London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

Brits travelling to Spain must prove they can spend £85 every day during holiday

Brits travelling to Spain must prove they can spend £85 every day during holiday

Under new restrictions announced by the Spanish government, tourists from the UK must also provide proof of accommodation and evidence of a return flight or onward ticket

Brits have reacted in fury over having to prove they can spend £85 per day when travelling to Spain over the summer.

The Spanish government has released new rules stating tourists from the UK need to show they have enough money to enjoy their stay.

Brits must also provide proof of accommodation and evidence of a return flight or onward ticket.

The move has been met with backlash from travel firms, with many arguing the UK contributes hugely to the Spanish tourism sector.

Social media users also hit out at the toughened policies, reports the Manchester Evening News, with some questioning whether they are even enforceable.

Brits must also provide proof of accommodation and evidence of a return flight or onward ticket


One person wrote: "Let’s see where they are going to get their tourism from now if people chose other countries.. good luck Spain!"

Another queried: "Is this even enforceable? To check if you have at least £600 to spend, they'd have to check your bank balance.

"Accommodation is no problem as we all had to fill in forms stating where we were staying. Return tickets, to check you're not going rogue when you get there. It sounds like a misunderstanding to me, delivered as a way to scare people."

And a third added: "Pretty obvious what the Spanish are trying to do, restrict people coming for a holiday who don’t have a lot of money.

"If people are on an all inclusive holiday they are not spending money in the local area, so not helping the local economy."

Meanwhile, one woman said the rules were creating an "unnecessary hype", adding: "It will be on a spot check basis.

A Ryanair employee talks to a passenger at the check-in counters at El Prat airport in Barcelona


"Yes they are stamping all passports again now this is having to be resourced because we left Brexit and so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a surcharge for this further down the line.

"But once again this will slow passport control down for other non EU passengers and in order to avoid legal challenge the recharge would need to be payable by each non EU visitor."

While another claimed: "This is normal for every country. Visitors must be able to prove they can support themselves for the duration of their stay.

"It's not actually checked for most people, but it's one of the first checks made if officials suspect you're coming in to work illegally."

The new restrictions were announced after a U-turn on plans to ease tourist congestion at airports by giving UK passport-holders their own automatic e-gates to enter the country.

The move has been met with backlash from travel firms


But Brits are still required to have their stamps done by hand, whether they use the new gates or not.

The UK Foreign Office said: "At Spanish border control, you may need to show a return or onward ticket; show you have enough money for your stay; show proof of accommodation for your stay, for example, a hotel booking confirmation, proof of address if visiting your own property (eg second home), or an invitation from your host or proof of their address if staying with a third party, friends or family.

"The Spanish government has clarified that the ‘carta de invitation’ is one of the options available to prove that you have accommodation if staying with friends or family."

Tourists may be asked to prove they are able to spend at least €100 each day of their holiday, equating to roughly £85, alongside an additional minimum of €900 (£766.94), added the spokesperson.

The Spanish Ministry del Interior added: "Foreigners from third countries must prove if required to do so by the officials in charge of controlling the entry of people into Spanish territory, that they have economic resources for entering the country, through cash, travellers' cheques, payment letters, or credit cards, which must also be proven to have sufficient funds available on them."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
Two Planned UK Datacentres Could Produce More Annual Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobil's Entire UK Operation
London Surgeons Complete First Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Brain Tumour Removal
UK Services Growth Rebounds as Consumer Confidence Reaches Two-Year High
Ofgem Confirms Four Percent October Energy Price Cap Increase for UK Households
Government Considers Insolvency Law Changes to Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Andy Burnham Signs Artificial Intelligence Defence Pact During Visit to Kyiv
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
×