Passport & Visa

Depending on your nationality, you might need a visa for coming to Spain. Even though requirements are frequently changed, There is a large population of illegal immigrants and this is a politically sensitive issue so there are efforts being made to prevent entry and to find and deport people living illegally in the country.

Citizens of the European Union are not required to get a visa for Spain since they already have the right to residency. In order to officially remain resident in Spain you are meant to apply for a NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) and a residency card (Tarjeta de Residente Comunitario). In practice this is not an urgent thing to get done, but you will need it eventually for some things.

Non-EU citizens visiting Spain need a visa (visado) in order to enter and visit Spain, unless there exists a special agreement between Spain and your home country; these countries are those of North & South America in addition to:

Andorra, Australia, Brunei, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Gibraltar, Grenada, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia and Switzerland.

If you are one of these nationalities, you can enter Spain without a visa and stay for up to 90 days in any 6-month period.

Non-EU citizens coming to work, study or live in Spain are required to obtain a visa – note that this also includes non-EU spouses and dependents. Even if you are not required to have get a visa, in order to officially stay resident in Spain everyone needs to apply for a NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) and a residency card (Tarjeta de Residente Comunitario).

The Schengen Area

Spain is a signatory to the Schengen Agreement, which enables free circulation of residents within countries in the Schengen Area. A visa granted by one of these countries is valid in the whole Schengen Area. Travelling within the Schengen Area is legally the same as travelling within Spain. If you enter Spain with a tourist visa, you will be able to stay in Spain and/or any other country in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days during any 6-month period.

In addition to Spain, the other parties to the Schengen Agreement are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.

Although you can leave the Schengen Area and come back in as many times as you need during its 6-month