Spain · Relocation guide
Moving to Spain
First-year setup: €4,000 – €12,000
Moving to Spain is mostly a sequencing problem. The paperwork is not individually difficult, but it is strictly ordered — the wrong order costs months, and several steps have to be started from your home country before you arrive.
This page gives you that order, the real first-year cost, and the decisions that are genuinely hard.
First-year order of operations
Which visa applies to you
EU/EEA/Swiss citizens: no visa, but you must register for a residency certificate (green NIE/certificado de registro) within three months of arrival. Non-EU with passive income (pensions, investments, rental income): the non-lucrative visa, requiring roughly €30,000 a year of proven income for a single applicant plus around €7,500 per dependant, and full private health insurance. Non-EU remote employees or freelancers: the digital nomad visa, requiring roughly €2,760 a month of income and a client or employer base outside Spain. Spain's Golden Visa closed in April 2025 and property purchase no longer grants residency.
The paperwork order that saves months
Apply for your visa at the Spanish consulate in your country of residence — most types cannot be started from inside Spain. Obtain your NIE (or get it as part of the visa process). On arrival, book the TIE card appointment within thirty days. Then: empadronamiento at your town hall, which unlocks healthcare registration and school places; Spanish bank account; social security or private health cover; and finally your first Spanish tax filing the following spring.
What the first year actually costs
Visa and legal support: €1,500–3,500. Shipping a household from Northern Europe: €2,500–6,000. Car import or a new Spanish purchase: from €1,000 in import tax and paperwork upward. Private health insurance: €70–200 per person per month. Rental deposit and agency fee on a long-term let: two to three months' rent. Schooling, if applicable, is the largest variable — international schools on the Costa del Sol run €6,000–20,000 a year per child.
Tax residency: the decision that matters most
Spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, or have your main economic interests here, and you become Spanish tax resident on worldwide income. That triggers Spanish income tax, potential wealth tax in some regions, and the Modelo 720 declaration of overseas assets above €50,000 per category. Andalucía has abolished its regional wealth tax, which is one reason relocations concentrate on this coast. Get advice before your first 183 days, not after.
Rent before you buy
Almost every relocation adviser gives the same advice and it is still the most ignored: rent for six to twelve months, and make sure that period includes a January and a February. Winter separates the towns that stay alive from the ones that shutter, and it is the single best predictor of whether you will still be happy in year three.
Frequently asked questions
- How much money do I need to move to Spain?
- The non-lucrative visa requires roughly €30,000 of annual income for a single applicant plus about €7,500 per dependant. Practical first-year setup costs run €4,000–12,000 before rent and schooling.
- Can I still get residency by buying property in Spain?
- No. The Golden Visa was withdrawn in April 2025. Property purchase gives you no residency rights; the non-lucrative and digital nomad visas are the main routes for non-EU citizens.
- When do I become a Spanish tax resident?
- After 183 days in a calendar year, or if your main economic or family interests are in Spain. From that point Spain taxes your worldwide income and the Modelo 720 overseas-asset declaration applies.
- Should I rent before buying in Spain?
- Yes — six to twelve months including a winter. It costs a few thousand euros and routinely prevents a purchase mistake worth several hundred thousand.
