Announced in August, committed now — and still open
When the Cabildo opened the window on 6 August it spoke of around 3.5 million euros. The calls themselves, signed on 30 July 2026, committed far less: 121,385.68 euros for study off the island and 100,000.00 euros for study on it; the rest was flagged as an "additional amount" under article 58.2(a) of the regulation implementing Spain's general subsidies act, effective only once published in the provincial gazette. That happened on 16 September, and the arithmetic closes at 3,471,385.68 euros. A credit increase opens no new application period — but the original window has not closed and ends on a fixed date, Friday 25 September 2026. On 19 September the grants platform still listed both as "Plazo ABIERTO"; applications go only through becas.cabildofuer.es, not through the sede electrónica. Amounts are banded by points: 200.00 to 1,200.00 euros on the island, 700.00 to 2,800.00 euros off it. Applicants need a DNI or NIE, a padrón certificate showing at least a year on the island, and the 2025 income tax return for every member of the household. On 9 September a first partial award followed: 47 students, 120,200 euros.
The three new lines, and who qualifies
Language immersion is the largest single sum: 3,997.00 euros per place, 25 places. It is aimed at pupils who completed the third year of lower secondary education (3º ESO) on Fuerteventura in 2025/2026, have been on the island's padrón for at least two uninterrupted years, hold Spanish or EU nationality, and whose household income stays under the thresholds in article 56 of the regulatory bases. The residence grant is for pupils living in a public school residence on the island in 2026/2027. The mobility grant goes to students at Spanish universities already selected for Erasmus, SICUE or similar; the two-year padrón rule applies here too. All three are awarded competitively: the score decides, not the order of arrival.
The deadline: 15 working days with two holidays inside
All three new calls use the same formula: 15 working days (días hábiles) from the day after publication. Counting starts on Thursday 17 September; Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays do not count, under article 30.2 of Law 39/2015. The first holiday is not in doubt: Friday 18 September 2026 is the island holiday of Nuestra Señora de la Peña in the Canary labour calendar. That rules 7 October out as a closing date and takes the count to Thursday 8 October. The second is harder: Wednesday 7 October 2026 is the local holiday of Puerto del Rosario — the seat of the Cabildo itself. Article 30.6 of the same law provides that a day which is non-working in the applicant's municipality or at the seat of the administrative body counts as non-working "in any case". Take it out and the deadline moves to Friday 9 October. Two defensible dates, not one.
Why this weighs more on Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura has no university of its own. The island offers secondary schooling, vocational training and a UNED distance-learning centre; for almost any on-campus degree, studying means leaving. How many do so is poorly documented in public. The most recent attributable figure comes from a Cabildo report quoted by the newspaper Diario de Fuerteventura on 21 July 2020: 400 students from the island enrolled at the Universidad de La Laguna and 669 at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. We found no newer official breakdown by island of origin. That the problem persists is on the Cabildo's own record: on 31 July 2026 the plenary called for an island plan for university infrastructure and a network of student residences. The split of the 3.25 million fits: more than two thirds goes to those who have to leave.