Moving to Spain: the steps, from official sources

The steps that apply everywhere in Spain, grouped by topic, each with the official page that confirms it, and guides for each region and city.

Steps for all of Spain

Good to know

• A decision on your immigration application
• A letter from the Tax Agency asking for documents or information
• A payment demand (providencia de apremio) from the Tax Agency
• A traffic fine (DGT multa)
• Apostille and sworn-translate US documents for use in Spain
• Apostilling US documents for use in Spain
• Apply for Spanish nationality by residence online
• Beckham Law special expatriate tax regime (impatriate regime)
• Bring a dog or cat from the US to Spain
• Buy and register a used car (transfer, taxes, ITV)
• Buying property in Spain as a foreigner
• Convenio especial - buying into Spain’s public health system
• Drive legally with a US license, then get a Spanish license
• Dual tax filing obligations for a US citizen resident in Spain (overview)
• Entrepreneur and self-employed residence routes
• Exchange a driving license from outside the EU
• Family reunification (reagrupación familiar) for relatives of residents
• General Work Visa / Work Authorization (Autorización de Residencia y Trabajo por Cuenta Ajena)
• Get an FBI criminal-record check with apostille for a Spanish visa
• Golden Visa (Investor Residence Visa) — Abolished Route, Status and Transition
• Health insurance requirements for non-lucrative and digital nomad visas
• Highly qualified professional and employer-sponsored work routes (UGE route)
• How appointments work: where each key step is booked
• Identity document for people granted international protection
• Importing a US-registered car into Spain
• International telework (digital nomad) visa or residence authorization
• Know Spain’s electricity: voltage, sockets and adapters
• Know the US consular services available to you in Spain
• Know where to ask official questions when you’re new
• Learn Spanish at official schools and get certified
• Modelo 720 - declaration of assets and rights held abroad
• Modelo 721 - declaration of virtual currencies (crypto-assets) held abroad
• Non-lucrative residence visa (living in Spain without working)
• Obtain a Spanish Social Security number (NUSS)
• Official government apps worth installing
• Official notifications: DEHú, Correos and the Tablón Edictal Único
• Public healthcare and the health card with international protection
• Public holidays in Spain (2026 and 2027)
• Read your utility bills and understand your comunidad de propietarios
• Register as self-employed (autónomo)
• Renew temporary residence and move to long-term residence (5 years)
• Rent a home: your rights under the LAU
• Residence card for family of EU or Spanish citizens (tarjeta de familiar de ciudadano de la Unión)
• Schools teaching a foreign curriculum, and moving a child’s studies
• Seeing a specialist and mental health care in Spain
• Send money abroad, receive it from abroad, and declare cash you carry
• Set up electricity in your name (cambio de titular, tariff, bono social)
• Shop online and receive parcels (Amazon.es, Correos, Citypaq lockers, customs)
• Short visits from family and friends: who needs a Schengen visa
• Social security agreements between Spain and other countries
• Spanish nationality by residence: how it works
• Spanish tax residency rules (183-day rule and other tests)
• Student Visa and Its Residency Implications (Visado de Estudios)
• Student stay in Spain (working while studying and after)
• Sworn/certified translations (traducción jurada) for official use in Spain
• Take the CCSE exam (constitutional and sociocultural knowledge)
• Take the DELE A2 Spanish exam for nationality
• Taxis and ride-hailing (VTC) in Spain
• UK nationals: residence under the Withdrawal Agreement
• US-Spain Social Security totalization agreement
• US-Spain income tax treaty (1990, as amended by the 2013 Protocol)
• Ukrainian temporary protection: the card and its renewal
• Understand Spanish tax residency and the annual Renta declaration
• Understand the Schengen 90/180 rule, the EES and ETIAS before you have residency
• Understand the visa pathways for Americans moving to Spain
• Understand your Spanish tax ID (NIF) and when your NIE serves as one
• Understand your employment contract and payslip (nómina)
• Use US cards and move money between the US and Spain
• Which Spain Visa/Residency Route Is Right for Me? (Overview)
• Work remotely for a US employer (international telework residence)

Regions and cities

• Andalucía: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Estepona, Fuengirola, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Marbella, Morón de la Frontera, Málaga, Nerja, Rota, San Roque (Sotogrande), Sevilla
• Aragón: Huesca, Teruel, Zaragoza
• Asturias: Avilés, Gijón, Oviedo
• Canarias: Adeje, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
• Cantabria: Santander, Torrelavega
• Castilla y León: Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid, Zamora, Ávila
• Castilla-La Mancha: Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo
• Cataluña: Barcelona, Girona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Lleida, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sitges, Tarragona
• Community of Madrid: Las Rozas de Madrid, Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Torrejón de Ardoz
• Comunitat Valenciana: Alicante, Benidorm, Castellón de la Plana, Dénia, Elche, Jávea (Xàbia), Valencia
• Extremadura: Badajoz, Cáceres
• Galicia: A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, Vigo
• Illes Balears: Ibiza Town (Eivissa), Palma
• La Rioja: Logroño
• Navarra: Pamplona
• País Vasco: Bilbao, Donostia/San Sebastián, Vitoria-Gasteiz
• Región de Murcia: Cartagena, Murcia

Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes