Moving to Spain from the UK: 2026 Step-by-Step Guide

Costa Bridge provides practical relocation preparation and signposting, not legal or tax advice. Rules change — always confirm current requirements with official sources or qualified professionals before acting.

Moving to Spain from the UK is still very possible after Brexit. What changed is that British citizens now need permission to live there, so the move starts with a visa, not a removal van. This guide takes you through it in the order most people need it, from the first question (do I need a visa?) to the paperwork in your first month in Spain. Each step links to a fuller guide when you are ready for the detail.

Step 1: Check whether you need a visa

If you were legally living in Spain before 1 January 2021, you are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and keep your right to live there. You should hold a TIE residence card that says so. See our Withdrawal Agreement guide.

Everyone else is treated as a non-EU citizen. As a visitor you can stay up to 90 days in any 180 across the whole Schengen area, and you cannot reset the count by leaving for a few days. Owning a home in Spain does not change this. To live there, you need a visa or a family route. Our 90/180 rule guide explains how the days are counted.

Step 2: Choose your visa route

The right route depends on one question above all: will you work, and for whom?

Not working (retired, or living on savings, pensions or rental income): the non-lucrative visa. You show about €28,800 a year for yourself and €7,200 for each family member, and you cannot work at all, including remote work for a UK employer.
Working remotely for UK or other non-Spanish employers or clients: the digital nomad visa. You need at least €2,849 a month (twice Spain's 2026 minimum wage), at least three months with your employer or clients, and a degree or three years' experience.
A job with a Spanish employer, or your own business in Spain: one of the work permits, usually arranged with the employer.
Married to, or the partner of, a Spanish or other EU citizen: the EU family route, which has no income test of its own when your partner is Spanish.
Studying: the student visa, which also lets you work up to 30 hours a week.

The golden visa (residence for buying property worth €500,000 or more) closed to new applications on 3 April 2025. Buying a home is still open to British buyers but no longer comes with the right to live in Spain. Compare all the visa routes side by side.

Step 3: Work out how much money you need

There are three separate sums, and passing the first one does not prove you can afford the other two.

The visa money test. The figures above, shown with bank statements, pension statements or payslips. Non-lucrative visa applicants can use savings that cover the full year.
The move itself. Visa fees (£516 for the non-lucrative visa and £719 for the digital nomad visa at the UK consulates), police certificates, apostilles and sworn translations, health insurance, flights and removals, temporary accommodation, and a rental deposit. For a long-term home the legal deposit is usually one month's rent, and the landlord pays the agency's fees.
Living costs. Rent varies far more than anything else, from a few hundred euros a month inland to well over €1,500 in the most popular coastal towns. Our town guides give local figures, and how much money you need to move to Spain has a budget checklist.

Keep a reserve. If the pound falls 10% against the euro, every bill you pay in euros costs you about 11% more in pounds.

Step 4: Sort out healthcare

For a visa, you usually need Spanish private health insurance with full cover, no co-payments and no waiting periods, from an insurer authorised in Spain. Budget roughly €80 to €250 a month per person depending on age. UK state pensioners can instead register an S1 and use the Spanish public system on the same terms as Spaniards. Workers who pay into Spanish social security are covered through it. After a year on the padrón, people with no other cover can usually join the public system by paying into the convenio especial. Our healthcare guide for British expats covers each option.

Step 5: Choose where to live

Spain's costas are very different places: the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol have the largest British communities and the most English spoken; the Costa Cálida and Costa de Almería are cheaper and quieter; the north and the Costa Brava are greener and cooler. Think about winter as well as summer, the airport you will fly from, healthcare nearby, and whether you will need a car. Which Spanish costa is right for you? compares them, and our costa and town guides cover rent, schools, healthcare and the British community town by town.

Rent for six to twelve months before you buy. It costs a little more in the short term and saves people from buying in the wrong place. See renting vs buying in Spain.

Step 6: Prepare your documents in the UK

Most of the work happens before you leave. For the non-lucrative and digital nomad visas, expect to need:

a passport valid for the whole stay, with blank pages;
the application form and the fee;
proof of income or savings, and for remote workers, contracts and proof of the work relationship;
Spanish health insurance (or an S1);
a UK police certificate from ACRO (Spain asks about the last five years, and about any other country you lived in);
for the non-lucrative visa, a medical certificate;
marriage and birth certificates if family members are coming with you.

UK official documents such as the ACRO certificate and birth and marriage certificates usually need an apostille from the Foreign Office and a sworn translation into Spanish by a traductor jurado. ACRO certificates and medical certificates are only accepted for a few months, so time them for your appointment. Check the checklist of the consulate that covers where you live (London or Edinburgh) before you pay for anything. Our seven biggest visa mistakes lists what trips people up.

Step 7: Your first month in Spain

Padrón. Register your address at the town hall (empadronamiento). You need it for almost everything else. See the padrón guide.
TIE card. If you arrived on a visa, apply for your residence card within one month of entering Spain, with a fingerprint appointment at the police station. Your NIE number is already on your visa. NIE vs TIE explains the difference.
Bank account. A Spanish account makes rent, utilities and tax far easier. See opening a Spanish bank account.
Healthcare. Register your S1 or social security at the local health centre, or keep your private policy active.
Driving. Once you are resident, you can drive on your UK licence for a limited time before you must exchange it for a Spanish one. See driving in Spain after Brexit.

Tax: plan it before you move

If you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain, or your main home and interests are there, you will normally become Spanish tax resident and be taxed on your worldwide income. Most UK pensions are then taxed in Spain; UK government service pensions (civil service, police, armed forces, teachers) usually stay taxed in the UK. You may also need to declare overseas assets worth over €50,000 on modelo 720. Read Spanish tax residency and the UK–Spain tax treaty and get advice from a cross-border tax adviser before you move, not after.

How long it takes

Allow about a year from the first serious research to the move, and longer if you are selling a UK home or moving children between school years. Consulate appointments, apostilles and translations often take longer than people expect, and the TIE appointment in Spain can take weeks in busy areas. Our realistic 12-month timeline breaks it down month by month, and the free Move Planner turns it into checklists.

Common mistakes

Planning to live in Spain on the 90/180 rule. It is for visits, not for living.
Choosing the non-lucrative visa and then working remotely. It is not allowed, even for a UK employer.
Buying before renting, or before your visa is approved.
Getting documents apostilled and translated too early, so they expire before the appointment.
Leaving tax and pension advice until after you have become Spanish tax resident.

Where to get help

Many people do the whole process themselves. If you would like someone to check your plan, our free Readiness Review looks at your route, money, documents and timing and tells you what to do next, and our directory lists English-speaking immigration lawyers, gestores and tax advisers. Costa Bridge gives planning guidance, not legal or tax advice; for a decision that depends on your exact circumstances, use a qualified professional.

Sources and review date

Reviewed on 13 October 2026.

Moving to Spain from the UK: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide