In October of last year, the Spanish government announced that they would launch a Bono Cultural Jóven or a Youth Culture Voucher, giving young people a grant of €400 to spend on culture. However, it wasn’t until March 2022 that it was finally approved.

In total, this aid represents €210 million of Spain’s General State Budget and it’s estimated that almost 500,000 young people throughout Spain may end up benefiting from it.

What is the Youth Culture Voucher?

The voucher is a €400 grant approved by the Spanish government, to be spent on cultural products.

It was conceived as a way to promote and help revitalise the Spanish cultural sector after the difficulties it suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to help young people to benefit from cultural products that they may have missed during this time.

Who can benefit from the culture grant?

Currently, only those who turn 18 years old in 2022 will be able to access the grant. Unfortunately, if you are 18, but you had your birthday in 2021, you will not qualify.

It’s open to those with Spanish nationality, as well as legal residents and refugees. All you will have to do to prove you qualify is to show a document that includes your date of birth and residency status, such as a DNI, TIE or green residency document.

What can I spend it on?

Your grant must be distributed and diversified across three different cultural sectors, meaning that you can’t just blow it all at once on one big purchase. In each of these sectors, a limit will be set. 

• A limit of €200 can be spent on performing arts, cultural heritage and audiovisual productions. This includes items such as theatre tickets, live music concerts, cinemas, museums, libraries, exhibitions, as well as music and literary festivals.  
• A maximum of €100 can be spent on physical cultural products. This will include products such as books, magazines and periodicals, as well as video games, vinyl records or any other physical form of music and movies such as CDs and DVDs.
• A maximum of €100 can be spent on digital or online culture. This includes subscriptions to companies such as Netflix and Spotify, digital music, audio and e-books, as well as podcasts, online video games and digital subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. Keep in mind that any subscriptions will be limited to a maximum of four months.

  Items such as computer hard or software, textbooks, musical instruments, gastronomy, sports equipment or tickets and fashion will not be included.  

Where can I use it? 

The grant can only be used in establishments or institutions which have signed up for the program and which operate within Spain. You will be able to find a full list of places once you have been approved for the voucher.  

How can I apply for it?  

The Spanish government is set to launch a special website for the culture voucher, where you will be able to fill out an online form to request the grant. As soon as this is launched, we will let you know and update this article with a link.   

The website will also be available for companies to sign up and offer their cultural products and services.  

Once approved for the grant, you will receive the money in one lump sum put onto a virtual prepaid card. You may also request a physical card if your phone is not compatible with the virtual one. It will be linked to your name and identity, so you will be the only one able to use it.

Finally, you will have a total of 12 months in which to spend the money from the time you receive it.

The Spanish government hopes to repeat the aid program in 2023, so if you’re not old enough to receive the grant this year, then you may be able to try next year.