Spanish entry documents needed ?

[Lizremedy]

I am travelling with my husband - I am on a UK passport, he on SA so is getting a visa. For me to enter spain, please clarify which documents I need, besides passport?
1.Can I use husband's proof of finance - I don't work. Do I need my own set of his bank statements?
2. Letter of invitation - he got the letter from the SA Confraternity of St James, explaining he is doing pilgrimage hence not fixed accommodation bookings, etc. I don't have this. Do I need one - or something else in its place?
3. There are 14 documents required for the schengen visa - do I actually need to bring all of those for me too, despite the UK passport?
Sorry if I sound dumb, only had the UK passport a few months and had assumed it meant free travel between EU states. Now it seems I need a bunch of other stuff and Im panicking as we go in 5 weeks. Any advice from EU or UK passport holders most welcome!

 

[Mark Day]

A UK passport should be all you need. Brexit may change that, but I don't expect that to happen in the near future.

 

[Lizremedy]

A UK passport should be all you need. Brexit may change that, but I don't expect that to happen in the near future.

So no proof of income, no letter of invitation? Just passport, nothing else?

 

[Lizremedy]

So no proof of income, no letter of invitation? Just passport, nothing else?

BTW we will finish and leave spain 2 days before Brexit deadline

 

[Former member 49149]

I have a UK passport and all I have to do when flying to Spain is fill in the Advanced Passenger Information page (API) that you should find if you search your airline reference page

 

[Former member 49149]

BTW we will finish and leave spain 2 days before Brexit deadline

Good luck if you know that date.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Frankly, given the situation at the House of Commons right now, the actual answer is "have not got even the foggiest".

Although I seem to remember that it is still possible for the nationals of one EU Member State to apply for a visa from another EU Member State ?? But it might be too late for you to do that, dunno ...

Though -- I'm not sure what your particular plans are, but you will still in five weeks time still have the right to travel to an EU country, and then after that point if you spend the whole of your time from November 1st onwards (if there's a "no deal Brexit" on that date) in a single country, and then only travel after that from that country to SA, you should probably be OK (there will likely be huge numbers of British people in similar situations all over Europe, and the Authorities will probably be understanding towards those that they'd view as being "honest tourists") -- though you should probably make sure that you have your return tickets with you as proof and demonstration of your intention to go back home at such and such a date.

 

[JabbaPapa]

BTW we will finish and leave spain 2 days before Brexit deadline

Then literally ALL that you need is your British passport -- you should have opened with that info LOL

 

[Lizremedy]

Frankly, given the situation at the House of Commons right now, the actual answer is "have not got even the foggiest".

Although I seem to remember that it is still possible for the nationals of one EU Member State to apply for a visa from another EU Member State ?? But it might be too late for you to do that, dunno ...

Though -- I'm not sure what your particular plans are, but you will still in five weeks time still have the right to travel to an EU country, and then after that point if you spend the whole of your time from November 1st onwards (if there's a "no deal Brexit" on that date) in a single country, and then only travel after that from that country to SA, you should probably be OK (there will likely be huge numbers of British people in similar situations all over Europe, and the Authorities will probably be understanding towards those that they'd view as being "honest tourists") -- though you should probably make sure that you have your return tickets with you as proof and demonstration of your intention to go back home at such and such a date.

Thanks, yes all a shambles. I've been so focused on the masses of hoops to jump thro for hubby's visa, I completely forgot to check my own requirements. Would really be a bummer to be turned away and him let in!

 

[Roland49]

As far as I am informed, is that all Schengen-states will accept the Passport as a valid travel-ID.
No other document is needed. You are totally free to roam all states of the Schengen-agreement.

It will change after the Brexit, but who will know when this will happen?

 

[Jan_D]

"If you hold a British Citizen passport, you don’t need a visa to enter Spain." (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain/entry-requirements)

Your husband should be fine just showing his passport+ visa to the border authorities on arrival in Spain. However it is recommended that he bring additional documents in case the officials ask for further information (e.g. proof of funds, length of stay, etc). As someone who used to travel a lot on a Schengen visa, I was never asked to prove anything, but probably better to be safe than sorry: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy/schengen_area_en

 

[t2andreo]

For brevity, here is the direct link to the 'EU Short Stay Calculator.'

