What you can and cannot do on a tourist stay in Spain

Key rules

• Local work: Never work for a Spanish employer or Spanish clients on a tourist stay.
• Remote work: Occasional remote work for a foreign employer is generally tolerated, but longer remote work needs the digital nomad visa or a residence route.
• Residence time: Tourist days never count toward residence, long-term residence or citizenship.
• Healthcare: Without an EHIC or insurance, you are billed for care, including emergency care.

The short answer

A tourist stay allows tourism-type activity only. Local work is prohibited, remote work is a grey area, and no residence rights build up while you are here. The rules below are for non-EU visitors unless stated. EU citizens can work freely and simply register if they stay.

Working in Spain

You may not work for a Spanish employer or Spanish clients. Visa-free entry or a short-stay visa is not a work permit. Working without authorisation is an offence, and both you and the employer risk fines and expulsion. Business meetings are a limited exception, because they are not employment.

Working remotely for a foreign employer

No Spanish rule expressly allows remote work on a tourist stay. In practice, occasional work for a foreign employer with no Spanish clients is generally tolerated and unlikely to be checked at the border. Do not rely on it for a long stay.

If you want to work remotely for longer, use the digital nomad visa or another residence route. These have been available since 2023. Apply before you arrive.

Renting a home

You can legally sign a lease as a visitor. For a short-term or tourist rental, a passport is enough, and the host must register you with the police. Tourist rentals need a registration number, and regional and local rules vary, so check that the listing shows one.

For a long-term lease, landlords usually ask for more. The documents block below lists them. Expect a deposit of one month's rent. A seasonal lease is a different contract from a lease for a main home.

Healthcare

You have no general right to Spain's public health system. If you are from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, your European Health Insurance Card, or its provisional replacement certificate, covers medically necessary care on the same terms as Spanish residents. It does not cover planned treatment. UK visitors can use a GHIC, and some countries have bilateral agreements.

Other visitors get emergency care in public hospitals but are billed unless insured. Take travel medical insurance, which is normally required for a visa anyway.

No residence rights

Days as a tourist, up to 90 days in 180, do not count toward temporary or long-term residence. They do not count toward Spanish nationality either. Nationality needs legal, continuous residence under a residence authorisation. That is generally 10 years, 2 years for some nationalities such as Ibero-American, Andorran, Filipino and Portuguese, and 1 year in some special cases.

Switching to residence from inside Spain

As a rule, you apply at a Spanish consulate abroad and get the visa before you enter. A tourist stay does not let you switch. The exceptions are mainly the arraigo permits, which are exceptional-circumstances routes based on social, labour, family or training ties. They usually need 2 to 3 years of earlier presence in Spain. Some entrepreneur and highly qualified cases can apply from inside Spain if you are legally there. Rules changed in 2025, so check current requirements with the Oficina de Extranjería. The decision block below helps you choose a route.

Choosing between options

How do you get a residence permit if you arrived as a tourist?

• Apply at a consulate abroad: You are a non-EU national with no special case.

• Apply from inside Spain under an exception: You qualify for arraigo (social, labour, family or socioformativo), which usually needs 2-3 years of prior presence, or for international protection, certain family reunification, study-to-work changes, or some entrepreneur or highly qualified cases.

• Register only: You are an EU citizen. You do not need a permit and simply register.

If you fit one of the exceptions, apply at the Oficina de Extranjería or online; otherwise apply at a consulate abroad before you travel.

Documents you need

• Passport: enough for a short-term or tourist rental. The host must register you with the police.

• Passport and NIE (Spain's foreigner ID number): landlords usually ask for both on a long-term lease.

• Proof of income or a guarantee: landlords usually ask for one of them on a long-term lease.

• Travel medical insurance: other visitors get emergency care in public hospitals but are billed unless insured.

• European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or its provisional replacement certificate: EU, EEA and Swiss visitors use it for medically necessary care. UK visitors use a GHIC.

Checklist

• Do not take any work for Spanish clients or a Spanish employer while you are here as a tourist.

• Keep any remote work for your foreign employer occasional, and ask the Oficina de Extranjería (the immigration office) before relying on it.

• Apply for the digital nomad visa or a residence route before you arrive if you plan to work remotely for longer.

• Ask the landlord what documents they want before you agree a lease, and check that a tourist rental shows a registration number.

• Apply for a residence permit at a Spanish consulate abroad before you travel, because a tourist stay does not let you switch inside Spain.

Short stays in Spain, quick answers

Do days in other Schengen countries count toward my days in Spain?

Yes, days in any other Schengen country count together with your days in Spain, because the allowance is one shared pool. The members include France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Romania. Ireland, Cyprus and the UK are not in Schengen, so days there do not count.

Do day trips to Gibraltar, Andorra or Morocco count as days in Spain?

No, days in Gibraltar, Andorra or Morocco do not count, because all three are outside Schengen. Ceuta and Melilla are different: they are Spanish territory inside Schengen, so days there count. Expect border checks when you cross back into Spain.

Can I rent a home in Spain as a visitor without residence?

Yes, you can legally sign a lease without residence, but the paperwork depends on the type of rental. For a long-term lease, landlords usually ask for a passport, a NIE (foreigner tax ID number), proof of income or a guarantee, and a deposit of one month's rent. For a tourist rental, a passport is usually enough, and the rental must have a registration number.

Can I open a bank account in Spain as a tourist?

Sometimes, because it depends on the bank. Banks usually ask for a passport, a NIE, proof of address and the reason you need the account. Some offer only limited non-resident accounts and some refuse tourists, so try more than one bank.

Do I have to register with the town hall if I stay several months as a tourist?

No, a tourist has no duty to register with the town hall. The padrón (the municipal register) is for people who live in the town habitually, and registering would not give you legal residence anyway. Your hotel or host records your details and passes them to the police, so you do nothing extra.

Is guest registration different in a hotel than in a private let?

No, hotels and private hosts have the same duty to collect your details and send them to the police within 24 hours. Expect to give your name, nationality, passport number, date of birth, address, phone, email and payment details, plus those of anyone travelling with you. Children under 14 are registered with an adult's details.