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Spain PaperworkSpanish administrative procedures · English reference edition

Procedure · Prórroga de estancia

Extending a 90-day stay in Spain (prórroga de estancia)

How to extend a short stay beyond 90 days, on form EX-00, in person. It is capped at three further months, needs exceptional reasons if you are visa-exempt, and requires proof that you are going to leave.

Checked at source ·

Official fee
Set by the fee for the stay extension
Official name
Prórroga de estancia
Forms
EX-00
Steps
7
Documents required
6

Source: Ministerio del Interior — Régimen General — Estancia. Checked .

Every immigration fee, with the official Spanish wording

Who needs one

Visitors already in Spain on a short stay — with or without a visa — who need to remain beyond the period they were admitted for, and who are not applying for residence.

Step by step

  1. Work out how many days you have actually used

    A short stay is 90 days in any 180-day period, counted from your first entry into the Schengen area and calculated under the Schengen Borders Code. Your entry date counts as the first day of the stay and your exit date as the last. Time spent under a long-stay national visa or a residence permit is not counted at all, which surprises people who have previously lived in a Schengen country.

  2. Know which cap applies to you

    If you are here without a visa, you can ask for an extension where the circumstances in article 20 of the Schengen Convention apply, with a limit of three additional months. If you entered on a visa shorter than three months, the stay can be extended but never beyond three months within a six-month period. If you entered without a visa and there are exceptional circumstances justifying it, a stay beyond three months can be authorised.

  3. Apply in person on form EX-00

    The application is made personally by the visitor, or by their legal representative if they are a minor, on official form EX-00. You must identify yourself in person at the Jefatura Superior or Comisaría de Policía of the place where you are when you submit it.

    Where: Jefatura Superior or Comisaría de Policía where you are staying

  4. Prove you can afford the extra time

    You need sufficient proof of adequate financial means for the length of the extension you are asking for, and travel assistance insurance with the same cover required for a short-stay visa, valid for at least as long as the extension.

  5. Prove you are going to leave

    This is the requirement people miss. You must show guarantees of return to your country of origin, or of admission to the third country you are heading for, before the extension you are requesting ends. The rule names one thing that will do it: a ticket bought in your name with a closed return date falling before the end of the extension period.

  6. If you are visa-exempt, document why it is exceptional

    Nationals of countries that do not need a visa to enter Spain must evidence the reasons given for the request, and those reasons have to be exceptional. Wanting to stay longer is not in itself a reason, and this is where these applications usually fail.

  7. Expect silence to mean no

    The period for deciding and notifying follows the seventh additional provision of RD 1155/2024. If that period passes without an answer, the application is understood to have been refused. Nothing further will arrive, so treat the deadline as the moment to act rather than to keep waiting.

Documents you need

  • Form EX-00

    EX-00

    The official application, submitted in person.

  • Full ordinary passport or travel document

    Valid for longer than the extension you are requesting. It is noted in the file and returned to you.

  • Evidence of the reasons given

    Required for nationals of states that do not need a visa to enter Spain, and the reasons must be exceptional.

  • Proof of sufficient financial means

    Adequate for the length of extension you are asking for.

  • Travel assistance insurance

    With the same cover required for a short-stay visa, valid for at least the length of the extension.

  • Guarantee of return

    Proof you will return to your country of origin, or be admitted to the third country you are travelling on to, before the extension ends. A ticket in your name with a closed return date before that point is accepted.

Common questions

How long can I extend a 90-day stay in Spain?

By up to three further months. If you entered on a visa of less than three months, the extended stay can never exceed three months within a six-month period. If you entered without a visa and there are exceptional circumstances, a stay beyond three months can be authorised.

How is the 90 days counted?

As 90 days in any 180-day period, from your first entry into the Schengen area, calculated under the Schengen Borders Code. Your entry date is the first day and your exit date the last. Time spent under a long-stay national visa or a residence permit does not count towards it.

What is the document people forget?

Proof that you are leaving. You have to guarantee return to your country of origin, or admission to a third country, before the extension ends — and a ticket in your name with a closed return date before that point is what the rule accepts.

I am British or American, so I do not need a visa. Is it easier?

It is harder in one specific way. Nationals of visa-exempt states have to evidence the reasons for the request and those reasons must be exceptional. Simply preferring to stay longer does not meet that.

What happens if I get no reply?

The application is treated as refused. Once the period set by the seventh additional provision of RD 1155/2024 passes without an answer, there is nothing still coming.

Which office, in your province

Not every police station handles every procedure, and the assignment differs from province to province — in Alicante the residence card is issued at one address and the NIE at another. Pick your province to see the offices that actually do this one, with addresses and phone numbers.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. We do not cite other guides, because a copy gives us no way to notice when the original changes.

This is information, not advice

Your own case depends on your nationality, your current status and your history with the administration — none of which a web page can see. Confirm anything that matters with the responsible authority or a qualified professional before you act on it.