Staytill

How long can I stay in Spain?

Destination · EuropeChecked Updated

A long winter on the Costa del Sol is the classic way to use the full Schengen allowance. Spain sets two things alongside it: a daily sum of money you may be asked to show, and a tax line that counts the calendar year.

Spain

As a visitor
90days in any 180

Up to 90 days in any 180-day period.1

Visa
US citizens and British citizens need no visa for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.2
Money to show
Spain's Interior Ministry currently puts the money a visitor may have to show at 121.10 euros per person for each day of the stay.3
Tax line
More than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year makes you tax resident.4

CalculatorAdd your trips and see how many Schengen days you have left

Money for every day you plan to stay

At the border, Spain can ask how you will pay for your stay, and the daily sum in the card above is how it puts a figure on it. The law ties that sum to the minimum wage: a tenth of it per day and per person travelling at your expense, and never less than nine tenths of it for the trip.5

The longer the stay you plan, the bigger the figure, which is why it matters most to the people staying the full ninety days.

Worked example

A full winter in Málaga

  1. You arrive in Málaga on 5 January 2027 with no Schengen days in the past 180, planning to stay the full 90.1
  2. With the day you arrive and the day you leave both counted, 4 April 2027 is day 90 and your last day.6How we count: 5 January to 4 April 2027, both days included, is 90 days.
  3. For those 90 days, the money you may be asked to show comes to 10,899 euros.35How we count: 90 days at the ministry's 121.10 euros per person per day.

Questions people ask

How long can I stay in Spain if I own a property there?

An EU residence permit or a long-stay visa lets you stay longer than 90 days, outside this count.7

Is the 90-day rule changing?

Since 10 April 2026, the Entry/Exit System records each entry and exit of non-EU visitors on short stays at the external borders of the 29 countries using it, in place of passport stamps.8910 ETIAS is not in operation yet. The EU says it will announce the start date several months ahead.11

Does the 180-day window start over each January?

Each day of your stay looks back over the 180 days before it, and the days inside that window may not pass 90.112

Your own count

Days in Spain count twice over: against the Schengen window and against the Spanish calendar year.

Staytill, the iPhone app that counts your days in Spain and how many you have left Schengen 90/180 rule: how to count your daysSpain 183-day rule for tax residency

Sources

5 laws and 7 official pages, each with its exact words
  1. Schengen Borders Code, Art. 6(1) · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words For intended stays on the territory of the Member States of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay
  2. Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Art. 4(1) and Annex II · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words Nationals of third countries listed in Annex II shall be exempt from the requirement set out in Article 3(1) for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period.
  3. Spanish Interior Ministry, entry requirements · Ministerio del Interior (Spain's Interior Ministry) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words Actualmente, la cantidad mínima a acreditar es de 121,10 euros por persona y día Currently, the minimum amount to prove is 121.10 euros per person per day.
  4. Ley 35/2006 (IRPF), art. 9.1.a · Boletín Oficial del Estado · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words Que permanezca más de 183 días, durante el año natural, en territorio español. Para determinar este período de permanencia en territorio español se computarán las ausencias esporádicas, salvo que el contribuyente acredite su residencia fiscal en otro país. That the person stays more than 183 days, during the calendar year, in Spanish territory. To work out this period of stay in Spanish territory, sporadic absences are counted, unless the taxpayer proves tax residence in another country.
  5. Orden PRE/1282/2007, second section, 1.a) · Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE-A-2007-9608) · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words el 10% del salario mínimo interprofesional bruto o su equivalente legal en moneda extranjera multiplicada por el número de días que pretendan permanecer en España y por el número de personas que viajen a su cargo. Dicha cantidad será, en todo caso, de un mínimo que represente el 90% del salario mínimo interprofesional bruto vigente en cada momento 10% of the gross minimum wage, or its legal equivalent in foreign currency, multiplied by the number of days you intend to stay in Spain and by the number of people travelling at your expense. That amount is in any case at least 90% of the gross minimum wage in force at the time.
  6. Schengen Borders Code, Art. 6(2) · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words the date of entry shall be considered as the first day of stay on the territory of the Member States and the date of exit shall be considered as the last day of stay
  7. European Commission, short-stay calculator · European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words If you hold an EU residence permit or long-stay visa, you are not subject to the 90/180-day rule, as these documents allow you to stay longer than 90 days.
  8. European Commission, Entry/Exit System · European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words The system became fully operational on 10 April 2026.
  9. European Commission, Entry/Exit System · European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words As of 10 April 2026, the EES replaces the stamping of passports allowing the automatic detection of overstayers
  10. European Commission, Entry/Exit System · European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words The EES is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of 29 European countries using the system.
  11. Travel to Europe, ETIAS · European Commission and eu-LISA (travel-europe.europa.eu) · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point. The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch.
  12. European Commission, short-stay calculator · European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs · read 25 Oct 2026
    Exact words You must count back 180 days from each day of your stay and ensure the total number does not exceed 90.
Checked against Schengen Borders Code, Art. 6 · Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 · Ley 35/2006, art. 9 · Orden PRE/1282/2007 on 25 Oct 2026 Updated 26 Oct 2026

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