The 90/180-day rule for Brits in Spain

A British passport gets you 90 days in any 180 in Spain and the rest of Schengen, and owning a villa in Mijas doesn't add a single day.

The short version

Without a visa or residence permit, Brits can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, Spain included [1].
It's a rolling window: on any given day, look back 180 days and count every day you were anywhere in Schengen. The total can't go over 90 [1][3].
Since 10 April 2026 the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records your entries and exits digitally, so the days add themselves up at the border [1][4].
Overstaying can bring a ban from Schengen countries of up to three years [1].
To stay longer you need a status: Withdrawal Agreement residence if you lived here before 2021, or a Spanish visa such as the non-lucrative or digital nomad visa [2].

Who this is for

Since Brexit, the classic Costa del Sol pattern of "October to May in Spain, summer back in Blighty for the grandchildren" has hit a wall. Before 2021, a British passport meant you could stay as long as you liked. Now, if you aren't resident in Spain, you're a visitor, and visitors get 90 days in any 180.

That catches out three groups more than any others:

Second-home owners in Málaga, Nerja, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Marbella who assume property brings a right to stay. It doesn't.
Snowbirds who want the whole winter on the coast, from the end of the clocks going back to the Easter fortnight.
People in the middle of moving, who spend the summer house-hunting and then come back in the autumn to sign.

If you moved to Spain properly before the end of 2020 and hold a TIE (your residence card), the rule doesn't apply to you. Our guide to Brits in the EU after Brexit explains the Withdrawal Agreement side.

How the days are counted

The FCDO's Spain travel advice, when we checked on 7 November 2026 (the page was updated on 28 October 2026), sets out the basics [1]:

You can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa for tourism, family visits, business meetings and short courses.
Days in any Schengen country count. A week in Paris or a long weekend in Lisbon comes off the same 90.
Time spent in a Schengen country on a residence permit or long-stay visa doesn't count.

The European Commission puts the rolling window simply: count back 180 days from each day of your stay, and make sure the total isn't more than 90 [3]. There is no fixed "season" that resets on 1 January. The window moves forward with you, one day at a time.

In practice, both the day you arrive and the day you leave count as days in Schengen. Flying into Málaga on a Monday and out the following Monday is eight days, not seven.

A worked example

Take a couple from Leeds with a flat in Torre del Mar:

Trip	Dates	Days in Schengen
Winter on the coast	1 January to 31 March	90
Back home in the UK	1 April to 29 June	0
Summer return	from 30 June	allowed again

On 31 March they've used all 90 days, so they must leave. They can't come back the next week, because the previous 180 days are still full of their winter. Days only "fall off" once they're more than 180 days old. By 30 June, the 1 January arrival has dropped out of the window, and the days keep freeing up one by one after that. If they then stay all summer, they will run out again in the autumn.

The simplest plan for a part-year life is the "three months on, three months off" pattern. Anything cleverer, like splitting the year into shorter trips, works too, but check each trip against the window before you book.

The Commission's calculator

The European Commission has an official short-stay calculator [3]. Type in your past entry and exit dates and it tells you how many days you have left, or how long you can stay from a future date. Leave out any time spent on a residence permit or long-stay visa. Run it before you book, not at the airport.

Things that don't reset the clock

A trip to Morocco or Gibraltar. Days outside Schengen don't count, but they don't wipe the slate clean either. The 180-day window keeps rolling over them. Gibraltar's rules have changed since the UK–EU agreement on Gibraltar was provisionally applied on 15 July 2026, and the FCDO says there are no longer entry and exit check booths at the land border [1]. Check the current position before you count on any days there.
A new passport. Your days follow you, not the passport. EES links records to your identity.
Owning property, paying IBI or being on the padrón. Registering at the town hall is useful, but it isn't a residence permit.

The Entry/Exit System and ETIAS

EES: the end of the passport stamp

EES started being rolled out on 12 October 2025 and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 [4]. It replaces the old manual passport stamp with a digital record of your name, passport details, and the date and place of every entry and exit, plus a facial image and fingerprints (children under 12 aren't fingerprinted) [1][4].

What that means at Málaga airport:

First visit: you may be sent to a self-service booth to register your fingerprints and photo before the passport desk. It's free [1].
Later visits: your record lasts three years, so you shouldn't need to register again each time [1].
On the way out: you may be asked for your fingerprints or photo again, and queues can be longer at peak times [1].

The big change for part-year Brits is that there's no longer any grey area. Smudged stamps and "they never checked" are a thing of the past. The system counts your days and knows when you've overstayed.

If you live in Spain with a TIE, you're exempt from EES as a long-term resident, and you don't need your passport stamped. Show your TIE with your passport at the border [1].

ETIAS: coming, but not yet

ETIAS is the EU's travel authorisation for visa-free visitors, a bit like the US ESTA. When we checked, the French foreign ministry said ETIAS was not yet working and was "expected to come on line in the last quarter of 2026" [4]. The FCDO's Spain advice didn't mention it [1]. Until it launches, you don't need one. When it does, you'll apply online before travelling and pay a small fee. Don't pay any website that offers one early.

Your passport still matters

The FCDO says your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the day you arrive, and be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave [1]. Older passports renewed before October 2018 sometimes carried extra months, so check the issue date, not just the expiry date. Our guide to renewing a British passport from abroad covers the process.

What happens if you overstay

The FCDO warns that if you overstay you may be banned from entering Schengen countries for up to three years [1]. Fines and a note on your record are also possible, and with EES the overstay is recorded automatically. That can make future trips, and any later visa application, a lot more of a faff.

If something genuinely stops you leaving on time, such as a hospital stay or a broken hip in Marbella, you must apply to the Spanish immigration office (Extranjería) to extend your stay for exceptional reasons [1]. Do it before your 90 days run out, and keep the medical paperwork.

Ways to stay longer

If 90 days isn't enough, you need a proper status. These are the main routes Brits on the Costa del Sol use [2]:

Route	Who it suits	Key points
Withdrawal Agreement residence (TIE)	Brits legally living in Spain before 1 January 2021	Not open to newcomers. Keep your TIE valid and carry it when travelling
Non-lucrative visa	Retirees and people living on savings or pensions	No working in Spain. You need income well above a set level, health cover and a clean criminal record
Digital nomad visa	People working remotely for employers or clients outside Spain	Minimum income test, and you become a Spanish tax resident in most cases
Work or study visas	People with a Spanish job offer or a course place	Tied to the job or course

Each route makes you resident, which usually means becoming a Spanish tax resident too if you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain. That's a big shift from the part-year life, with Spanish income tax on worldwide income, possible wealth tax and the asset declaration on Modelo 720. Our guide to Spain taxes for Brits explains what follows. Back home, HMRC's Statutory Residence Test decides if you're still UK resident, so look at both sides.

If you simply want more winter sun without becoming resident, the honest answer is that 90 in 180 is the limit. Plenty of couples build their year around it, and it works if you plan it. Swap tips on how others do it in our community group for Brits in Spain.

What owning a second home still means

Even as a part-year visitor you have Spanish obligations as a property owner: IBI (the local property tax), community fees, and an annual non-resident income tax return on the property, usually through Modelo 210. You'll also need an NIE. None of this gives you any right to stay longer, and none of it counts as residence.

The 90/180-day rule: how part-year Brits on the Costa del Sol count their days