What you need to enter Spain with a Venezuelan passport

There's a common point of confusion among Venezuelan travellers about whether an expired passport is valid. A joint instruction from Spain's Directorate-General for Migration Management and the General Commissariat for Immigration and Borders (13 January 2025) gives validity to expired Venezuelan passports, but only "for processing and continuing any of the authorisations and permits regulated under immigration law, as well as for issuing and delivering the foreigner ID card [TIE]": that is, residency procedures and the TIE for people already in Spain. That instruction says nothing about crossing the border: to enter Spain (what this page covers), the general Schengen border rule applies, same as for any other nationality, requiring a valid, non-expired passport. If your passport is expired, don't assume you'll be let in just because it works for immigration procedures once you're already in the country.

Authorisation system

None operational yet (ETIAS delayed)

Spain is part of the future European ETIAS system, the travel authorisation that nationalities exempt from a Schengen visa will need. As of the verification date ETIAS is not operational and no applications are being collected. In mid-July 2026 the EU removed the target date of the last quarter of 2026 from its official website, which now says the start date will be announced several months before launch, without committing to any date. eu-LISA's management board (the agency building it) is expected to meet in September 2026, where a revised timeline is anticipated; until then there is no official date. Once launched it will cost €20 and be valid for three years, and it will apply to passport holders from countries exempt from a Schengen visa, such as the United Kingdom, the US, Canada or Australia.

What ETIAS is, who it will affect and when it starts →

Required documents

• A valid passport or travel document, issued within the previous ten years and valid for at least three months beyond the date you plan to leave the Schengen area (Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Art. 6(1)(a))
• Evidence of the purpose and conditions of your stay: a booking for your accommodation or, if you are staying at a private address, a letter of invitation that your host files with the Spanish National Police (Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Art. 6(1)(c))
• A return or round-trip ticket, issued in your name, non-transferable and with a fixed date (Order PRE/1282/2007, Art. 2)

How much money you need to show

€122.10 per person per day, with a minimum of €1,098.90 per person even on a shorter trip

They are 10% and 90% of Spain's 2026 minimum wage (€1,221 a month, Royal Decree 126/2026), under Order PRE/1282/2007, so they change when the minimum wage goes up. The daily figure is multiplied by the days of your stay and by the people travelling as your dependants. You show it with cash, certified or traveller's cheques, or a credit card together with a bank statement or an up-to-date passbook. Statements printed from online banking are not accepted.

What each Schengen country asks for →

Source: European Commission, Annex 25 to the Practical Handbook for Border Guards (reference amounts notified by each State), version of 8 June 2026, and Spain's Official State Gazette (Order PRE/1282/2007 and Royal Decree 126/2026). Checked on 1 November 2026.

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this visa-exempt entry, though it's strongly recommended.

When travel insurance is mandatory → Travel insurance policies ↓

How long you can stay

Schengen rule: a maximum stay of 90 days within any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area.

Calculate your available Schengen days →

Why isn't your passport being stamped? The EES system →