The Schengen Area is a group of 26 European countries that have agreed to abolish controls at their borders, thereby allowing the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. Here are the countries that are integrated: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Looking at the list of member countries, you may notice that not all EU member states are part of this list. It is crucial not to mix them up since some EU member states do not belong to the Schengen Area.
The main difference between the two is that the EU is a political and economic union composed of member countries, while the Schengen Area is a group of member countries that allows for the free movement of people.
Having said this, a foreign citizen with a residence permit in Spain can travel to any Schengen Area country but not to any European Union country. If the citizen wishes to travel to a country in the European Union that is not part of the Schengen System, they should check to see if the said country in the European Union requires a visa from their original country.
On the other hand, if you are a citizen of the EU community and live in Spain, you will be able to travel freely around the European Union and across Schengen countries. However, if you are not an EU citizen but you are residing in Spain, you must note that you won’t be able to stay over 90 days in the country mentioned above.