How many months of passport validity do you need for Spain?
To enter Spain, your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after the date you leave, and issued less than 10 years before the date you arrive.
The rule
- Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after the date you leave.
- Your passport must be issued less than 10 years before the date you arrive.
Check your own dates
The rule is one thing; whether your passport clears it on your travel dates is another. Turkey counts 150 days, not five months. Costa Rica counts one day. Schengen countries check two rules at once.
If you are staying a while
Different source, different confidence. Unlike the entry rule above — which comes from government advice — this profile is our own hand-maintained research, last reviewed 2026-07. Treat it as orientation, not as an official figure, and check anything you plan to act on.
What happens if you do not meet it
Airlines check validity at check-in and can refuse to board you — they face fines of 3,500 to 10,000 US dollars for carrying a passenger who is then refused entry. One denied boarding costs the traveller between 1,200 and 2,400 US dollars in lost fares, hotels and rebooking. In 2025, 1.2 million people were denied boarding or entry over passport problems, and 40% of those were validity.
Source, word for word
Spain follows Schengen area rules . Your passport must: have a 'date of issue' less than 10 years before the date you arrive – if you renewed your passport before 1 October 2018, it might have a date of issue that is more than 10 years ago, making it invalid for entry to the Schengen area have an 'expiry date' at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area (the expiry date does not need to be within 10 years of the date of issue) Check with your travel provider that your passport and other travel documents meet requirements. Renew your passport if you need to. You will be
Other destinations
Western Sahara · Burkina Faso · Federated States of Micronesia · Kuwait · New Zealand · South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (British Overseas Territory)