Table of contents
- Moving to spain from uk in 2023: what are your legal options?
- Following brexit, do you need a visa to move to spain?
- How to move to spain with a golden visa: buy spanish property
- The golden visa process
- Move to spain with a non-lucrative visa
- Move to spain with a family reunification visa
- Moving to spain post-brexit to work
- Digital nomad visa
- Set up an innovative business in spain
- Student visa for british nationals to attend courses in spain
- Irish and other eu passport holders
- Becoming tax resident in spain
- How do you register for healthcare in spain?
1. Moving to spain from uk in 2023: what are your legal options?
Following the transition period, Brexit has come and gone, the process for British citizens considering moving to Spain from the UK has become more arduous and complex.
The process faced by British citizens who want to move to Spain is currently the same as for other non-European Union citizens following the implementation of the Bilateral Agreement also known as the Withdrawal Agreement.
2. Following brexit, do you need a visa to move to spain?
Unless you have been living in Spain before the cut-off date, and fulfil the criteria for proving same, then British citizens you will need to obtain a Spanish residency visa in order to stay more than 90 days at a time.
Nonetheless, the Spanish authorities have provided a number of visa options for those considering a move to Spain, which we outline below:
3. How to move to spain with a golden visa: buy spanish property
Golden Visa Spain by Property investment : Buying property in Spain with a value of €500k or more will provide you with a residency in Spain including a right to live and work here, in the same way Spanish nationals can.
The investment may be made in a single Spanish property or several, and may include commercial property, a plot of land or a mixture of the above. You can live and work in Spain while the property investment is maintained and includes your family (spouse and children under 18 years of age and any disabled children over that age having access to public or private education).
A one-year visa is obtained, which can then be switched to a valid residence permit of two years duration and then becomes renewable for periods of 5 years while the investment is maintained. After 5 years, the visa holder may apply for permanent residency.
Note that you will have to present proof that you don't have a criminal record and, unless you are in receipt of a UK state pension, you will need to take out an approved health insurance policy so that you can access you local health centre to receive medical treatment when required. .
Eventually, once you have spent a sufficient period of time living in Spain - currently 10 years - you even have an option to apply for Spanish citizenship.
4. The golden visa process
Before applying for the Golden Visa, you must have made an investment. Once a contract has been signed, and before the sale is completed at the notary, the application process can begin.
The funds must be available for the investment in a bank account in Spain. It usually takes between 10 and 15 days to apply for the residency visa.
If the application is made in Spain, it is valid for two years. It can be renewed for up to 5 years if the investment is not interrupted, whereupon the visa holder may apply for a long-term Spanish residence permit.
Apart from the requirement to invest in real estate, applicants must have a clean criminal record, sufficient financial resources to cover any stay in Spain, and private health insurance.
Applicants must also not have been denied visas or refused entry to the Schengen area in the past.
5. Move to spain with a non-lucrative visa
If you are earning more than €2,400 Euros on a monthly basis (whether based on a pension or any other kind of regular income) you can also apply for residency in Spain – though for non-working purposes only. This is known as a 'non-lucrative visa'.
If more than one person is applying (for instance you intend to come with your spouse/partner and children) the income required will increase by approximately €600 per month for each additional member.
You can also apply even if you do not have regular income, but simply have deposit/s in bank account/s over that amount on a yearly basis, so over €30,000 Euros for 1 member and an additional €7,200 (approx.) for each additional member.
An important difference between the non-lucrative visa in Spain and the Golden visa is that here you are not entitled to work in Spain, but it is perhaps a more accessible option for residency in Spain.
For this reason, this visa can be the most appropriate for those considering retirement in Spain.
Even not being allowed to work in Spain, that does not mean you will not be allowed to work in any other country, provided you do not lose Spanish residence by staying abroad working for longer periods of time.
The visa application process for a non-lucrative Visa in Spain: applications must be submitted at your nearest Spanish Consulate in the UK. The person applying for the visa must present the application personally.
A parent, guardian, or duly accredited representative can present an application on behalf of children under the legal age of majority. The time-frame for approval or denial of your non-lucrative residency visa application is one month after receiving it.
The non-lucrative visa awarded to UK citizens has a 3-month validity, so it must be collected from the Spanish embassy or consulate before the expiry date, or it will become invalid.
Along with your visa, you will receive your NIE number, which is necessary for carrying-out almost any formal process in Spain.
Upon arrival in Spain, British nationals have one month to visit the local immigration office or police station in the area you plan to live and apply for a Foreigners’ Identity Card (TIE) as well as complete registration at the local town hall in the municipality where you will be residing.
6. Move to spain with a family reunification visa
Another option for British citizens who wish to move to Spain from the UK lies with the family reunification visa.
UK nationals can apply for this visa, which allows family members of anyone with a valid residence permit to join them in Spain.
In order to qualify for the visa, the person with Spanish residency must demonstrate a minimum level of earnings, sufficient to financially support the family members who wish to join them in Spain.
