Moving to Spain
Visas and residency, citizenship, tax, company and banking, cost of living and the places to live in Spain, in one place.
Southern Europe
Navid lived hereThinking about moving to Spain?
In Spain, I lived in Barcelona.
Here's how long you can stay, the ways to live there for good, what you'd pay in tax and what everyday life costs, each figure from an official source.
In this guide, I'll show you:
- How long you can stay, by passport
- The visas and residency routes that let you live there
- How long citizenship takes
- How tax works, with the rates
- What it costs, and the internet and safety
- The best places to live
- The basics: capital, currency and languages
Pick your passport at the top of the page, and the stay rule shows for you.
TL;DRKey takeaways
Spain at a glance
How long can you stay in Spain?
It depends on the passport you hold.
Here's the rule for the most common ones:
US passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
UK passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
EU passport (German)- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- –
Canadian passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
Australian passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
Indian passport- Rule
- Visa needed
- Stay
- –
For any other passport, pick yours at the top, or see every country on the visa-free countries map.
Spain is in the Schengen area.
Days here count toward your 90 in any 180 across all of Schengen; count them with the Schengen calculator.
Visas and residency in Spain
Spain has a visa for people who work remotely:
- Telework visa (international teleworker, digital nomad) – an income of €2,442 a month, for 12 months
Compare them with every other country in the digital nomad visa finder.
These routes don't need a local job either:
- Non-lucrative residence visa (passive income visa) – €2,400 a month
See the investor routes side by side in the golden visa finder, and the ones for retirees in the retirement visa finder.
Citizenship in Spain
Naturalization takes about 10 years of residence.
Dual citizenship is allowed in some cases.
Work out your own timeline with the second passport calculator.
Tax in Spain
Spain taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
See where it sits among every country on the territorial tax map.
The main rates:
- Lowest income tax band – 0%
- Top income tax rate – 52%
- Corporate tax – 25%
- VAT or sales tax – 21%
- Capital gains tax – 26%
New residents can use Special regime for workers moving to Spain (the Beckham law).
See how it works in tax breaks for new residents.
Where you're a tax resident usually comes down to days.
Count yours with the 183-day rule calculator.
Company and banking
Compare the banks and cards that work for people abroad in the bank account finder.
Move money for less with the money transfer comparison.
Setting up a company here?
See the fees and yearly costs in company formation compared.
Many people who live abroad run a US LLC instead; check yours with the US LLC for non-residents checker.
Cost of living in Spain
Everyday prices in Spain are about 64% of US prices.
That's the World Bank's price level for 2025: its purchasing power conversion factor divided by the exchange rate.
It's cheaper than the US, though rent in the big cities can close the gap.
A night's stay in a whole place, by Inside Airbnb's median:
- Barcelona – $273
- Valencia – $188
- Madrid – $166
- Málaga – $198
- Seville – $125
Convert what things cost with the currency converter.
Is Spain safe?
The US State Department rates Spain Level 2 ("Exercise increased caution", updated 2026-08-01), the same level it gives France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. Levels 1 and 2 are both everyday travel; the US only asks you to reconsider a trip at Level 3. Some advisories are stricter for parts of a country, so read the full advisory before you go.
For a second view, the UK has no warning against travel.
See every country's level on the travel advisory map.
Internet in Spain
In M-Lab's open speed tests across Spain over the last 12 months, half came in above 81 Mbps download.
The fastest quarter of lines came in above 283 Mbps, closer to a good fiber connection (25,178,901 tests).
By place:
- Barcelona – 90 Mbps typical
- Valencia – 71 Mbps typical
- Las Palmas – 52 Mbps typical
- Madrid – 57 Mbps typical
- Málaga – 54 Mbps typical
- Seville – 93 Mbps typical
- Palma – 88 Mbps typical
- Granada – 113 Mbps typical
- Alicante – 92 Mbps typical
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife – 91 Mbps typical
- Tarifa – 122 Mbps typical
Test your own line when you arrive with my internet speed test.
The best places to live in Spain
- Barcelona – I lived here
- Valencia
- Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
- Madrid
- Málaga
- Seville
- Palma, Mallorca
- Granada
- Alicante
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- Tarifa
Compare them with places everywhere in digital nomad locations.
Spain: the basics
| What | Spain |
|---|---|
| Capital | Madrid |
| Currency | euro (EUR) |
| Languages | Spanish, Catalan, Galician |
| Population | about 46.7 million |
From GeoNames' country data (CC BY 4.0).
More tools for Spain
- Passport index and compare passports
- Time zone overlap calculator for calls with home
- eSIM finder for data when you land
- Card fees abroad calculator before you spend
Spain FAQs
Visa-free, for 90 days.
Pick another passport at the top of the page to see its rule.
It depends on your passport.
Pick yours at the top of the page to see the days, and whether you need a visa first.
Yes: Telework visa (international teleworker, digital nomad).
It asks for an income of €2,442 a month.
Yes, with Non-lucrative residence visa.
Each asks for a steady income; the section above lists the amounts.
About 10 years of residence.
In some cases.
Check the rules for your situation and your own country's.
Spain taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
Check the details with a tax adviser before you move.
Everyday prices are about 64% of US prices, by the World Bank's price level for 2025.
Rent in the biggest cities can be higher than that suggests.
The US State Department rates it Level 2.
Levels 1 and 2 are everyday travel; read the full advisory for any regions it warns about.
Half of M-Lab's tests there came in above 81 Mbps download over the last 12 months.
The fastest quarter of lines passed 283 Mbps.
The places I cover there are Barcelona, Valencia, Las Palmas, Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Palma, Granada, Alicante, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Tarifa.
Each has its own guide with the weather by month, internet and costs.
The euro (EUR).
The main languages are Spanish, Catalan and Galician.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
Places to live in Spain
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