Spain checks arrivals from Italy until 7 September 2026

Spain began checking passengers arriving from Italy by air or sea at midnight on 8 August 2026. The controls run until the end of 7 September. Combined with Italy’s own checks on the same route going the other way, non-EU travellers crossing between the two countries can now face document checks on both legs of the journey.

Why Spain introduced the checks

Italy announced on 31 July that it would reintroduce internal Schengen controls on air and sea arrivals from Spain from 1 August, citing the risk of secondary migration after tens of thousands of people crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco. Spain threatened “proportional measures” if Italy did not lift them. Rome said it would not revisit the decision before 15 August, and Madrid activated controls of its own. Spain’s formal order cites migratory pressure on the central Mediterranean route and Italy’s handling of EU asylum transfer rules. The fuller background, including the EU emergency meeting on 4 August, is here.

What Spain is checking

Spain’s Interior Ministry order applies the checks at Spanish airports and ports to flights and passenger ferries whose last point of departure was in Italy. They cover everyone on those services, whatever their nationality, but are to be carried out in a proportionate, flexible and risk-based way. Italy and Spain share no land border, so all affected crossings are by air or sea.

EU citizens can show a national identity card. Non-EU nationals should expect to present their passport and, where applicable, any visa or residence permit confirming their right to be in the Schengen area.

For short-stay visitors from the UK, the US, Australia, Canada and other visa-exempt countries, there is no separate visa to produce. Your passport confirms your nationality and right to enter without one, and your EES entry record serves as evidence of when and where you first crossed into Schengen legally. Carry the physical document. A photo on your phone will not satisfy a document check.

What about the checks going in the other direction?

Italy’s controls on non-EU arrivals from Spain started on 1 August and were notified to the Commission until 1 September. We covered what those involve when the measures were announced. The two regimes are separate: Italy checks travellers arriving from Spain, Spain checks travellers arriving from Italy. A round trip between the two countries can mean a document check on each leg.

Does this affect your 90-day Schengen allowance?

No. Your 90 days in any 180-day period runs from the moment you first enter the Schengen area at an external border to when you exit it. Flying from Rome to Madrid is an internal movement inside the zone. The Entry/Exit System does not log it and it does not use any of your allowance. Three weeks in Italy followed by a week in Spain still counts as four weeks in total, exactly as it always has.

How long will both sets of controls last?

Spain’s checks are formally in place until 7 September and Italy’s until 1 September. Whether either government lifts its controls early depends on the political relationship between Rome and Madrid over the next few weeks. Italy showed no intention of backing down when Spain warned it would respond, and Spain went ahead with its own measures. The likeliest outcome is that both sets of controls run to roughly their stated end dates, at which point the picture should clarify.

Is any of this connected to EES or ETIAS?

Neither system is involved here. The Entry/Exit System registers arrivals and departures at the external Schengen border: the desk you pass through when you first enter the area from outside. Flights between Rome and Madrid are internal movements within Schengen. EES does not record them. These reciprocal controls are a separate matter, governed by the Schengen Borders Code, which allows member states to reintroduce temporary internal checks for limited periods when there is a genuine threat to public policy or internal security.

ETIAS, the pre-travel authorisation that press reporting on EU planning places in 2027, also operates at the external border. It has no role in travel between member states. No action is required yet. Applications are not open. For the current position on timing, the ETIAS status page carries updates as they are confirmed.

Practical notes for Italy-Spain trips until early September

• Carry your physical passport. Officers ask for the document, not a digital copy.
• Allow a buffer if you have a connection. Checks are risk-based, so the time added is unpredictable. A direct flight gives you more margin than a tight connection.
• Know your entry date. If an officer wants to verify how long you have been in Schengen, your EES entry record is the official proof.
• Italy’s checks run the other way. If you are flying or sailing from Spain to Italy as part of the same trip and you are not an EU citizen, expect a document check on arrival in Italy too.