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UK tourists must prove they have 100 euros per day to enter Spain
Travellers can be selected at random to verify their funds as the border in Spain
Travel throughout the EU has become much more complicated for British tourists since Brexit, and although visa-free travel to the Schengen Area is still possible for non-EU citizens such as those from the UK, some 135,000 third-country nationals were still refused entry back in 2020 as they didn’t meet the correct requirements.
Essentially, travellers from third countries need to be able to show that they have enough money to cover their trip, and Spain and France have some of the toughest requirements of the 26 Schengen countries.
“The visa waiver does not give an unconditional right of entry and stay. The Member States have the right to refuse entry and stay in their territories if one or more of the entry conditions are not met,” the European Commission has explained, and the regulations have nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, travellers arriving in Spain from third countries must have funds to cover 100 euros per day for the duration of their trip, which is equivalent to 10% of the Spanish monthly minimum wage.
According to Article 5(3) of the Schengen Area Border Code: “means of subsistence shall be assessed in accordance with the duration and the purpose of the stay, and by reference to average prices in the Member State(s)concerned for board and lodging in budget accommodation, multiplied by the number of days stayed.”
Of course, border guards can’t possibly check every traveller passing into the country and many UK citizens may never have been checked, but British travellers should be aware that they do in fact have the right to select random passengers and check their documentation.
The Spanish Ministry of Interior points out that: “Foreigners from third countries must prove, if required to do so by the officials in charge of controlling the entry of people into Spanish territory, that they have economic resources for entering the country, through cash, traveller’s checks, payment letters, or credit cards, which must also be proven to have sufficient funds available on them.”
France is even tougher on non-EU travellers, requiring a minimum of 120 euros per day if they don’t have evidence of prepaid accommodation. The rules are much more lenient in Germany and the Netherlands, where tourists need only show proof of 45 euros and 34 euros per day, respectively.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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