Thinking about taking a holiday to Spain sometime soon? Prepare to share even more of your personal details with the country’s authorities.
From December 2, British travellers heading to Spain will be required, by law, to provide 31 new pieces of information to their hotels and accommodation, in what the Spanish government has called an effort to “crack down on organised crime”.
A spokesperson for the Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad (State Secretariat for Security) told The Independent: “The greatest attacks on public safety are carried out both by terrorist activity and organised crime, in both cases with a market transnational character.”
They said that foreigners are involved in “terror threats and other very serious crimes committed by criminal organisations”, so authorities want to keep an eye on who is staying where.
However, not everyone is happy with the new rules. CEHAT, Spain’s leading hotel association, has criticised the requirements, with the organisation’s secretary general Ramón Estalella previously likening them to “big brother”.
“Spain is already the only country in the EU where hotels must send guests’ ID info to the police while, in other countries, they just have to keep that data for a period,” Estalella told the Telegraph. “Not only could it violate fundamental privacy rights, but it also threatens to complicate and hinder the experience of millions of visitors who choose Spain as a destination.”
The rules follow a string of upped requirements for Brits entering the country over the years, including being asked to prove if they have enough money during their stay in the country, which was introduced in 2022.
What personal details do you have to provide?
If you’re aged 14 or above, you’ll need to provide the following personal information from December 2:
- Full name
- Nationality
- Gender
- Passport number
- Date of birth
- Home address
- Landline phone number (if applicable)
- Mobile phone number
- Email address
Will I have to pay a penalty if I don’t provide this information?
Currently, no. Fines don’t apply to individual travellers, instead, any hotel organisation that fails to comply with collecting the information will face fines of up to £25,000.
How much do you have to prove you have available to spend per day?
Under the rules introduced in 2022, you could be asked to prove that you have enough funds, but what counts as “proof of sufficient funds”?
- Certified checks (that’s a personal check that the bank has certified from your personal funds)
- Traveller’s checks (paper cheques sometimes used by people travelling to other countries)
- Payment letters
- Credit cards (this should be accompanied by bank account statements or an updated bank book)