To consider before traveling

Paperwork and documentation necessary or recommended for travelling to Spain

Entry to Spain for visits of no more than ninety days over a six month period is subject to the conditions included in the EU 2016/399 regulation of the European Parliament and the Council of March, 2016. Regulation in Spanish. Regulation in English.

General documentation:

• Hold a valid passport or travel document that is in date. The validity date of the passport or this document must be at least three months after the planned date of leaving the territory of the Member States of the European Union and must have been issued within the previous ten years.
• Most citizens of the European Union can travel within the territory just using their National Identity Documents.
• Citizens of the United Kingdom and Ireland need to carry a passport, since these countries do not belong to the Schengen area.
• In addition to their Identity Document, minors need a parental permission document in order to travel.
• Do I need a visa? Citizens from some countries that do not belong to the European Union need a visa that must be issued by the Spanish authorities. Check whether your country is amongst the countries where their citizens need to present a visa when crossing the borders and process it in sufficient time before your journey. The list may be accessed here.
• If you want further information about the requirements for travelling to Spain, please visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation web site.

Healthcare documentation:

• No special healthcare steps are required to enter Spain. Exceptionally, the Home Office, working alongside the Ministries of Health and Consumption, as well as the Ministry of Work and Immigration might require the presentation of certain medical certificates, this always being adapted to European Union legislation. The need to present these certificates will be circulated in time for travellers to be able to obtain them in their countries of origin.
• It is advisable for all travellers to include a medical history in their luggage. This makes the provision of healthcare easier in the case of an incident and it is highly recommended for patients with certain chronic or special pathologies (epilepsy, allergies to medicines…).
• Travel medical insurance. Take all the complete documentation and always keep the contact telephone number to ring if necessary to hand.

Practical advice for travelling

Keep medical documentation to hand. Keep medical documentation (European health insurance card, if you have one, and/or private policy) in an accessible place in your luggage. Check the validity and cover before departing. Remember that the European healthcare care only gives access to public healthcare services. If you have taken out travel insurance, check the care clauses abroad and go over the refunding methods that it offers. Although it is not necessary, it is useful to carry a translation of your medical history.

Medication. If you need to take prescription drugs during your journey, either for a specific treatment or due to a chronic pathology, do not forget to take your doctor’s prescriptions with you. The active ingredient appears on them, therefore it will be easier to offer you an alternative if you need it outside your country. However, try to take enough medication with your to last throughout your trip.

Carry the drugs in your hand luggage in their original containers, including the prospectus. Attach a report from your specialist that includes the information about your clinical situation, the prescribed treatment and the prescribed dosage. This medical report is necessary if you need injectable medication and ESSENTIAL when dealing with psychotropic and narcotic drugs.

Travellers’ register. Enrol on the travellers’ register enabled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in each country. At the very least, inform a close friend or relative of the your destination, the dates and the planned itinerary.

Local currency. Although currently in most tourism destinations you can pay with debit and credit cards, it is advisable to carry some local currency with you to pay for small expenses such as bus and metro tickets, a cup of coffee… and small purchases. Find out before travelling what is the legal currency in the destination country; in Spain it is the Euro.

Socket adapters. Throughout the world there are up to 14 different sockets. In addition to the shape of the plug, the voltage and the frequency of the country we are travelling to must be taken into account. If we choose the wrong plug, the apparatus plugged in might not work or could become damaged. In Spain the voltage is 230 W and the Frequency is 50Hz