Moving to Spain as a British citizen after Brexit

Key rules

• Your status: If you arrive after 31 December 2020, you are a third-country national, not covered by the Brexit residence protections.
• Visitor limit: Visits count across all Schengen countries together, and leaving and returning does not reset the count.
• No shortcut: No UK–Spain scheme or youth mobility route exists, so longer stays need an ordinary visa route.
• Work: Visiting visa-free gives you no right to work or to live in Spain.

Where you stand as a British citizen

British citizens arriving after 31 December 2020 are third-country nationals. That means the same rules apply to you as to Americans or Canadians. You need a visa or residence authorisation for stays beyond 90 days.

The special protection for Britons only covers people who were lawfully living in Spain before 1 January 2021. They keep their Withdrawal Agreement rights under its own rules, not the ordinary visa routes, and hold the TIE-Withdrawal Agreement card. If you arrive now, you cannot get that card. A UK spouse or partner of an EU citizen uses the EU family card instead (see Do you need a visa for Spain? What your passport changes), and family of someone covered by the Withdrawal Agreement follow that agreement's own rules.

Visiting without a visa

You can enter Spain as a visitor without a visa. You may stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and the 180 days is a rolling window. Time in France, Portugal or Italy uses up the same allowance.

Time as a visitor does not build towards residence, and border runs do not reset the count; see Residence shortcuts that do not exist.

What happens at the border

• Border officers may ask why you are visiting, how you will pay for your stay and where you will sleep. Keep proof with you.
• Your passport is stamped or, under the EU Entry/Exit System, your fingerprints and photo are registered.
• ETIAS is an online travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors. Apply for it online before you travel; the fee is 20 EUR and it starts in the last quarter of 2026.

Routes if you want to stay longer

You use the ordinary routes:

• non-lucrative visa, if you can live on your own money without working in Spain
• digital nomad visa, if you work remotely for clients or employers outside Spain
• work visa, with a job offer
• study visa
• family reunification
• entrepreneur visa

Apply for the visa or authorisation that fits you before you plan to stay beyond 90 days.

If you are a family member of a non-EU resident, you can apply together with the main applicant or later by family reunification once they have held residence for at least one year.

If a visa application is refused, you can file an appeal (recurso de reposición) within 1 month, or apply again with corrected documents. You must not remain in Spain beyond 90 days meanwhile.

Documents you need

• A valid UK passport, issued less than 10 years before the day you enter and valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave.

• Proof of why you are visiting, in case the border officer asks, such as a booking or an invitation.

• Proof that you have enough money for your stay, such as a recent bank statement, in case the border officer asks.

• Proof of where you will stay, such as a hotel booking or rental agreement, in case the border officer asks.