’d explain it to a classmate over coffee — calm, simple, and easy to follow even on your first week in Barcelona.

Everything in one place

Forms, fees, and office details appear right inside the step that needs them — so you can stay focused on one thing at a time.

Shared by students

Every flow is shaped by real student experiences, with friendly tips and gentle reminders to help your appointment go smoothly.

Always evolving

Each new generation of students adds what they learned from their own paperwork — so every guide stays fresh, accurate, and up to date.

A living guide

Updated every time the next generation walks through it.

Rules change. Offices move. Forms get a new version. So every time a Harbour.Space student completes an empadronamiento, a TIE, a renewal, or a regreso, what they learned gets folded back into the guide. That way each new batch of students arrives to something a little clearer than the year before.

Heads up

Educational guidance, not legal advice.

Spanish immigration rules change. Local offices interpret them differently. UniMate is a starting point that gets you 90% of the way — for the last 10%, always confirm with the official sources or a licensed gestor.

Browse the flowsTalk to the team