Passport validity requirements for Schengen resident to travel to Spain

Upvote:0

EU citizens, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein etc. require only proof of citizenship in the form of a national ID or passport. Family members if an EU citizen, who are not nationals of a Member State, require only a valid passport together with their residence card.

When traveling outside of the country of residence, the conditions of the Schengen Border Code Article 6(1)(a), (c) and (e) apply for 3rd country nationals who hold a valid residence permit.

This is defined in Article 21 of the Schengen acquis/Convention:

The Schengen acquis - Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985.
Article 21

  1. Aliens who hold valid residence permits issued by one of the Contracting Parties may, on the basis of that permit and a valid travel document, move freely for up to three months within the territories of the other Contracting Parties, provided that they fulfil the entry conditions referred to in Article 5(1)(a), (c) and (e) and are not on the national list of alerts of the Contracting Party concerned.

Note:
Article 5 is now Article 6

Schengen Border Code:
Article 6 Entry conditions for third-country nationals

  1. For intended stays on the territory of the Member States of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay, the entry conditions for third-country nationals shall be the following:

a) they are in possession of a valid travel document entitling the holder to cross the border satisfying the following criteria:

(i) its validity shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States. In a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived;

(ii) it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years;.

Upvote:1

Technically speaking, the passport should meet the validity requirements for short-term visitors unless either your residence permit was issued by Spain or you are in transit to the country that issued it. Article 6(5)(a) of the Schengen Borders Code:

  1. By way of derogation from paragraph 1:

(a) third-country nationals who do not fulfil all the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 but who hold a residence permit or a long-stay visa shall be authorised to enter the territory of the other Member States for transit purposes so that they may reach the territory of the Member State which issued the residence permit or the long-stay visa, unless their names are on the national list of alerts of the Member State whose external borders they are seeking to cross and the alert is accompanied by instructions to refuse entry or transit;

Paragraph 1 is where the validity requirement is established:

  1. For intended stays on the territory of the Member States of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay, the entry conditions for third-country nationals shall be the following:

(a) they are in possession of a valid travel document entitling the holder to cross the border satisfying the following criteria:

(i) its validity shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States. In a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived;

...

Whether you'd actually run into trouble in this case is anyone's guess, but you might want to check whether TIMATIC discusses the validity requirement in connection with a residence permit.

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