Moving to Spain: which route fits you and what to do first

03

The main routes for non-EU citizens

05

The paperwork everyone does

1. NIE (foreigner identity number): the tax and identification number you need to buy a home, sign many contracts, open a bank account or pay tax. If you come with a visa or register as an EU citizen, it is assigned with your permit. If you only need the number, you can request it at a police station in Spain or through a Spanish consulate abroad (fee €9.84).
2. Padrón (empadronamiento): everyone who lives in Spain must register with the town hall where they live. The certificate is needed for schools, healthcare, the car and many other procedures, and it is the main evidence of how long you have lived in Spain, which matters later for long-term residence and citizenship.
3. TIE (foreigner identity card): if your visa or permit is for more than six months, you must apply in person for the card within one month of arriving or of the permit being granted. The first card costs €16.08.
4. Social security and healthcare: if you work, you or your employer register you, and that gives access to the public health system. Non-lucrative residents must keep private health insurance. EU pensioners usually register their home-country cover in Spain with form S1.
5. Bank account, driving licence and car: non-EU licences can be used only for a limited time after you become resident, so check whether your country has an exchange agreement with Spain.

06

A realistic order of steps and timeline

1. Two to six months before: choose your route and check that you meet every requirement before you book anything. Spain is strict about the order: the visa comes before the move for most routes.
2. Two to four months before: gather documents in your home country: criminal record certificates for every country where you lived in the last five years, birth and marriage certificates, degrees, bank statements. Get them apostilled or legalised and translated by a sworn translator. Criminal record certificates are usually accepted only if recent, typically three months.
3. One to three months before: apply at the Spanish consulate that covers where you live, or online from Spain for the routes that allow it (digital nomad, highly qualified, entrepreneur). Decision deadlines run from one month for non-lucrative permits to 20 days for permits handled by the Large Companies Unit.
4. First month in Spain: padrón, TIE appointment within one month, bank account, social security or private health insurance.
5. Every year: keep a record of the days you spend in Spain, and diary the renewal, which you can file in the two months before your permit expires.

07

Tax: the 183-day rule and more

You are a Spanish tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year (sporadic absences count as time in Spain unless you prove tax residence in another country), if the main centre of your business or economic interests is in Spain, or, unless you prove otherwise, if your spouse and minor children live in Spain. Tax residents pay Spanish income tax on their worldwide income and must declare foreign assets above €50,000 per category (form 720). The tax treaty between Spain and your other country decides who taxes pensions, salaries and gains when both claim you.

People who move to Spain to work, including remote workers, can sometimes choose a special flat-rate regime for their first six years (the Beckham law): 24% on work income up to €600,000, if they have not been Spanish tax residents in the five previous years. Our free calculator (in Spanish) compares it with ordinary income tax. If you keep a home in Spain but live elsewhere, you are taxed as a non-resident and file form 210 every year for that property.