Non-residents: How long can you stay in Spain without residency after Brexit?

The 90/180 day rule explained

Sam Baker, a Solicitor from De Cotta Law explains:

British second-home owners wishing to stay in Spain after Brexit are now bound by the rules of non-EU citizens. This means that you can only visit Spain for up to 90 days within any 180 day period. The 90/180-day rule applies to the whole Schengen area, not just Spain. The count starts from the day you enter the Schengen area to the day you leave.

For example, if you flew from the UK to France (entering the Schengen area), spent 5 days in Paris before flying to Málaga to spend time at your place here for a further 5 days before returning to the UK (leaving the Schengen area), you would have spent a total of 10 days in the Schengen area.

One must think of the 180 days as a moveable time frame rather than a fixed 180-day period. The 180 days are counted backwards from the date of arrival or departure from the Schengen area.

For example, if you arrived in Spain from the UK on 15 March, it would be the 180 days before 15 March that would be taken into account i.e. look back to 16 September the previous year. If you had already spent the whole months of November, December, and January in Spain (totalling 90 days) and hoped to return on 15 March, you would be refused entry.

How long can you stay in Spain after Brexit?

You can stay in Spain for a maximum of 6 months each year, with a 183 day gap in between. If you stay for longer, you will automatically become a Spanish resident, and you will be taxed on your worldwide assets and income the year after your arrival.

Example – If you spend all of March (31 days), all of April (30 days) and 29 days of May in Spain (which comes to a total of 90 days). You don’t need to wait until circa the end of November (180 days) to come back again. This is because the 180 day timeframe is a moving period and not a fixed one, e.g. once you get to September the days you spent at the beginning of March start to fall out of the 180 day ´look back´time frame. It depends on which days in the previous 180 days you were in Spain. Check out the link to the short stay visa calculator below to help you figure out how long you can stay in the Schengen area.

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Can I visit other European countries in between visits to Spain? 

The 90-day countdown starts from the first day of entry into any Schengen country, if you intend to drive through France to get to Spain for example, you will need to count the days from the moment you enter France – not Spain.

Once the 90-day allocation has been used up, European law requires that British nationals leave the EU without exceeding the mandatory limit, and do not return to any country located in the Schengen Area until a further 90 days have passed.

Short stay visa calculator

Check out this short stay visa calculator, designed by the European Commission to help you calculate how long you have spent in the Schengen area. 

Useful links

You may find the following links to external resources & information helpful

• Moving to Spain post-Brexit: all your questions answered
• Retiring to Spain post-Brexit