Spain Visa Requirements for U.S. Citizens
Europe · ES
Spain visa requirements for U.S. citizens
No visa for stays up to 90 days in any 180-day period
- U.S. passport status
- Visa free
- Visa-free days
- 90 days
- Document route
- Apostille
- Translation
- Required
- Short-stay fee
- €90
- Schengen area
- Yes
Entering Spain
U.S. passport holders enter Spain visa-free for tourism or a short business trip. The 90 days are counted across the whole Schengen area rather than per country, and since the Entry/Exit System became fully operational on 10 April 2026 that count is biometric and automatic. Anything longer, and anything involving work, study or residence, needs a national long-stay visa applied for before you travel.
ETIAS is expected to apply to visa-exempt travellers when it launches, which the European Union has signalled for late 2026. It is not in operation and you cannot apply for one yet.
Passport requirements
Valid for at least three months beyond your intended departure from the Schengen area, and issued within the previous ten years. Two blank pages.
What is specific to Spain
Spain is strict on two specific points and both produce a lot of refusals. Health insurance for long-stay visas must come from an insurer authorised in Spain with full coverage, no co-payments, no deductible and no waiting period, and generic international policies fail this test. And the non-lucrative visa prohibits all professional activity carried out in Spain, which Spanish authorities read as including remote work for a U.S. employer. Spain also abolished its investor residence route with effect from 3 April 2025, so property purchase no longer leads to residence, whatever older material says.
Visa categories for Spain
Each has its own page combining the universal process for that category with what Spain specifically requires.
Tourist and Visitor Visa
Visa-free for 90 days in any 180.
Business Visitor Visa
Visa-free within the same allowance.
Student and Study Visa
National study visa, with work permitted up to 30 hours a week since the 2022 reform, which is unusually generous.
Work and Employment Visa
Employer-led with a labour market test, plus the highly qualified professional route under the Startup Law.
Digital Nomad and Remote Work Visa
Around 2,850 euros a month. Applying in country through the Unidad de Grandes Empresas gives a three-year permit and a 20-working-day decision, which is why most applicants use that route rather than a consulate.
Family, Spouse and Partner Visa
Family reunification, or the much faster EU free movement route under Royal Decree 240/2007 where the spouse is an EU citizen.
Retirement and Passive Income Visa
The non-lucrative visa at 400 percent of IPREM, 2,400 euros a month in 2026 plus 600 euros per family member, with an absolute prohibition on work.
Investor, Golden and Entrepreneur Visa
Abolished 3 April 2025. No new applications are accepted.
Permanent Residence and Citizenship
Long-term residence after five years. Citizenship after ten years for U.S. nationals, and Spain generally requires renunciation of the previous nationality.
Where and how to apply
- Official portal
- Spanish consular network
- Where to file
- At the consulate with jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence, in person, usually through an outsourced visa application centre.
- Visa application centre
- BLS International and other contractors, varying by consulate.
- Biometrics
- Ten fingerprints and a facial image. Schengen biometrics are reused for 59 months, so a repeat applicant inside that window may be able to submit without attending in person.
- Fees
- The Schengen short-stay fee rose from 80 to 90 euros with effect from 11 June 2026. National long-stay visa fees are set nationally and are higher. A visa application centre service fee is charged on top.
- Short-stay processing
- 15 calendar days as standard, extendable to 45 in individual cases
- Long-stay processing
- Up to three months by law, commonly one to three months in practice
Documents and authentication for Spain
Spain is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so U.S. public documents are apostilled. That is a single certificate and it is the end of the chain.
Translation. Required into Spanish by a traductor jurado sworn by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or a translator the specific consulate lists as accepted.
- 1 Obtain a certified original From the issuing authority. Photocopies, scans and souvenir certificates cannot be authenticated.
- 2 Notarise, if it is a private document Letters, affidavits, powers of attorney and diploma copies need a notary acknowledgement first. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk, in some states A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate at the right level State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the ISSUING state. Federal documents, including the FBI Identity History Summary, go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or embassy legalisation Hague Convention destination: the apostille ends the chain. Non-member destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate. For Spain the apostille ends the chain.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille or legalisation certificate. Doing this first means paying twice. Required into Spanish by a traductor jurado sworn by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or a translator the specific consulate lists as accepted.
- 7 File with the right consulate Jurisdiction is by your U.S. state of residence. Bring originals plus a full copy set.
The two expensive mistakes. Sending a federal document such as an FBI Identity History Summary to a Secretary of State, which cannot authenticate it. And translating before authentication, so the apostille certificate is not inside the translation and the whole set has to be paid for twice.
Official sources
- Spanish immigration portal Legal descriptions of every residence authorisation.
- Cita previa: extranjeria appointments In-country appointment booking for the TIE card.
- Embassy of Spain in Washington Consular jurisdiction by state.
Questions about Spain
Can I work remotely on a non-lucrative visa?
No. The non-lucrative visa prohibits all professional and labour activity carried out in Spain, and Spanish authorities treat remote work performed from Spanish soil as activity in Spain regardless of where the employer sits. If you will still be earning, the digital nomad visa is the correct route and it has its own separate test.
Why does my insurance keep getting rejected?
Because Spain requires a policy from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, with full coverage, no co-payments, no deductible and no waiting period. That specific combination is why standard international and travel policies fail. Spanish insurers sell products designed to satisfy exactly this rule.
Is the golden visa still available?
No. Spain abolished the investor residence route with effect from 3 April 2025. Existing holders were protected but no new applications are accepted, and any source presenting it as available is out of date.
Verified Sep 7, 2026 Primary sources: www.inclusion.gob.es, www.exteriores.gob.es
This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal or immigration advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Visa rules, fees, processing times and entry requirements change frequently and often without notice, and individual circumstances change the answer. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific embassy or consulate that has jurisdiction over your place of residence before you book travel or file an application. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
