Barcelona Visa Guide
Because Spain is a member of the European Union, if you are a citizen of the EU or a resident of an EU country, you are entitled to live and work in Spain. For other nations, read on.
There are 6 types of Spanish visas:
- Retirement Visa
- Student Visa
- Investors and Self-employment Visa
- Non-lucrative Visa
- Work-exempt Visa
- Family Reunification Visa
There is also a general Schengen visa, which allows you to travel freely for a total of 90 days in the Schengen area (the European countries that have signed the Schengen treaty). Be aware that not all EU countries are part of the Schengen Area, and some non-EU countries (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland) are members. Below is a list of Schengen countries:
- Austria
- Germany
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Greece
- Iceland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Norway
- Portugal
- Spain
- Sweden
- The Netherlands
The Schengen Area works like this…
If you are from one of the countries that are granted an automatic Schengen visa, you don´t need to do anything except get on a plane to be able to travel freely for up to 90 days out of any 180 day period. Nationals of the following countries do not need Schengen visas:
EU Countries; Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong (Blue Passports Only), Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea (Rep Of), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland, Uruguay, USA, Vatican City, and Venezuela.
If you are not on the list of countries above, you will need a Schengen visa to visit Spain or one of the Spanish-specific visas. Details on all of these can be found in the next section, Types of Visas.
There is an interesting exception to the countries listed above: New Zealand. While all of the countries listed above only have 90 days in any 180 days in the entire Schengen area, New Zealand has negotiated bilateral treaties with a number of Schengen countries, allowing NZ citizens 90 days in EACH country, rather than the entire Schengen area. These treaties override the Schengen treaty and the European Commission had confirmed their validity. Countries that allow New Zealanders 90 day, visa-free stays are:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Iceland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
