Visa-free to Spain: St. Kitts and Nevis and eight other Caribbean passports

If you hold a St. Kitts and Nevis passport, you don't need a visa for a short stay in Spain. Nor do citizens of eight other Caribbean countries. The full list:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• the Bahamas
• Barbados
• Dominica
• Grenada
• St. Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago

You can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, for a holiday, a business trip or a family visit. That has been true for years: nothing changed for these travellers in July 2026.

Where the rule comes from

In July 2026, Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs published its list of about 60 countries whose citizens don't need a visa for a short stay. These nine are the CARICOM states on it.

The exemption isn't Spain's alone, and it isn't new. It comes from an EU regulation, Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, which sets one list for every country in the Schengen area. All nine countries were already on it. Spain's own consular list from 2020 names them too; St. Kitts and Nevis appears there as "San Cristóbal y Nieves".

The 90 days cover all of Schengen, not just Spain

The 90 days are shared across the whole Schengen area: 29 European countries, including Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Portugal. Days in Spain and days in France count against the same allowance.

The test works like this: on any day of your trip, count back 180 days. You must not have spent more than 90 of them in the Schengen area.

The exemption is for short visits: tourism, business meetings, visiting family. It doesn't let you work. For a job, a course of study or a longer stay, you need a visa from a Spanish consulate before you go.

What to carry

At the border you can be asked to show:

• A passport issued within the last 10 years and valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area
• Where you're staying: a hotel booking, or an invitation from the people you're visiting
• A return or onward ticket
• Enough money for the length of your stay

Fingerprints at the border: the Entry/Exit System

The EU's Entry/Exit System has been fully running since 10 April 2026.

The first time you enter the Schengen area, a border officer takes your fingerprints and a photo. After that, the system records each entry and exit instead of stamping your passport, and it counts your 90 days for you. Allow extra time at the airport on your first trip.

ETIAS isn't needed yet

ETIAS is the EU's online travel authorisation for visitors who don't need a visa. It was due in late 2026 and has slipped to 2027, with no start date fixed. Until the EU announces one, you don't need it.

When it starts, apply only through the EU's official site, travel-europe.europa.eu/etias.

What could change

On 25 June 2026 the European Commission wrote to five of these governments: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia. It asked them to phase out their citizenship-by-investment programmes by 1 June 2028.

Under the EU's visa-suspension rules, revised in 2025, running such a programme can be grounds for suspending a country's visa-free access. The letter sets a deadline for the programmes, not a date when visa-free travel ends. According to reporting, it has not been made public.

For now, nothing has changed at the border for any of the nine countries. If you're planning a trip to Europe, check the rules close to your travel date.

Where to check

• Your own country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For St. Kitts and Nevis, that's mofa.gov.kn/travel.
• The Spanish embassy that covers your country. For St. Kitts and Nevis, it's the embassy in Kingston, Jamaica: exteriores.gob.es.
• The EU's travel site, for the Entry/Exit System and ETIAS: travel-europe.europa.eu

Sources: Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa list; Regulation (EU) 2018/1806; the European Commission on the Entry/Exit System (10 April 2026); reporting by Caribbean National Weekly, the Jamaica Gleaner and Rio Times Online (July 2026) and IMI Daily (June–July 2026). Checked 26 September 2026.