Short-stay Visa Calculator

With the aid of the Short-stay Visa Calculator, you can calculate how many travel days remain under your Schengen short-stay visa.

ec.europa.eu

It would be great if this were made a resource here in the Forum...

Hope this helps.

 

[t2andreo]

Taking my own advice, I just posted the link to this calculator in the Resources / Travel section.

Enjoy!

 

[Tia Valeria]

You are expected to have at least 6 months left on your passport and post Brexit the UK passport is valid for 10 years from the date of issue. The 'extra' months will no longer count. Many of us have passports that were issued dated from renewal application plus the remaining weeks or months to 10 years on from the original expiry date. (Eg a passport that expired Sept 2018, renewed June 2018, valid until September 2028, will only be accepted as valid until June 2028)
The UK passport validity checker is a very useful tool too. (Currently dated for travel after 31st October but the information is the same whatever.)

Taking my own advice, I just posted the link to this calculator in the Resources / Travel section.

Enjoy!

Perhaps you could add the Passport check also to the resource please

 

[JabbaPapa]

You are expected to have at least 6 months left on your passport

This is an increasingly common and yet serious abuse of the basics of the International Law on these matters.

 

[t2andreo]

You are expected to have at least 6 months left on your passport and post Brexit the UK passport is valid for 10 years from the date of issue. The 'extra' months will no longer count. Many of us have passports that were issued dated from renewal application plus the remaining weeks or months to 10 years on from the original expiry date. (Eg a passport that expired Sept 2018, renewed June 2018, valid until September 2028, will only be accepted as valid until June 2028)
The UK passport validity checker is a very useful tool too. (Currently dated for travel after 31st October but the information is the same whatever.)

Perhaps you could add the Passport check also to the resource please

Done! Check the resource.... I copied your text over and credited you as the source.

Here is a direct link, in reply to Tia’s request:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/eu-short-stay-calculator.64274/

Hope this helps.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Done! Check the resource.... I copied your text over and credited you as the source.

Do you think you could add a link here to the resource section post please. i have searched and searched but cannot find it.
Edit - found it by going in through 'new resources' so hope it shows up in the general heading later but not the UK passport link one.

 

[Tia Valeria]

This is an increasingly common and yet serious abuse of the basics of the International Law on these matters.

Some British passports were renewed with an expiry date more than 10 years from the date of issue so the extra time is not valid. The 6 months is I think so that you have time within the country and to get home on the same passport. Not sure if it is imposed for short trips.

 

[LesR]

Some British passports were renewed with an expiry date more than 10 years from the date of issue so the extra time is not valid. The 6 months is I think so that you have time within the country and to get home on the same passport. Not sure if it is imposed for short trips.

My understanding is that the "6 months left on the passport" is generally a requirement of the host country, and checking of the expiry date of your passport as you pass out through your country's emmigration control is a courtesy action (to you and to the host country) and and checks by the airline are to minimise the risk to them that you may not be allowed into the host country and become a liability for the airline.

Further, I gather that some countries may have a smaller margin (eg. 3 months).

Regarding the requirement (or not) for a visa - Australian are able to enter a group of 26 European countries for up to 90 days total in a 12 month period without the need for a visa under the Schengen Agreement (google it?).

Not sure if the UK has a parallel arrangement with the Schengen countries or not... check with the relevant UK government website for confirmation?

 

[JabbaPapa]

Not sure if the UK has a parallel arrangement with the Schengen countries or not... check with the relevant UK government website for confirmation?

The current situation is that the UK is a Member State of the European Union, so that as long as this situation persists no such arrangement exists, as nationals of those Member States may move freely in the EU.

However, that will change to a greater or lesser degree after the UK exits the EU.

If that occurs under "no deal", then that arrangement as you have described it will apply to those UK nationals who are not officially resident in one of those EU Member States.

If it occurs according to some "deal" i.e. some transitional agreement, then whatever arrangements that will have been agreed and approved via treaty shall become applicable instead. (but roughly, as far as I know, the basis of those would be those 90 days in any 12 month period)

 

[LesR]

However, that will change to a greater or lesser degree after the UK exits the EU.

Ain't Brexit fun!

 

[Kathor1]

Not sure if the UK has a parallel arrangement with the Schengen countries or not... check with the relevant UK government website for confirmation?

