How to satisfy the invitation letter requirement for Spain when the final destination is not Spain

Question

I want to invite a friend from Central America to stay by me and visit Italy as a tourist. My friend is a non-EU national and does not need a visa to enter the Schengen Area. Since Madrid is a major transit hub for flights from Central America, my friend's flight will likely land there first. Spain requires an invitation letter (carta de invitación) for this purpose.

However, I am an Italian citizen and not a Spanish resident, so I cannot provide a Spanish invitation letter. Additionally, even if I could provide one, the letter would need to specify the address where my friend will stay in Spain, which is not applicable since they will only be in Spain for a layover at the airport.

I was expecting this to be a very common issue with solutions, but I couldn't find any.

Is there a solution?

Notes:

• My friend will be staying by me, not in a hotel or tourist accommodation, which makes the invitation letter a requirement (it seems that the letter is not required if staying at a hotel or other tourist accommodation)
• The invitation letter is a requirement for any non-EU national, regardless of whether they need a visa; if they need a visa, the invitation letter must be submitted to the appropriate embassy when asking for a visa; otherwise, it must be presented at immigration when entering the border.
• Although not especially relevant, as the above would apply to any non-EU national which however doesn't require a visa for visiting as a tourist, my friend is from Honduras.
• My friend wouldn't be leaving the airport, but that doesn't change the requirement (speaking from experience, as I've had another friend from Honduras who was traveling with me almost sent back to Honduras while trying to pass Spanish immigration; luckily, because I was there in person and I was somehow able to convince the immigration officer that they would proceed with their onward trip to Italy together with me, they let my friend pass, as an exception).

Answer 1

Spain being in Schengen, the Schengen Borders Code applies.

It tells us in 6.1.c that one of the conditions of entry for non-EU nationals is:

they justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay, and they have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully;

And in 6.3:

A non-exhaustive list of supporting documents which the border guard may request from the third-country national in order to verify the fulfilment of the conditions set out in paragraph 1 (c) is included in Annex I.

And in Annex I:

(c) for journeys undertaken for the purposes of tourism or for private reasons:

(i) supporting documents as regards lodging:

• an invitation from the host if staying with one;
• a supporting document from the establishment providing lodging or any other appropriate document indicating the accommodation envisaged;

(ii) supporting documents as regards the itinerary:

• confirmation of the booking of an organised trip or any other appropriate document indicating the envisaged travel plans;

(iii) supporting documents as regards return:

• a return or round-trip ticket;

So they need to show:

• the ticket or boarding pass for their flight to Italy

• An invitation letter from you. If you were in Spain it would be a Carta de Invitacion. Since you are in Italy, use the Italian model, like for a visa. See for instance https://consboston.esteri.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/hostinvitationletter.pdf

  A simple handwritten letter with similar details is probably enough since they are an Annex II national, but you may want to err on the side of caution, especially if you are sponsoring the whole trip and not just providing lodging.

• Ideally, a ticket back out of Schengen, or proof of funds showing they can buy one

• Proof of funds showing they have means of subsistence for the duration of the trip in Italy (there’s a fixed daily amount per day I’m too lazy to look up now).

A Spanish Carta de Invitación would be required if they stayed in Spain, which is not the case. But you have to prove that (ticket or boarding pass to Italy) and show the letter of invitation for Italy instead.

Note that, like in a visa application, they also need to convince the border agent that they are a bona fide visitor, with a legitimate reason (in your case that you are really friends and that there is a good reason for you to invite them), going back home (or anywhere outside Schengen, really) in time, will not work, etc.

That is possibly what was the issue last time you entered with another Honduran citizen, rather than having or not having a Carta de Invitacion (other possibilities could be that they did not show the itinerary to Italy or they they didn’t have a letter of invitation from you).