Moving to Spain is a dream for many people who are drawn to its fantastic weather and cuisine, beautiful coastlines and landscapes, relaxed pace of life, and rich culture and history.
It is a dream that is not that hard to realize, if you really want to make it happen.
Paperwork is required of course and relocating to a new culture and language won’t be without its challenges, but Go! Go! España is here to simplify the paperwork and guide you every step of the way.
Please get in contact and we will be happy to advise.
Moving to Spain is a great adventure
Not just the world’s second most popular tourist destination
Spain is famous for its holiday resorts, historical landmarks, vibrant nightlife, tapas, wine, sangría, and sunny beaches but Spain is not only a tourist destination.
It also welcomes many new immigrants every year, offering a low cost of living and solid employment and education opportunities.
Immigrants Moving to Spain
Moving to Spain is attractive to Latin Americans because of the shared language, but immigrants from all around the world arrive every year in Spain.
Spain is a particularly popular emigration destination to people from the UK and Italy.
Before the turn of the 21st century, immigrants accounted for less than 2% of the Spanish population.
Now in 2021, Spain is the fourth most popular immigration destination in Europe and immigrants makeup around 15% of the Spanish population.
Paperwork requirements to move to Spain
Paperwork requirements differ depending on whether you are moving to Spain from another EU country or from a country that is outside of the EU.
EU citizens are permitted to live and work in Spain without a visa but must register as a resident if they spend more than 90 days in Spain.
All non-EU citizens must apply for a Residence Permit if they wish to live here.
Anyone moving to Spain will be required to demonstrate they have sufficient funds to sustain themselves whilst in Spain, along with adequate health insurance and a clean criminal record.
Non-EU citizens and EU citizens moving to Spain
Non-EU citizens can apply for a Tourist Visa which will permit them to live in Spain for a maximum of 90 days.
After 90 days, EU and Non-EU citizens can apply for a Temporary Residence Permit which will permit them to live and work in Spain for 2 years.
This Temporary Residence Permit can be renewed for a further one or two years.
Applying for a Permanent Residency in Spain is possible after an individual has been legally living in Spain for 5 years.
Non-EU citizens should apply for their visas in the Spanish consulate of their home country.
Once a visa is granted, the holder has a maximum of one month before moving to Spain.
On arriving in Spain, the first stop should be the immigration office (La Oficina de Extranjeros) to get a Spanish Identity Card (TIE: Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero).
Both EU and non-EU citizens are also required to get a Spanish Identity Number (NIE: Número de identidad de extranjero), which is the foreign equivalent of the Identity Numbers (DNI: Documento Nacional de Identidad) all Spanish nationals hold.
Move to Spain, this country has everything!
Once your paperwork is taken care of, you can get on with enjoying Spain! Spain is an incredibly varied country with so much to offer.
If you like sunshine and outdoor life, you can find this anywhere in Spain.
The north is wetter and colder than the south and inland Spain can get bitterly cold in winter, but everywhere in Spain sees consistently hot and sunny springs and summers.
Sunshine and sea in Spain
If you are moving to Spain with beach resorts in mind, you will want to consider Andalucía and cities such as Málaga, Almería, and Marbella which are on the Costa del Sol (coast of the sun) and all famous beach destinations.
Cádiz is another option, on the Costa de la Luz (coast of the light) which is still part of Andalucía but faces the Atlantic rather than the Mediterranean on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The beautiful sunny coastline can also be enjoyed on the Costa Blanca (white coast).
This is the southeastern Mediterranean coast below Valencia with popular cities such as Alicante and Benidorm.
Sun-worshippers should also not forget the Spanish islands: The Balearic Islands (Las Islas Baleares) of the Mediterranean Sea (Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca, Formentera…) and The Canary Islands (Las Islas Canarias) of the Atlantic Ocean (Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera…).
But Spain is not just sunshine and sea. If you are moving to Spain with aspirations other than the beach, you will be pleased to know that there is much, much more to Spain.
Discover its green north after moving to Spain
If you prefer milder temperatures and a less arid climate, you can consider a move to the north of Spain which sees significantly more rainfall than the south.
The landscape as a result is lush and green, making for wonderful hiking and cycling.
Anywhere in the interior Spain gets very hot in the summer, so even Northern provinces such as León, Palencia, Burgos, and La Rioja may prove too hot.
If you prefer temperatures of 30 degrees rather than 40 degrees, you will want to look at the coastal northern provinces of the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia.
Spain’s green north coast is picturesque and largely unspoiled by large developments.
It is getting more popular as a tourist destination, but tourist numbers are minuscule in comparison to the beach resorts of Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol.
Northern cities to consider would be Galicia’s A Coruña, Asturias’ Gijón, Cantabria’s Santander, and the Basque Country’s Bilbao.
All are modern Spanish cities with lots going on, but less touristy than the likes of Málaga, Benidorm, Ibiza, Mallorca, Alicante, etc.
You can even ski in Spain if you want to!
Spain truly does have something for everyone. You can even ski in Spain.
The main ski resorts are in the Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada, but you can also ski near Madrid, in Galicia, León, Cantabria, La Rioja, and Teruel.
Spain has numerous impressive mountain ranges if mountaineering is your thing.
Others include Los Picos de Europa and the Cantabrian Mountains.
If you are a sports fan you can join the Spanish in their love of football and the world-famous La Liga, cycling and La Vuelta a España, Grand Prix and El Circuito de Barcelona-Cataluña, and tennis and El Masters de Madrid.
Spain has historical monuments of interest to rival any country.
Who hasn’t heard of and wanted to visit La Sagrada Familia de Barcelona, La Alhambra de Granada, La Mezquita de Córdoba, La Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, El Acueducto de Segovia, or El Museo Guggenheim de Bilbao.
It’s hard to know where to stop when discussing moving to Spain.
We haven’t really even talked that much about Spanish cuisine.
Spanish food is renowned around the world and you don’t have to pay a fortune to enjoy it.
Great quality food is available up and down the country at very reasonable prices. And what about Spanish wine!!!
There really are so many reasons to move to Spain. Take your pick!
