Citizens of most EU
countries (and of Norway
and Iceland) need only a
valid national identity
card to enter Spain for
up to six months. Since
Britain has no identity
card system, however,
British citizens have to
take a passport. US,
Canadian, Australian and
New Zealand citizens do
not need a visa for
stays of up to ninety
days, but this must be
for tourism purposes
only and not for work or
study. Visa requirements
do change and it is
always advisable to
check the current
situation before leaving
home
To stay longer
, EU nationals (and
citizens of Norway and
Iceland) can apply for a
permiso de residencia
(EU residence permit)
once in Spain. A
temporary residency
permit is valid for up
to a year, and you'll
need an extension after
that (valid for up to
five years).
Applications need to be
made at the Oficina
de Extranjeros in
the main cities or at
the police station
nearest to where you'll
be taking up residency.
You'll either need to
produce proof that you
have sufficient funds (officially
around ¬30 a day) to be
able to support yourself
without working -
easiest done by keeping
bank exchange forms
every time you change
money - or you'll need
to have a contract of
employment ( contrato
de trabajo ) or
become self-employed (for
example as a teacher),
which involves
registering at the tax
office.
US citizens can apply
for one ninety-day
extension, showing proof
of funds, but this must
be done from outside
Spain. Other
nationalities will need
to get a special visa
from a Spanish consulate
before departure
Spanish embassies and
consulates
Australia , 15
Arkana St, Yarralumla,
ACT 2600 tel 02/6273
3555; 24th Floor, St
Martin's Tower, 31
Market St, Sydney, NSW
2000 tel 02/9261 2433,
consulspain@smartchat.net.au
; 4th Floor, 540
Elizabeth St, Melbourne,
VIC 3000 tel 03/9347
1966,
conspainmelb@primus.com.au
.
Britain , 20
Draycott Place, London
SW3 2RZ tel 020/7589
8989; Suite 1a, Brook
House, 70 Spring Gardens,
Manchester M2 2BQ tel
0161/236 1213; 63 North
Castle St, Edinburgh EH2
3LJ tel 0131/220 1843.
Canada , 350
Sparks St #802, Ottawa,
Ontario K1R 7S8 tel
613/237-2193,
www.docuweb.ca/SpainInCanada
; 1 Westmount Sq #1456,
Ave Wood, Montréal,
Quebec H3Z 2P9 tel
514/935-5235,
www.total.net/~consular
; 1200 Bay St #400,
Toronto, Ontario M5P 2A5
tel 416/967-4949.
Ireland , 17a
Merlyn Park, Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4 tel 01/269
1640.
New Zealand ,
contact the consulate in
Sydney.
USA , 2375
Pennsylvania Ave NW,
Washington DC 20037 tel
202/452-0100,
www.spainemb.org/ingles/indexing.htm
; 150 E 58th St, New
York, NY 10155 tel
212/355-4090,
www.spainconsul-ny.org
; 545 Boylston St #803,
Boston, MA 02116 tel
617/536-2506,
www.spainconsul-ny.org/boston.html
; 180 N Michigan Ave
#1500, Chicago, IL 60601
tel 312/782-4588,
cgspain.chicago@mail.mae.es
; 1800 Bering Drive
#660, Houston, TX 77057
tel 713/783-6200,
spainconsulatehoust@prodigy.net
; 5055 Wilshire Blvd
#960, Los Angeles, CA
90036 tel 323/938-0158,
consplax@mail.mae.esplax@mail.mae.es
; 2655 Le Jeune Rd #203,
Coral Gables, Miami, FL
33134 tel 305/446-5511,
cgspain.miami@mail.mae.es
; 2102 World Trade
Center, 2 Canal St, New
Orleans, LA 70130 tel
504/525-4951,
conspneworleans@mail.mae.es
; 1405 Sutter St, San
Francisco, CA 94109 tel
415/922-2995,
conspsfo@mail.mae.es
.
