ProofstayGuide · Spain
The 90-day rule in Spain
Quick answer
British, American, Canadian and Australian visitors can spend 90 days in any 180 in Spain, counted together with every other Schengen country.[1,2] Owning a home there doesn't change that. To stay longer you need a Spanish visa, most often the non-lucrative visa, and once you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a year, Spain can tax you as a resident.
Visitors
90 days in any 180, across Schengen
The rule is the Schengen one, not a Spanish one: on any day you are in the area, look back 180 days and you may have spent at most 90 of them inside. Days in France, Portugal, Italy and the other Schengen countries come out of the same 90. The day you arrive and the day you leave both count.[2] Read the full explanation in the 90/180 rule, or check your own trips with the calculator.
What doesn't count
Days in the UK, Ireland, Gibraltar, Andorra (though you usually cross Spain or France to get there) and Morocco.[3] A ferry hop to Tangier is a common way to break up a long winter on the Costa del Sol, but every day you spend back in Spain still counts.
A holiday-home pattern that works
Spend 1 January to 31 March in Spain (90 days), go home, and come back from 30 June: on that day the 180-day window holds only 89 of your winter days, so you can stay another 90 days, to 27 September. Back again in late December and the pattern repeats.
The border counts for you now
Since the Entry/Exit System became fully operational in April 2026, your passport isn't stamped: your entries and exits are recorded digitally and your days are counted automatically. An overstay shows up when you leave, and can mean a fine and an entry ban.[4,5]
Staying longer
The non-lucrative visa
Spain's non-lucrative residence visa (residencia no lucrativa) is for people who can support themselves without working in Spain: retirees and others with pensions, savings or investment income. In outline:
- Income: four times Spain's IPREM index for the main applicant, which comes to EUR 2,400 a month (EUR 28,800 a year) while IPREM stays at EUR 600 a month, the level set in 2023, plus one IPREM for each family member. Check the current figure with the consulate.[6,7]
- Health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, and a clean criminal record.[6]
- No work in Spain, as employee or self-employed.[6]
- Apply in person at the Spanish consulate for where you live, before you move. After arriving you have one month to apply for your TIE card.[6]
The first authorisation lasts one year.[6] To renew it, you must have lived in Spain for more than 183 days in the year: the residence permit has a day count of its own.[8]
Other routes include the digital nomad visa (for remote workers) and, for UK nationals who lived in Spain before 1 January 2021, residence under the Withdrawal Agreement.[9] Holders of a Spanish residence permit or national visa aren't limited to 90 days in Spain, though days in other Schengen countries still count towards 90/180 there.[2]
The 183-day line
When Spain can tax you
You are tax resident in Spain for a calendar year if any of these is true:
- you spend more than 183 days in Spain in the year (temporary absences can count as days in Spain unless you prove tax residence in another country);[10,11]
- the main centre of your business or economic interests is in Spain;[11]
- your spouse (not legally separated) and minor children live in Spain, unless you prove otherwise.[11]
How the days are counted matters. Spain's central tax tribunal (TEAC) counts the days your presence is certified, the days in between that can be presumed, and short absences, so gaps in your own record can be filled in against you.[12]
A Spanish tax resident pays Spanish income tax (IRPF) as a resident, subject to the UK-Spain or US-Spain tax treaty. Someone on a non-lucrative visa, who must spend more than 183 days a year in Spain to renew it, will usually be tax resident. A visitor is not safe from it either: using the full 90/180 allowance three times (1 January to 31 March, 30 June to 27 September, and 27 to 31 December) is 185 days in Spain in one calendar year without a single overstay, over the 183-day line. Watch both counts, and ask a cross-border tax adviser if you are close.
Sources
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Spain entry requirements. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- European Commission, User manual for the short-stay Schengen calculator. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- European Commission, Schengen area. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, EES goes live on 10 April 2026. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- European Commission, Data held by the EES (retention, overstays). Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Information sheet 6: initial non-lucrative temporary residence. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- Boletín Oficial del Estado, Law 31/2022, General State Budget for 2023 (IPREM EUR 600 a month). Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Information sheet 7: renewal of non-lucrative residence (PDF). Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- UK Government, Living in Spain: residency if you moved before 1 January 2021. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT), Persona física residente en España. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT), Residencia habitual en territorio español (IRPF, art. 9). Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT), TEAC defines "days of presence" for tax residence. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
Two counts, one home in the sun
90 days for the border. 183 for the tax office.
Proofstay records the country you are in every day on your iPhone, counts your Schengen days the way the EU does and your days per country for the 183-day line, warns you before a limit, and shows a border officer your entries and exits on one screen. Free to record.
See how Proofstay works →FAQ
Spain 90-day rule questions
Can I stay in my Spanish home for more than 90 days?
Not as a visitor. Owning a home in Spain gives no right to stay. Non-EU visitors get 90 days in any 180 across the whole Schengen area. To stay longer you need a Spanish visa or residence permit, such as the non-lucrative visa.
Do days in France or Portugal count towards my 90 days in Spain?
Yes. The 90 days are for the Schengen area as a whole, so a week in France or Portugal uses the same allowance. Days in the UK, Ireland, Gibraltar, Andorra and Morocco don't count, though you usually cross Schengen to reach Andorra.
What income do I need for the non-lucrative visa?
Four times Spain's IPREM index for the main applicant, which is EUR 2,400 a month or EUR 28,800 a year while IPREM stays at EUR 600 a month (its level since 2023), plus one IPREM for each family member. You also need private health insurance and may not work in Spain. Check the current figure with the consulate.
When does Spain treat me as tax resident?
If you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, if your main business or economic interests are there, or if your spouse and minor children live there and you aren't separated. Spanish tax residence means you pay Spanish income tax (IRPF) as a resident.
I lived in Spain before Brexit. Does the 90-day rule apply to me?
Not if you were legally resident before 1 January 2021 and hold residence under the Withdrawal Agreement, usually a TIE card. Show it at the border. Your days in Spain don't count towards the 90/180 limit.