An article on the BBC gave a helpful introduction to the new digital system designed to keep track of non-EU citizens visiting the Schengen Area (which includes Spain), which comes into play on 12 October this year and needs to be fully implemented at every Schengen border crossing, by 10 April 2026.
The first time people from outside the Schengen area – so from the UK and the US, for example – use the new system, they need to register biometric information while having their passport scanned. In most cases this is done with an automated machine which will scan their passport, take fingerprints and a take photo. The machines will also ask travellers questions about their trip, such as where they are staying and if they have enough money. This registration will be valid for three years, with the details verified on each trip in during that time.
The EU is also introducing a new visa waiver system, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), to enable citizens of non-EU countries who don’t need a visa to enter the EU, to apply online for authorisation before they travel. This is due to start at the end of 2026 and will cost €20 per application, again with three years validity.
Read the full article on the BBC here.
And what difference does this make to those of us resident in Spain who welcome to our homes visitors from outside the EU or Schengen?
This is the less good part. The Spanish government, which has been such a leader in digital certificates and particularly the digitalisation of medical records, appears to be lagging badly behind in this area. An article in EuroWeeklyNews last month, gives us an insight into what will be required to obtain for our guests a ‘Carta de Invitación’.
Basically, if we welcome a guest from a non-Schengen country and invite them to stay at our home rather than a hotel, the Spanish border police can demand to see a ’Carta de Invitación’– an official letter proving they really do have the accommodation arranged. This is not something we can arrange from home – even those of us who have put time and effort into obtaining a Spanish digital certificate. No, it has to be issued by the Spanish National Police, and you have to apply for it in person at the local National Police station (Extranjería), pay a fee – potentially some €75 – and do so probably the best part of two months before your guests visit, as it takes the police a month to process, and you then need to receive it and send the original document to your guest by post, which, as we know, can take for ever.
Those familiar with the ’Carta de Invitación’ will know this is nothing new. But what EuroWeeklyNews is claiming to be new is that in 2025 Spain has ramped up its enforcement. Where border checks used to be patchy, they will now be routine, according to this news service, and all private stays must be logged with the police system, against the possibility of fines of up to €9,000, and spot checks. In effect, the government is requiring of private hosts pretty similar obligations to hotels, which are already required to register every guest with the authorities.
Is this in fact the case? Are they actually going to enforce it this time? Who knows. Only time will tell. But we need to be aware that it could be.
And if that is in fact so, then this is a rule that cannot be ignored. What is perhaps remarkable is that a government which has so successfully built Europe’s fastest growing economy, much on the basis of tourism and immigration – both of which will involve significant numbers of people coming to Spain to visit – believes that a system as clunky as this is remotely acceptable or could ever be economically beneficial.
You are strongly advised to read the full article at EuroWeeklyNews to understand the detail of the system, here. Make sure you are sitting down.