Do British tourists need a letter of invitation?

Do you really need a letter of invitation to stay with friends or family in Lanzarote? Don’t panic… In this article we explain all the details of the regulation.

Articles in the British press recently revived the issue of post-Brexit British tourists requiring letters of invitation when staying with family and friends in Spain. However, on Lanzarote, there currently appears to be little to worry about.

The Express and Mirror were among the newspapers which printed warnings that fines of up to €8,000 could be handed out to visitors attempting to enter Spain without relevant documentation.

These rules require those entering Spain to present proof of accommodation, as well as “sufficient funds” amounting to €100 a day, with a minimum of €900.

A hotel or Airbnb booking is one way of proving accommodation, but the matter is more complicated when visiting family and friends in Spain. In this case, it is the responsibility of the host to apply to their local police station for a carta de invitación (letter of invitation). Once approved by the police – a process which may take some time – the letter must then be sent to the person planning to travel.

The rules are part of the Schengen Treaty and are not new. Latin American residents, for example, have had to apply for letters of invitation for several years. However, British citizens only became subject to them after leaving the EU in 2021. At that time, similar articles appeared, causing worries among potential visitors.

However, a vital detail is that the duty on border guards to check that the rules are being followed is potestativo (optional) and can be exercised or not “depending on the situation at the border crossing and at their discretion”. And it seems that, at the majority of border crossing points including the Canaries, official policy is not to enforce the regulation.

This makes sense. Tourism is one of Spain’s major industries and the British market is hugely important to it. Cases of Britons being turned back or fined would be hugely damaging to the country’s reputation as a welcoming tourist destination.

As a result, we have been unable to find a single report of British citizens being fined or turned back at any of Spain’s tourist regions or major cities for not fulfilling the requirements. On the Canaries, it simply hasn’t happened.

There is one unconfirmed report of border guards at La Verja de Gibraltar turning back British tourists. However, this is a land border with a long history of smuggling, military activity and tension between the Gibraltar government and Spain. Even then, no fines were reported.

So, while the possibility exists that the law could theoretically be enforced in the Canaries, it is not happening now, and the policy is unlikely to change.

Currently, all that tourists need to worry about having before arriving in Spain is having a valid passport that does not expire until three months after the planned date of departure; and that their stay does not exceed the 90 days within 180-day limit also laid down by the Schengen treaty.

In 2025, when the ETIAS security system is introduced, they will also have to fill in an online visa waiver form and pay €7.