Which Spanish visa fits you?

What types of Spain visa are there?

If you are not a citizen of the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, you need a visa or residence permit that matches why you are moving. These are the main routes, and the ones this finder checks:

• Digital nomad visa: remote work for an employer or clients based outside Spain.
• Non-lucrative visa: living on your own income or savings, without working.
• Work visa (employee): a job with an employer in Spain, who applies for the permit.
• Highly qualified professional: a management post or a job that needs higher education, with a high salary.
• Student visa: full-time higher education, or post-compulsory secondary studies.
• Family reunification: joining a non-EU relative who already lives in Spain. Relatives of Spanish citizens have a separate permit.
• Entrepreneur: starting an innovative business, after a favourable report from ENISA, the state agency that assesses business plans.

What do I need to move to Spain from the UK or the US?

UK and US citizens are not EU citizens, so they need one of the routes above. Which one depends on your plans rather than your passport, but your nationality does change the consular visa fee:

How much money do I need to retire in Spain?

Most people who retire to Spain from outside the EU use the non-lucrative visa. You need of the IPREM, a public reference index used for these thresholds: a month, or for the first year. Each family member who comes with you adds a month. You can show a regular income or savings, and the official pages set no age limit.

The visa does not let you work, not even remotely for clients abroad. You also need health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, a medical certificate and a clean criminal record for the last 5 years. The first permit lasts 1 year, then renews for 2 years at a time if you still have the money and spend more than 183 days a year in Spain.

Can I move to Spain for work?

Yes, with a job offer. Your employer applies, and the job must be on the quarterly shortage list or the employer must show it can’t fill it locally (nationals of Chile and Peru are exempt from this test). The contract must meet the collective agreement. The first permit lasts up to 1 year, tied to one region and occupation; the renewal lasts 4 years and covers any job in Spain.

For management posts and jobs that need a degree, the highly qualified professional route is decided by the Large Companies Unit (UGE). It needs a degree or at least years’ equivalent experience, and a salary of at least a year. The EU Blue Card uses the same figure, with a reduced for shortage occupations and recent graduates.

Can I move to Spain with my family?

On the digital nomad and non-lucrative visas, your family can come with you if you show more money; the finder adds them. If you already live in Spain on a residence permit, you can bring family later through family reunification after year. You need a month for a two-person household plus for each extra person, or less when children are joining. A spouse or partner and working-age children who join this way can work.

Family members of Spanish citizens use a separate permit: the application is free, it lasts years and it lets them work.

Do EU citizens need a visa to move to Spain?

No. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, including Irish citizens, don’t need any of these visas. If you’ll live in Spain for more than three months, register as a resident at the immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) or the police station for your province within months of arriving.

What if I’m already in Spain without a permit?

Most of the routes above can’t be used from inside Spain without a permit. The arraigo routes can, and most need 2 years of continuous stay. Official sources disagree on several of their conditions, so the finder lists them without checking eligibility: confirm with an immigration lawyer or office. The one-off 2026 regularisation closed on .

How do I apply for a Spain visa?

Most visas are requested at the Spanish consulate where you live legally. The digital nomad, highly qualified and entrepreneur routes are decided by the UGE, and if you’re in Spain legally you can apply for the nomad permit online from inside Spain. For work and family reunification, the employer or relative in Spain applies first, then you request the visa. The digital nomad visa calculator checks that route’s other conditions in detail.