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BRITONS IN SPAIN

FACT CHECK: Spain’s ‘£97 daily rule’ isn’t new nor a worry for British tourists

The British tabloids are at it again causing alarm over the so-called '£97 daily rule’ which Spain is apparently imposing on UK tourists, who in turn are threatening to ‘boycott’ the country. 

Published: 15 April 2024 14:28 CEST
Updated: 20 April 2024 07:22 CEST
FACT CHECK: Spain's '£97 daily rule' isn't new nor a worry for British tourists
There is no evidence that British tourists have been asked to provide proof of financial means when arriving in Spain. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

American playwright Eugene O’Neill once said: “There is no present or future – only the past, happening over and over again – now”.

In 2022, The Local Spain wrote a fact-checking article titled ‘Are UK tourists in Spain really being asked to prove €100 a day?‘, in which we dispelled the claims made in the British press about Spain’s alleged new rules for UK holidaymakers.

Two years on in 2024, the same eye-catching headlines are resurfacing in Blighty: “’Anti-British? Holiday elsewhere!’ Britons fume as tourists in Spain warned they may be subject to additional rules” in GB News, or “’They would be begging us to come back’: Brits vow to ‘boycott Spain’ over new £97 daily rule” in LBC.

The return of this rabble-rousing ‘news’ in the UK has coincided with calls within Spain to change the existing mass tourism model that’s now more than ever having an impact on the country’s housing crisis.

Even though Spaniards behind the protests have not singled out any foreign nationals as potential culprits, the UK tabloids have unsurprisingly capitalised on this and run headlines such as “Costa del Sol turns on British tourists”.

READ MORE: Why does hatred of tourists in Spain appear to be on the rise?

What is the so-called ‘£97 daily rule’?

Yes, there is theoretically a ‘£97 a day rule’, but it is not a new rule, nor one that applies only to UK nationals specifically, and not even one that Spain alone has imposed (all Schengen countries set their financial means threshold).

As non-EU nationals who are not from a Schengen Area country either (the United Kingdom never was in Schengen), British tourists entering Spain could have certain requirements with which to comply if asked by Spanish border officials.

Such requirements include a valid passport, proof of a return ticket, documents proving their purpose of entry into Spain, limits on the amount of time they can spend in Spain (the 90 out of 180 days Schengen rule), proof of accommodation, a letter of invitation if staying with friends or family (another controversial subject in the British press when it emerged) and yes, proof of sufficient financial means for the trip.

Third-country nationals who want to enter Spain in 2024 may need to prove they have at least €113,40 per day (around £97), with a minimum of €972 (around £830) per person regardless of the intended duration of the stay. It is unclear whether this could also possibly apply to minors.

The amount of financial means to prove has increased slightly in 2024 as it is linked to Spain’s minimum wage, which has also risen. 

Financial means can be accredited by presenting cash, traveller’s checks, credit cards accompanied by a bank account statement, an up-to-date bank book or any other means that proves the amount available as credit on a card or bank account.

Have Britons been prevented from entering Spain for not having enough money?

There is no evidence that UK holidaymakers have been prevented from entering Spain after not being able to show they have £97 a day to cover their stay, nor any reports that they have been asked to show the financial means to cover their stay either. 

17.3 million UK tourists visited Spain in 2023; equal to roughly 47,400 a day. 

Even though British tourists have to stand in the non-EU queue at Spanish passport control, they do not require a visa to enter Spain and the sheer number of UK holidaymakers means that they’re usually streamlined through the process, having to only quickly show their passports.

The only occasional hiccups that have arisen post-Brexit have been at the land border between Gibraltar and Spain (issued that are likely to be resolved soon), and these weren’t related to demonstrating financial means. 

Therefore, the British press are regurgitating alarmist headlines that don’t reflect any truth, but rather pander to the ‘they need us more than we need them’ mantra that gets readers clicking. 

To sum up, there is a £97 a day rule, but it is not new, it has not affected any British tourists to date, and it is not specific to Spain alone to potentially require proof of economic means. 

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BREXIT

‘Get the TIE now’: Brits in Spain urged to exchange residency document

The British Embassy in Madrid says it's “really important” that the 200,000+ UK nationals in Spain with a green residency certificate exchange it for a TIE card "as soon as possible" to avoid issues with the EU’s new Entry Exit System. 

Published: 13 May 2024 17:00 CEST
'Get the TIE now': Brits in Spain urged to exchange residency document

British authorities in Spain have urged thousands of Brits in Spain who have held onto their old green Spanish residency certificates since Brexit “to follow suit and get a TIE as soon as possible, ahead of the introduction of the EU’s new Entry Exit System (EES), expected in autumn this year”.

“It’s really important that any British person who lives in Spain gets the TIE – not only because it is the most durable and dependable way to prove your rights in Spain, but also to avoid disruption at the border when the EU’s Entry Exit Scheme comes into force,” outgoing British Ambassador Hugh Elliott said in the statement to the press.  

“We are working with the Spanish Government and the EU to prepare for the implementation of this new scheme and we have requested that more TIE appointments are made available.”

READ MORE: How Brits in Spain can exchange their green residency document for a TIE in 2024

The green certificate – issued in either card or A4 sheet size – is the residency document of EU nationals and is officially called Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión. They do not contain a photo, nor do they have an expiry date, and they’re sometimes wrongly called NIEs. 

Example of a smaller green residency certificate, which used to be issued to UK nationals residing in Spain before Brexit took place.

The British Embassy has encouraged Brits with these green certificates to exchange them since the Spanish government began issuing Withdrawal Agreement TIEs to Brits in July 2020.

However, the exchange has never been made compulsory, just strongly encouraged.

The TIE, which stands for Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, is the biometric residence card that non-EU residents in Spain get, so this corresponds to the new status of UK nationals. 

A 2023 study by Spain’s Immigration Observatory revealed that more than half of UK nationals living in Spain last year hadn’t exchanged their green residency documents for TIEs following Brexit. 

This amounted to 211,274 UK nationals residing in Spain who preferred to keep their green certificates rather than follow the advice of British authorities.

However in their latest announcement, the British Embassy says “most British people living in Spain already have the TIE, having abandoned the formerly issued paper Green Certificate following Brexit”.  

The justification for encouraging the exchange up to now has been mainly to avoid problems with border and airport officials, as there have been some British travellers whose green certificates were not recognised as valid residency documents and weren’t allowed to board their flights.

“The biometric TIE proves that the holder is a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary with the right to reside and work in Spain,” the embassy writes. 

So what’s changed now to increase the urgency of British authorities? 

The EU’s new Entry Exit system, which has been marred with problems and delays since its announcement.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Spain and the EU’s new Entry Exit System

“The EES will require all non-EU short stay travellers to register via an automated system at the border. They will need to provide their name, passport details, biometric data (fingerprints and captured facial images) and the date and place of entry and exit upon entering Spain,” wrote the British Embassy in Madrid on Monday. 

“This will replace the current passport stamping at the border. These details will be held on file for three years, meaning Britons making repeat visits to Spain within a three-year period will not have to go through the same registration process each time.  

“To be exempt from registering with the EES, British residents in the EU will need to show a valid uniform-format biometric card, which in Spain is the TIE.” 

In essence, as the EU’s travel system is going fully digital and biometric, the green certificates will no longer be accepted. 

As the UK Embassy writes: “The non-biometric Green Certificate, though a valid residency document in Spain, was issued prior to EU Exit and does not feature in the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement or in Annex 22 of the Schengen Border Guard Handbook. 

“Therefore, it is expected that Green Certificate holders may lose out on the chance to be exempt from registering. 

“As a result, they may encounter difficulties and delays at the border, especially when entering other EU countries where the Green Certificate may not be recognised.”

It’s important to note that the British Embassy has not stated that is now compulsory for Brits to exchange their green certificates for TIEs, but they are strongly advised to do so.

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