Travelling to Spain from the UK after Brexit for a holiday

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I think it’s fair to say we all deserve a well earned holiday in the Sun. However, Brexit combined with COVID has led to some confusion for UK travellers. This page will clear all your doubts so that you can plan your holiday to Barcelona with confidence. We explain the entry requirements and the documents needed to travel from the UK to Spain on a holiday after Brexit. We also cover whether you can drive a car in Spain with your UK driving licence along with if you can use your UK health insurance card for any medical emergency while in Spain. We also cover mobile phone tariffs and how roaming will work with your UK phone at the end of the page.

Fundacio Antoni Tapies Barcelona, Spain.

Tourists enjoying their holidays by the beach in Barcelona

This page will focus on entry requirements for UK citizens after Brexit however you will also need to meet the COVID entry requirements. Make sure you read to the end of this page where we cover those requirements in detail.

1. What are the travel documents needed to visit Spain after Brexit on a holiday?

For most people there will be very little difference after Brexit to visiting Spain for holiday. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020, and if you intend to spend less than 90 days in Spain during any 180 day period all you will need is a valid passport as your travel document.

• A valid passport

Your passport needs to have been issued less than 10 years from your entry date in Spain and be valid for at least 3 months after your departure date from Spain.

Therefore make sure to check the date your passport was issued and also the expiry date of your passport. Both dates are indicated on your passport.

If you see your passport will no longer be valid for your holiday in Spain, you can apply for a new UK passport on the UK government website.

Click here to apply online for a new UK passport on the UK Government website.

• No visa needed for holiday stays of up to 90 days in Spain

You do not need to apply for a visa for a holiday in Spain. Visas to travel to Spain or the Schengen area are not needed for stays up to 90 days during an 180 day period, which equals to approximately 6 months. This means you can stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days over a 6 month period without a visa.

However you will need to apply for a visa if you plan on staying in Spain or in any other country of the Schengen area for more than 90 days over a 6 month period.

Schengen area countries include: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia.

The UK government recommends you get your passport stamped when you enter and exit Spain or any Schengen country. This way you have proof of the time you spent in the country should you need it. We recommend you read the Foreign travel advice for Spain page for more details. Border authorities might check your passport stamp to ensure you’ve not exceeded the 90 day visa-free limit for stays in the Schengen area. If your passport was not stamped upon entry or exit in the Schengen area, border authorities may need further evidence you have not stayed longer than the 90 limit if they have reason to think you may have exceeded that time period. In case your passport is not stamped, just make sure to keep some evidence of when you entered or exited the Schengen area with flight boarding passes, or any other transport ticket, so that you are able to prove that you´ve not exceeded the 90 days visa-free limit in case your asked at the border controls.

• A return or onward transport ticket

Since Brexit, UK Citizens may be asked to show a return or onward ticket by the Spanish border control authorities upon arrival.

If you go on holiday to Spain from the UK, you will most likely have booked a return flight so you will just have to show your ticket to fly back home if you are requested to do so by the Spanish authorities.

• Enough money for your holiday in Spain

Most holiday makers will not be affected by this next requirements however since Brexit, UK Citizens might need to show that they have sufficient financial resources for their stay in Spain, if they were requested to do so by the Spanish border control authorities.

Having sufficient financial resources is defined by the Spanish Government as being able to prove that you have a least the amount shown below in Euros or the equivalent in Pounds. If you were requested to demonstrate you have the requested minimum amounts by the Spanish authorities upon arrival, the following proofs will be considered valid :

cash
certified cheques
traveller's cheques
letters of payment
credit cards accompanied by your bank account statement or an up-to-date bank book or any other means that shows you have the required amount available as a credit with your credit card or bank account. Letters from banks or bank statements from the Internet will not be accepted.

Amounts valid from: 01 September 2021

For stays up to 9 days:

Minimum amount needed per person to enter Spain: €868.50

For stays in Spain of up to 9 days you need to be able to show that you have the amount shown above per person.

Your arrival and departure day count as full days for the calculation, even if you´re arriving in the evening and departing in the morning.