In Spain, this is normally expressed as a multiple of the amount that the Spanish authorities consider necessary to live in Spain. Known as IPREM, it has been set at €600 p/m for 2023 and is reviewed annually.
For British citizens moving to spain from the UK under a family reunification visa, the amount has been set at 150% of IPREM or €900 per month. Additional family members require an additional 50% of IPREM or €300, per family member.
The process is normally carried out by the legal representatives of the family member who is resident in Spain, and once approved, the family members moving to spain from the UK must present the authorisation at their nearest Spanish Consulate.
7. Moving to spain post-brexit to work
UK citizens who wish to move to Spain from the UK to work have a number of options. Probably the easiest - but most expensive - would be via the Golden Visa. As stated above, this visa grants the holder the right to live - and work - in Spain.
Care must be taken however if a couple both wish to live and work in Spain. In this case, both spouses must obtain a visa and the financial requirements are doubled i.e. instead of buying property at a value of €500,000, the couple must invest €1m.
Much more difficult to is to obtain an employment visa to work with a Spanish company on the basis that no Spanish nationals or foreign nationals legally resident in Spain would not be suitable to do the job.
8. Digital nomad visa
A new alternative lies in the digital nomad visa, which the Spanish government has recently introduced and, at the time of writing in early 2023, is still 'finding its feet'.
While the requirements have been established by the government, immigration lawyers will confirm that the process has yet to be implemented uniformly by all of the stake-holders. For example, part of the process, just as with other visas, requires the participation of Spanish Consulates around the world, and not all (or even most) have finalised their local processes.
Despite having a relatively high-threshold of documentary proof to demonstrate the applicant's suitability to obtain a visa, it does represent a much lower cost option as compared to the Golden Visa.
Foreign nationals may apply for the digital nomad visa whether they be an employee or self-employed person.
Most of the process needs to be prepared in advance of the visa being approved by the Spanish Consulate, so best to seek professional advice in order to ensure that you are able to obtain such a visa.
9. Set up an innovative business in spain
Another option to get a residency visa that could allow you to work in Spain is provided by the Entrepreneur's visa, under Law 14/2013.
This is a residence permit created for those non-EU citizens who are starting a business in Spain. Upon compliance with the requirements set-out in the relevant legislation, Spanish immigration law will grant you residency as a result of your business idea.
However, bear in mind that business must be truly innovative, and the project is required to be aligned with the interests of Spain. In order to be accepted moving to Spain after Brexit, your project must fulfil the following conditions:
It has to create employment for the country, at least in the long-run, and be a positive stimulus for the general Spanish economy and good investment opportunities.
The business must involve a high level of technology and enhance the socio-economic development of Spain.
10. Student visa for british nationals to attend courses in spain
Following Brexit, British citizens moving to Spain from the UK to attend a course of study, for which the duration is greater than 90 days, a visa will be required.
Essentially, the student must demonstrate that they are attending an approved course, as well as details relating to the institution hosting the course, the location, proof of accommodation as well as sufficient funds with which to support themselves during the course.
Care must be taken to ensure that the student has a valid passport with at least 1 years validity, health insurance to cover their stay, criminal record check and medical certificate (these last two if the course of study lasts for more than 6 months).
11. Irish and other eu passport holders
Many UK citizens are entitled to a passport from Ireland and, indeed from other European countries, as a result of being born there, or indeed if a parent or grandparent was born in another State in the European Union.
While this depends on the rules of the individual EU States, if a British citizen is able to successfully apply for an EU passport, they may apply for residency in Spain with all the typical rights to live and work here.
Once that application has been processed, their spouse and children may apply for residency on the basis that their family member is a Spanish resident. This is known as the Family Reunification visa and may be applied for even at the same time as the primary visa in some cases.
12. Becoming tax resident in spain
If you aren’t a Spanish citizen, but you live there for at least 183 days out of every year, then you must pay Spanish taxes.
Becoming a tax resident means having to pay taxes on your global income and global assets at a progressive rate which can go up to 45% depending where you live.
This worldwide income can include your state or private pensions from the UK. Therefore, if you want to draw down large amounts of your pension fund when moving to Spain, it would probably be best done before moving so that you're still a UK taxpayer at that point.
If you spend less than six months per year in the county where you own a house, then you must pay non-residents’ taxes even if you don't rent the property out.
If you plan to spend only occasional time in your holiday home in Spain, see our article on property tax in Spain.
13. How do you register for healthcare in spain?
British expats who become Spanish resident must be registered before they can receive medical treatment. Basic state services are usually completely free; however, there may be certain things that patients must pay for.
For British citizens living in Spain who needs medical care from a hospital located outside their home country (in this case, the UK) to receive treatment at a public hospital within Spain they must:
- Pay national insurance contributions in Spain as a result of self-employment or working as an employee in a Spanish company
- Make direct payments into the special social security system for people who don't pay income tax.
- Use a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) (now obsolete).
- Be entitled to healthcare as a permanent resident having lived in Spain for five years
- Obtain private health insurance that has been approved as suitable for the purposes of an application for a residency visa in Spain.