There are no uniform rules about the validity of passports for people who hold a passport from an EU country and travel within the EU. There are no specific Schengen rules for them. They are subject to a variety of international treaties, some of them quite old but still in force. Some categories of EU nationals can still travel to Spain with passports that are expired, for example up to a year! It’s pointless to make any claims about legal dispositions for them on the basis of the rules for non-EU nationals that are familiar to many on the forum.

The current advice for UK passport holders is here:

Travel or do business in Europe: Brexit guidance

Find out how new Brexit rules apply to things like travelling, working, studying and doing business with Europe in or with EU countries.

www.gov.uk

It is advice and not an exact reflection of current law because the situation for UK nationals who plan to travel to another EU country is considered as somewhat fluid right now. They advice UK passport holders to make sure that their passport is still valid for 6 months and has been issued within the last 10 years. This has already been mentioned in the thread. There is a calculator on the UK government’s website to check whether your passport is ok or whether you should renew it. This is a different calculator than the calculator for working out your 90 days in Schengen if you do not hold a UK passport.

The OP has a recently issued UK passport and wants to travel to Spain. None of this is of any concern to her. All she has to do is grab her passport and enjoy the trip. Bon voyage, @Lizremedy!

 

[Former member 49149]

Re API. I found this just now. It might be useful/necessary.
Spain
Spanish legislation requires the following information from all passengers travelling to Spain from countries that are not part of the Schengen area as well as those returning to the country.

Passport information including:
Passport number
Country issuing the passport (issued within the past ten years)
Passport expiry date (at least three months after leaving the Schengen Area)
Name (as it appears on the passport)
Surname
Sex
Date of birth
Nationality
*Countries in the Schengen area:

Germany, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland

 

[Kathor1]

Re API.

I had to look up what API is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Passenger_Information_System

It applies to people who arrive by air in Spain. If I’m not mistaken you have to provide these data when you buy your plane ticket. It doesn’t apply to people who arrive by ferry, train, bus, car or on foot.

 

[Former member 49149]

Yes, you are correct. I had written earlier what API is,
“I have a UK passport and all I have to do when flying to Spain is fill in the Advanced Passenger Information page (API) that you should find if you search your airline reference page”.
I presumed, perhaps mistakenly, that the Op would be flying.

 

[Kathor1]

Yes, you are correct. I had written earlier what API is,
“I have a UK passport and all I have to do when flying to Spain is fill in the Advanced Passenger Information page (API) that you should find if you search your airline reference page”.
I presumed, perhaps mistakenly, that the Op would be flying.

I added my comment because there are perhaps other readers who may not read the whole thread, as I obviously didn’t read or remember it all ☺ and also because the thread has branched out into touching on all sorts of combinations of travellers, countries, and means of transport.☺

Btw, your quote correctly states, that according to the EU law for those who are subject to the Schengen border code, their passport has to be valid for at least 3 months on the day of leaving the Schengen area. So strictly speaking, it doesn’t have to be 6 months as recommended by the UK government, Brexit or no Brexit. 6 months is a good rule of the thumb, though.

 

[Kathor1]

Just as a matter of curious facts you didn’t know and may not care to know: I checked government websites of Germany, Austria and Switzerland and all three of them state that their nationals can travel with passports that have expired to a number of other countries (remember: the fact that there is no border control doesn’t mean that you can travel without travel document) and that includes travel to Spain: Germans for up to a year after the expiry date, Austrians for up to five years after their passport expired. They also say that this will not work when you fly because air travel is subject to a different set of rules. They recommend, however, to actually have passports that are not expired.

French nationals may also travel to Spain with expired ID (depending on the date of issue, for up to 5 years after expiration date).

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Regarding the requirement (or not) for a visa - Australian are able to enter a group of 26 European countries for up to 90 days total in a 12 month period without the need for a visa under the Schengen Agreement (google it?).

Citizens of Australia and New Zealand have lots of countries giving them special breaks. If they are careful about following the rules they can spend years in Europe as tourists. They should check out this web page: https://thefreedominitiative.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/unlimited-visa-in-europe-for-free-maybe/

Google more after reading that because it will help you narrow down the search.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Ain't Brexit fun!

Non-stop free entertainment ...

Grab your family pack of pop-corn !!

 

[AndrewDavOz]

Free

Non-stop free entertainment ...

Grab your family pack of pop-corn !!

but someone is paying, might be the uk taxpayer...