Full list of Spain’s new travel rules – including strict dress code, smoking bans & drinks limits
AS BRITS prepare to jet off for their warm Spanish holidays, new rules have been introduced in the popular party destination.
Ranging from passports rules, smoking bans and dress code restrictions – here’s the full list to make sure you’re prepared.
Passports
The UK Foreign Office updated their passport advice in May last year.
Before jetting off to Spain, make sure to check that your passport has at least three months left on it.
A second rule no longer allows passports to be more than 10 years old. Previous rules allowed them to be up to 10 years and nine months.
Guidance states: “Your passport must be:
- issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the ‘date of issue’)
- valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)
“You must check your passport meets these requirements before you travel.
“If your passport was issued before 1 October 2018, extra months may have been added to its expiry date.”
This is because the expiry date may not be correct – and Brits need to check the start date instead.
Spending money
As for money, Brits are now required to show that they have at least £85 to spend each day – or could be turned away at the border.
Fuming Brits have lashed out at the border control’s restrictions which state that tourists entering the country must be able to prove the weight of their wallets.
The Spanish Ministry of Interior gives a minimum spend of 100 euros per person per day – the equivalent of £85.
Travellers who are stopped must then provide evidence of their funds through certified checks, payment letters, credit cards or traveller’s checks, for example.
Pricy reservations
New rules also mean you may also be forced to pay out of pocket if you fail to turn up to a restaurant reservation.
Majorca’s restaurant association, Restauración CAEB says it will in future ask for a credit card number when a reservation is made.
If diners fail to turn up, they will be charged 20 per cent of the average anticipated bill.
Punishment for partiers
Brits have been warned they face hefty fines for partying on top holiday destinations Ibiza and Majorca.
Clubbers could be hit with a £25,000 penalty if they attend illegal parties on the two islands, which have been clamping down on unlicensed events.
The authorities on the Balearic islands have been trying to end what they call “irregular commercially-promoted parties”.
Cops on Ibiza and Majorca have powers to stop parties taking place or issue fines once one is over though they can’t intervene when they’re in full swing.
Fines for organising, marketing and advertising, as well as participating, in the events if they take place in protected natural areas or homes can reach up to around £25,000, local media report.
Those organised house parties could face maximum fines of £260,000.
The measures where first brought in last year and the UK Foreign Office is warning Brits they remain in place.
Smoking
You could also face a huge fine if caught smoking on a beach.
A new law was passed in Spain last year that gives local municipalities the power to fine anyone caught smoking on the beach.
Several Spanish tourist hotspots, including Barcelona and the Canary Islands, already had the ban in place, but the nationwide law is the first of its kind in Europe.
It is up to each local municipality in Spain to decide whether to impose the law – so you’ll need to check to see whether smoking is banned on the beach you’re visiting.
If a municipality does take up the law, anyone caught smoking on the beach can be charged up to £1,700.
Strict dress code
Majorca restaraunts are also turning away Brits wearing football shirts, as they’re fed up with “drunken tourism“.
Now, a group of restaurants in the resort have clubbed together to impose a new dress code which all tourists will have to follow or they will be refused access.
The clothing banned includes:
- Tank tops without straps
- Swimming trunks
- Swimsuits
- Any accessories purchased from street vendors, such as gold chains or glow-in-the-dark hats
- Football strips
- Spain continues to put a stop to partying, by setting an allowance of only six drinks per day in all inclusive resorts.
Booze restrictions
These regulations will affect tourists in the popular holiday hotspots of Magaluf, Majorca and some areas of party island Ibiza.
Tourists can only have three free tipples at lunch and three with their evening meal.
Balearic Government chiefs say they want to improve the image of the party resorts which have a reputation for boozy and bad behaviour.
Hotel owners are said to be worried and claim tourists are already shunning their establishments and opting for those outside the zones.
Balearic officials have also put the block on boozy pup crawls, the sale of alcohol in shops between 9.30pm and 8am and advertising party boats in some areas.
On the bright side, the last of Spain’s Covid-19 rules have been scrapped – meaning social distancing is not enforced anymore.
