Question
“Staying illegally in Spain: What would happen if I went to Spain on a one way ticket and just stayed there without a Spanish Non-lucrative visa?”
Answers
These are the answers from Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
“Well being irregular is no joke. I dated a guy briefly in 2006 who was irregular.
You have no status. So issues with bank accounts, landlords, driving licenses, health care, taxes etc. living under the radar is complicated.
(Think of those who try it in your own country). Someone steals your wallet, how you going to report it? You shouldn’t be here.
It leaves you very vulnerable if things don’t go your way.
You then can’t leave. So your daughter has a baby, your sister gets ill, your mum passes away, you can’t go, as you might get banned and not let back in.
Yes in two years you could try for an arraigo, (although that takes time and proof) but during those two years you really are a persona non grata.
So if you can qualify for an NLV before you come it’ll save you those two years of stress plus the time and effort it takes to get an arraigo ( which is tougher than an NLV).”
“Nothing as long as don’t hit 90 day mark 🤣🤣”
“You will deported because you wasn’t resident before brexit and you haven’t got previous residency or nie”
“In which case it won’t take long for the authorities to become aware you are living here illegally and kick you out of Spain for life.”
“When immigration catch up with you they will remove you and you won’t be getting back into Spain again”
“It is very difficult to get anything done without a TIE card. Housing, healthcare, buying cars etc”
“Do it..nothing will happen to you! There’s tons of people here from worse countries and none of them live in fear of being deported or found!”
“I know of a couple of people who did this , got stopped by the police on a routine check and got given a couple of days to leave the country.”
“If you have enough money do it legally 😉”
“A friend of a good friend did this. He got busted and is now banned from Spain”
“If you managed to survive for two years and meet the criteria you could then apply for Arraigo, an immigration route to regularise illegal residents.
You’d usually need a good level of Spanish and a job offer. Do some research.
To all those people here who are horrified at the prospect: Spain is full of illegal immigrants.
It’s not an easy life, but they manage somehow. Whether that’s for you is another matter.”
“There are about to start using the new EES/ETIAS systems and they will have electronic records of your face and fingerprints and easy access to entry/exit data.”
“Probably nothing will happen, just make sure you have insurance.
I wouldn’t recommend it, though, because you never know if things will change.
If you have the money, just get the visa. It’s not that hard to do on your own.”
“You stay here ilegal 2 yrs and apply with proof arraigo social”
Conclusion
The conversation shows that many community members strongly warn against staying illegally in Spain, especially without the Spain Non-Lucrative Visa. Several participants emphasized that irregular residents face significant limitations, including lack of legal status, restricted mobility, problems with healthcare, banking, taxes, and the constant risk of deportation.
Others noted that although some people do manage to stay under the radar, they often live with stress and uncertainty. While the option of applying for arraigo social after two years exists, the path is demanding and requires proof of integration, Spanish language skills, and usually a job offer.
The overall takeaway is clear: if someone has the means to apply for legal residency, doing so is far safer and avoids the risks associated with staying illegally in Spain.
This article is based on personal opinions from the Spainguru community and is not legal advice.
