Brits must prove they can spend at least £85 a day to enter Spain

EUROPEAN countries have been slammed for asking British holidaymakers to show they have enough funds to cover the cost of their stay.

Updated regulations in Spain mean border guards could ask tourists to prove they have £85 per day each to spend to enter the country.

The rule, which has taken many by surprise, has been in force since the beginning of the year after the UK became a ‘third country’ outside the EU when it left after Brexit.

It means British nationals are now subject to the EU’s border red tape.

The ‘ border code’ for the Schengen area countries – those in the EU and other countries which have signed an agreement with the bloc – says nonEU nationals should prove they have the ‘sufficient financial means’ for their entire stay before entering.

Each country is free to fix its own rates if they notify the European Commission and they can also decide to what extent they enforce the rules, with no reports so far that Brits have been asked to show bank statements or count out their holiday money by officials.

The code, available on the UK Government website, also states that you must have a return or onward ticket before crossing an EU border and that your passport must have been issued less than ten years before the date you enter the country.

In France, travellers may be asked to show they have £100 a day per person to spend if they have no proof of pre- paid accommodation. That drops to £55 with proof of a hotel booking, according to a post on the EU executive’s website, or £27 if staying in a private home.

British passport holders can travel visa-free for up to 90 days over a 180-day period within the Schengen area. But their documents must also be stamped.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said the regulations, were a means of scolding Britain for its decision to leave the EU. ‘The Europeans appear to be cutting off their nose to spite their own face,’ he said. ‘I doubt the cafe owners in France and bar owners in Spain would be of the same opinion as their political leaders.’

The row comes after families had to endure hours of delays for ferries at Dover and the Eurotunnel at Folkestone over the weekend.

MPs blamed France for not putting enough border staff on duty, although the French pointed the finger at Brexit.

Francois Decoster, vice-president of the Hauts- de-France region, which includes Calais, even suggested the UK should reverse its decision to leave the EU, or consider joining the borderless Schengen area.

However, the EU is bringing in an electronic travel application form next May which could reduce these kinds of setbacks.

Similar to the United States’s ESTA, it will cost Britons just over £6 every three years.

‘Cutting off its nose to spite its face’