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CHRISTMAS

What changes about life in Spain in December 2020?

December will be marked by curfews and border closures with a slight loosening of restrictions for the Christmas period.

Published: 30 November 2020 15:04 CET
Updated: 1 December 2020 09:54 CET
What changes about life in Spain in December 2020?
Sushuti/Pixabay

December 2020 will be a very different month than what we’re used to in Spain during the festive period.

After a tough November, some regions have begun to lift their Covid-19 restrictions slightly, allowing for restaurants and bars to open again, such as in Catalonia, however there are still curfews and many other restrictions in place. Read on to find out what's changing this month. 

Closed borders

The government has announced an extension of its border closure policy until December 31st. Changes have also been made to the list of countries you can travel from to enter the Schengen zone, which currently only includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Uruguay and China. READ MORE HERE

Negative Covid-19 test to enter Spain

As of November 23rd and throughout December, travellers from more than 60 countries who want to enter Spain, will need to provide a negative Covid-19 test no older than 72 hours, before they fly. Click here to find out the full details.


Photo:: fernando zhiminaicela/Pixabay

 

Puente de la Constitución

The Puente de la Constitución o de la Inmaculada links two public holidays to form a four day long weekend from Friday 4th December until Tuesday 8th. Most regions in Spain have decided to keep their borders closed, meaning that travel beyond your region may not be possible this holiday. Madrid has announced that it will remain closed between December 4 – 14th, the Basque Country and Andalusia will close until December 10th and Valencia and Murcia will close until December 9th.

Other regions have already announced that their borders will close beyond the Puente period. Catalonia will remain closed until December 21st, La Rioja until the 19th and Navarra until the 18th.

Christmas

Every region will have slightly different rules for the Christmas period, but it’s clear that this Christmas will be different and several restrictions will remain in place. While some regions are sticking to the rule of no more than six people, it has been proposed that in Catalonia and Madrid, that this will increase to 10 over Christmas (December 24, 25 and 31, and January 1 and 6). Some regions want to exlude children under the age of 14 (who are thought to not be very contagious) from the maximum number, but the maximum social group may not be allowed to include more than two household ‘bubbles’.

The Local will publish updates on regional plans over the Christmas period as the measures are announced.

Curfews are to remain in place over the Christmas holidays, except for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, when there will likely be an extension. The government has proposed delaying the curfew until 1am while Madrid's regional government is lobbying for a further delay until 1.30am in the capital.

READ MORE: What we know about Spain's plan for Christmas coronavirus restrictions

Photo: Karolina Grabowska/Pixabay

 

 

Brexit

Those wishing to remain in Spain after the Brexit transition period will have until December 31th to start their residency process (if they don’t have it already) and to apply to change over their driving license to a Spanish one.

To find out how to get an appointment to change your driving license click here and to find out how to register for residency or change your NIE for a TIE click here. 

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For members

BRITONS IN SPAIN

FACT CHECK: Spain’s ‘£97 daily rule’ isn’t new nor a worry for British tourists

The British tabloids are at it again causing alarm over the so-called '£97 daily rule’ which Spain is apparently imposing on UK tourists, who in turn are threatening to ‘boycott’ the country. 

Published: 15 April 2024 14:28 CEST
FACT CHECK: Spain's '£97 daily rule' isn't new nor a worry for British tourists

American playwright Eugene O’Neill once said: “There is no present or future – only the past, happening over and over again – now”.

In 2022, The Local Spain wrote a fact-checking article titled ‘Are UK tourists in Spain really being asked to prove €100 a day?‘, in which we dispelled the claims made in the British press about Spain’s alleged new rules for UK holidaymakers.

Two years on in 2024, the same eye-catching headlines are resurfacing in Blighty: “’Anti-British? Holiday elsewhere!’ Britons fume as tourists in Spain warned they may be subject to additional rules” in GB News, or “’They would be begging us to come back’: Brits vow to ‘boycott Spain’ over new £97 daily rule” in LBC.

The return of this rabble-rousing ‘news’ in the UK has coincided with calls within Spain to change the existing mass tourism model that’s now more than ever having an impact on the country’s housing crisis.

Even though Spaniards behind the protests have not singled out any foreign nationals as potential culprits, the UK tabloids have unsurprisingly capitalised on this and run headlines such as “Costa del Sol turns on British tourists”.

READ MORE: Why does hatred of tourists in Spain appear to be on the rise?

What is the so-called ‘£97 daily rule’?

Yes, there is theoretically a ‘£97 a day rule’, but it is not a new rule, nor one that applies only to UK nationals specifically, and not even one that Spain alone has imposed (all Schengen countries set their financial means threshold).

As non-EU nationals who are not from a Schengen Area country either (the United Kingdom never was in Schengen), British tourists entering Spain could have certain requirements with which to comply if asked by Spanish border officials.

Such requirements include a valid passport, proof of a return ticket, documents proving their purpose of entry into Spain, limits on the amount of time they can spend in Spain (the 90 out of 180 days Schengen rule), proof of accommodation, a letter of invitation if staying with friends or family (another controversial subject in the British press when it emerged) and yes, proof of sufficient financial means for the trip.

Third-country nationals who want to enter Spain in 2024 may need to prove they have at least €113,40 per day (around £97), with a minimum of €972 (around £830) per person regardless of the intended duration of the stay. It is unclear whether this could also possibly apply to minors.

The amount of financial means to prove has increased slightly in 2024 as it is linked to Spain’s minimum wage, which has also risen. 

Financial means can be accredited by presenting cash, traveller’s checks, credit cards accompanied by a bank account statement, an up-to-date bank book or any other means that proves the amount available as credit on a card or bank account.

Have Britons been prevented from entering Spain for not having enough money?

There is no evidence that UK holidaymakers have been prevented from entering Spain after not being able to show they have £97 a day to cover their stay, nor any reports that they have been asked to show the financial means to cover their stay either. 

17.3 million UK tourists visited Spain in 2023; equal to roughly 47,400 a day. 

Even though British tourists have to stand in the non-EU queue at Spanish passport control, they do not require a visa to enter Spain and the sheer number of UK holidaymakers means that they’re usually streamlined through the process, having to only quickly show their passports.

The only occasional hiccups that have arisen post-Brexit have been at the land border between Gibraltar and Spain (issued that are likely to be resolved soon), and these weren’t related to demonstrating financial means. 

Therefore, the British press are regurgitating alarmist headlines that don’t reflect any truth, but rather pander to the ‘they need us more than we need them’ mantra that gets readers clicking. 

To sum up, there is a £97 a day rule, but it is not new, it has not affected any British tourists to date, and it is not specific to Spain alone to potentially require proof of economic means. 

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