For stays of 10 days and more:

Minimum amount required per person per day of stay in Spain: €96.50

For stays in Spain of 10 days and more, you need to multiply the amount shown above by the number of days you´re staying in Spain.

Your arrival and departure day count as full days for the calculation, even if you´re arriving in the evening and departing in the morning.

• Possible Proof of accommodation for your stay may be requested

Since Brexit, UK nationals may be asked to show proof of accommodation for their stay in Spain by the Spanish border control authorities.

E.g. your hotel booking confirmation, your tourist accommodation booking confirmation, the address proof of your second home in Spain, an invitation letter from your host in Spain if you’re going to stay with friends or family.

You can double check the entry requirements for Spain when flying from the UK on the UK government foreign travel advice page.

There are additional entry requirements for UK nationals which apply during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to reading this page, we recommend you also read the page you will find by following the link below to know about the special entry requirements to Spain during COVID:

COVID-19 travel requirements for UK nationals on holiday to Spain during the pandemic

2. Can I drive a car in Spain with my UK driving licence?

According to the UK Government website page on driving abroad, the UK photo card driving licences are valid to drive in Spain for period of up to 6 months. Therefore, you do not need to apply for an international driving permit for a holiday in Spain.

An international driving permit may be needed if you have a paper driving licence or if your licence was issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man. If you are in this situation, you should contact the UK embassy in Spain to enquire.

Should you need an international driving permit, note that you can easily get it at any post office in the UK for a small fee. You can more information on the international driving page of the UK post office.

3. Since Brexit, can I still get public healthcare during my holiday to Spain if anything happens to me?

Yes, you can get public healthcare. There are two UK health cards that give you access to public healthcare in Spain:

• The UK European Health Insurance Card commonly referred to as the UK EHIC
• The UK Global Health Insurance Card commonly referred to as the UK GHIC

Both cards give you access to the public health system in Spain for medically necessary healthcare, e.g. emergencies. For more details on the medically necessary services covered by your UK Health Insurance Card in Spain, check the NHS page on healthcare cover abroad, under section How to use your card.

If you have an existing UK EHIC, your card remains valid until its expiration date.
If your UK EHIC is expiring in the next 6 coming months or if your UK EHIC has already expired, you will need to apply for a UK GHIC.

Before travelling to Spain, make sure to check the validity of your UK EHIC or UK GHIC.

Both cards are valid in Spain and cover the same healthcare. The differences between the 2 cards is that the UK EHIC is valid in EU countries, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein whereas the UK GHIC is only valid in EU countries and Switzerland and that more counties may be added in the future to the UK GHIC when it’s not the case with the UK EHIC. These differences do not have any impact on the public healthcare coverage you’ ll get in Spain should you need to.

You can apply free of charge for a new UK EHIS or UK GHIC on the NHS website

Click here to apply for your UK EHIC or UK GHIC on the NHS website

4. Brexit and roaming while in Spain

Since Brexit, UK mobile operators are allowed to apply roaming fees if you use your mobile data in Europe including Spain. We recommend you check with your mobile operator whether they will charge you for using your smartphone data while in Spain.

If your mobile operator will be charging you extra for roaming, you might want to consider getting a WiFi hotspot for your stay in Spain to have WiFi anytime at a reasonable price.

Even after Brexit, travelling to Spain remains easy. You need a valid passport and you do not need to apply for a visa as long as you do not spend more than 90 day in the Schengen area during a 6 month period. UK Citizens upon arrival to Spain, may be asked to present a return ticket to the UK, in addition to having financial resources to cover your holiday expenses in Spain, and that you have a tourist accommodation booked or that you have an invitation letter showing you are staying with friends and family. The format of the invitation letter can be found on the Spanish Ministry of Interior website. You can still use your UK driving licence to drive a car during your holiday and your UK health insurance card should you need urgent medical care.

COVID Entry Requirements for UK nationals visiting Spain on holidays

There are additional entry requirements for UK nationals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to reading this page, we strongly recommend you also read the page below to know about the special entry requirements to Spain during COVID: