🇪🇸Spain · Visas
Spain — Visas
Spain residency routes in 2026: NLV, DN, autónomo, Lucrativa, Arraigo, family and study. Golden Visa terminated 3 April 2025. NIE, empadronamiento, TIE, and citizenship at 10 years (2 for Latin American citizens).
After 3 April 2025 Spain has six working residency gates: NLV (passive income), DN (remote workers), autónomo (entrepreneurs), Lucrativa (salaried employment), Arraigo (regularisation after three years), and family / study. This chapter is the map with numbers and caveats. Figures are Q2 2026; where rules changed in April 2025 or January 2026, that is flagged.
Six gates into Spain (after the Golden Visa closure)
Spain, like Italy and Portugal, does not issue an "immigration visa". Every door is tied to an income source or relationship: passive income, remote employment, entrepreneurship, salaried contract, family, study, or the Arraigo regularisation pipeline. The labels are Spanish, and at submission the consular officer asks ¿qué tipo de visado?, a general answer is rejected.
Short inventory. NLV (Visado de Residencia No Lucrativa), retirees and rentiers with passive income from € 2,400/mo. DN (Visa para Nómadas Digitales), remote workers and freelancers with non-Spanish clients, minimum € 2,849/mo. Visa para Trabajo por Cuenta Propia (autónomo), entrepreneurs with a business plan and income from € 2,850/mo. Visa para Trabajo por Cuenta Ajena (Lucrativa), salaried work via a Spanish employer through a quota. Reagrupación Familiar, family of an existing resident. Arraigo, regularisation after 3 yr years of documented presence.
What closed. Golden Visa (Visado de Residencia para Inversores), in force since 2013 and sold primarily for real-estate purchases from €500,000, stopped accepting new applications on 3 April 2025. The decision was driven by the housing crisis in Madrid and Barcelona. Existing holders keep status and can renew, but cannot add new family members to the file.
All six remaining gates share a common entry hall: (foreigner ID), (address registration in the padrón municipal), and TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, the plastic residence card). Time from arrival to plastic card in Madrid / Barcelona: 3-5 months from booking the cita previa.
NLV (Non-Lucrative Visa), retirees and rentiers
Full name: Visado de Residencia No Lucrativa. In force since 1992, historically popular with northern European retirees in Andalusia and Alicante. Formally a D visa renewable on TIE; substantively a regime for people moving on passive income and not intending to work.
Requirements
- At least € 2,400/mo of documented monthly income for the main applicant. This is 400 % of IPREM (Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples) for 2026. Each dependent (spouse, child) adds € 600/mo (100 % IPREM).
- Stable passive character of income: pension, rental property income, dividend portfolio, bond coupons, royalties.
- Savings on account, at least €28,800 (12 months of the minimum). Held in any major bank, in euros or convertible currencies.
- Health insurance from a Spanish private provider (Sanitas, ASISA, Adeslas, Mapfre Salud, AXA Health) with full coverage and no copays, valid for one year. EHIC and foreign-issued insurance are not accepted.
- Criminal-record certificates from the country of citizenship and from every country of residence in the last 5 years, apostilled and translated by a sworn translator.
- Confirmed housing for the first year (12-month lease or owned property).
What is explicitly forbidden
Any work in Spain, including remote work for a foreign employer. This is the classic trap: "I live in Spain but work for a company in Germany", NLV forbids that. The tax authority can check and revoke the visa. For remote workers the DN visa has existed since 2023.
Consular processing runs 60-90 days. After grant, 90 days to enter. Then cita previa for biometrics at the Oficina de Extranjería covering your residence. NLV is issued for one year, renewable for two (then another two); permanent residence (residencia de larga duración) opens at 5 years.
DN visa for remote workers and freelancers
Visa para Nómadas Digitales, introduced by Law 28/2022 (Ley de Startups, effective January 2023). Replaced the earlier workaround of stretching NLV around remote contracts. Formally a D visa with a TIE valid for up to 3 years; substantively a dedicated category for people earning from non-Spanish employers and clients.
Requirements
- At least € 2,849/mo of documented monthly income. This is 225 % SMI (Salario Mínimo Interprofesional) after the January 2026 reindexation; until end-2025 the threshold was 200 % SMI (€2,762). Spouse adds 75 % of the base; each child 25 %.
- A university degree, or at least 3 years of relevant work experience.
- A remote-work contract with a foreign employer at least 12 months old (for employees), or freelance contracts where at least 75 % of revenue in the past 12 months comes from clients outside Spain.
- Evidence that the foreign employer has no permanent establishment in Spain, or that Spanish-client income is at most 20 % of total.
- Health insurance with full Spanish-provider coverage.
- Apostilled and translated criminal-record certificate.
- Social-security coverage certificate from the home country (A1 form for EU, equivalent elsewhere), or enrolment in Spanish RETA (for the autónomo variant of DN).
File either at a Spanish consulate (visa issued for one year) or in-country at UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos) for those already present on another status (typically tourist). The UGE route is faster: 20-30 working days versus 60-120 at the consulate, and UGE issues a permit for 3 years immediately.
The Beckham law for DN holders. Since 2023, DN-visa holders can elect the Beckham impatriate regime: 24 % flat on Spanish income for six years, foreign income exempt. Applies only to salaried employees of a foreign company. Freelancers on the autónomo variant of DN do not get Beckham. This is a significant fork: "salaried by a foreign firm" (Beckham available) versus "freelance through autónomo with foreign clients" (Beckham not available).
Autónomo visa for entrepreneurs
Visa para Trabajo por Cuenta Propia. Fits people opening their own business in Spain: a shop, a workshop, a café, consulting for Spanish clients, an IT project under Spanish incorporation. The defining difference from DN: clients should be predominantly Spanish (or European through Spanish-registered business).
Requirements. A business plan stamped by one of the recognised professional associations: UPTA (Unión de Profesionales y Trabajadores Autónomos), ATA (Federación Nacional de Asociaciones de Trabajadores Autónomos), or UATAE (Unión de Asociaciones de Trabajadores Autónomos y Emprendedores). Proof of capital for the first year (typically €15,000-30,000 depending on the business type). Confirmed or projected income at least € 2,850/mo/month.
After arrival and obtaining the TIE, mandatory registration in RETA (Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos) at Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social. Reduced social-security contribution € 230/mo/month (the Tarifa Plana) for the first 12 months. From year two an income-tier scale: €310-1,270/month. This is on top of IRPF.
The downside of autónomo versus DN: no Beckham law. Effective tax-and-SS load runs about 35-40 % on €40,000/year of revenue. An alternative is to incorporate an SL (Sociedad Limitada, the equivalent of an LLC) and run as a salaried director, which makes Beckham available, but the legal structure is heavier and requires a Spanish accountant from day one.
Lucrativa, salaried work with a Spanish employer
Visa para Trabajo por Cuenta Ajena. The classic employment-based residence permit through a Spanish employer. Filed not by the worker but by the company through INEM / SEPE (Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal), with proof that no Spanish or EU candidate is available for the vacancy (the catálogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura).
In practice the route works mainly for occupations on the shortage list: nurses, certain IT roles, civil engineers, regional-cuisine chefs, agricultural specialists. For most white-collar workers the DN visa is the easier path.
An alternative inside Law 28/2022 is the Profesional Altamente Cualificado (PAC) visa for highly skilled specialists, with a salary floor of 1.5× the sector average. Filed via UGE on a 20-30 day fast track. Mostly used for intra-company transfers at large multinationals.
Golden Visa: what happened on 3 April 2025
Visado de Residencia para Inversores, active since 2013, was through 2024 sold primarily on €500,000 real-estate purchases. Alternative thresholds: €1,000,000 in Spanish bank deposits, €2,000,000 in government bonds, €1,000,000 in Spanish company shares. Family joined without separate investment.
The decision to terminate the programme was passed by the Congreso de los Diputados in November 2024, driven by the housing crisis in Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and Mallorca. The Sánchez government argued the scheme primarily benefited foreign property speculators rather than the Spanish productive economy. The law took effect on 3 April 2025.
Grandfathering. Existing Golden Visa holders keep their status and can renew under the prior rules (5+5 years, permanent residence at 5, citizenship at 10). New family members cannot be added after 3 April 2025: a child born after the reform does not get automatic status under a parent's Golden Visa, a separate family-reunification visa is required.
Alternatives for investors. Italy (Visto per Investitori: €250,000 in an innovative start-up, €500,000 in an active company, €2,000,000 in government bonds). Greece (Golden Visa €250,000-800,000 in real estate depending on the region, still open). Malta (Citizenship by Investment from €700,000). Portugal (see the Portugal Visa chapter, surviving routes through venture funds and cultural donation).
Arraigo, from undocumented to resident
Arraigo, Spain's regularisation route after 3 yr years of documented presence in the country without a matching status. Uniquely Spanish: Italy, Portugal and Germany have no direct equivalent. Active since 2005, streamlined by the 2022 reform (Real Decreto 629/2022).
Four subtypes:
- Arraigo Social, the classic. Proof of integration: 3 years in Spain documented via , a one-year employment contract or proof of financial independence, an integration report from the municipality (informe de arraigo), no criminal record in Spain.
- Arraigo Laboral, the work-history route. Requires 2 years in Spain and 6 months of work (potentially "irregular", as long as social contributions were paid).
- Arraigo Familiar, for parents of Spanish or EU-citizen children, and for adult children of EU citizens. No minimum stay required.
- Arraigo Formativo (new, 2022), for those with 2 years in Spain who commit to an accredited training programme (FP, language courses, vocational education).
Who it fits. Primarily people who moved on a tourist visa or whose status expired and who in fact stayed and built a life in Spain. Not a typical starting route, but worth knowing: moving without a matched visa does not mean "permanently outside the system". Within 2-3 years a regularisation application can be filed.
Family, study, salaried work
Reagrupación Familiar covers immediate family of an existing resident: spouse, children under 18, dependent parents over 65, children 18-26 in education and financial dependence. The sponsor needs a valid permit at least one year old and income above 150 % IPREM (around €900/month) plus per-member uplifts. Processing 3-6 months.
Student visa (Visado de Estudios). Suited to universities with Spanish accreditation (Complutense, Autónoma Madrid, Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra, Politécnica Madrid and others). Living-cost minimum around €600/month (100 % IPREM). The visa runs for the programme duration; after graduation, one year of Búsqueda de Empleo to find work and convert to Lucrativa or autónomo. Five accumulated years of residency open permanent residence.
Lucrativa via contract. With an offer from a Spanish employer, the company files the application through SEPE. For specialists on the catálogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura (medicine, certain IT roles, engineering in selected sectors) the process is expedited. For others, a labour-market test against local candidates is required, which is why DN or autónomo are usually faster.
NIE, empadronamiento, TIE, after landing
The visa lets you cross the border. Residency is a sequence of three documents: (Número de Identidad de Extranjero, the permanent ID), (address registration in the padrón municipal), and TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, the plastic residence card). Without these three you cannot open a bank account, sign a long lease, or enrol a child in school.
Sequence after arrival:
- Find housing (any documentation, a 6+ month lease, proof of ownership, or an authorisation from the owner to register at the address).
- Visit the ayuntamiento (district city hall) with passport, visa and the housing document. Receive empadronamiento (volante de empadronamiento). Free, usually same-day in smaller cities, by cita previa in Madrid / Barcelona (1-2 week wait).
- Book a cita previa on the Oficina de Extranjería site (sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es). Realistic wait in Madrid and Barcelona is around 3 mo; 1-2 months in smaller cities.
- Attend with documents (passport with visa, empadronamiento, health insurance, photograph, receipt of fee 790-012), provide biometrics.
- Receive the plastic TIE 30-45 days later.
In parallel: the NIE is issued together with the TIE procedure. Cl@ve, Spain's electronic ID for individuals, is set up at a Seguridad Social or Agencia Tributaria office and is required for online access to most public services. Empadronamiento renews every 2 years for foreigners (renovación).
Citizenship: 10 years or 2
Naturalisation in Spain takes 10 yr years of continuous residence for most applicants. The main fork is holding citizenship of an Ibero-American community country: that shortens the clock to 2 yr years.
Who is on the shortened track. Citizens of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, the Philippines, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal. Sephardic Jews (descendants of those expelled from Spain in 1492) had a special law, but the window closed in 2019.
Requirements beyond the residence period. CCSE (Conocimientos Constitucionales y Socioculturales de España, a test on Spanish history, culture, and Constitution) and DELE A2 (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera, Spanish at A2). Both administered by the Cervantes Institute, around €200 combined. Pass once, valid for life.
Additional conditions. Documented continuous residence (no more than 6 months absent per year), legal income source, no criminal record in Spain or in the country of citizenship over the past 5 years, "sufficient degree of integration" (loosely defined, in practice tested by language, residence, and tax history).
Dual citizenship. Spain generally requires renunciation of the prior passport at naturalisation. Exceptions: citizens of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and France can keep both. Other applicants formally renounce, though enforcement varies and several home countries do not actually process renunciations.
Practical notes for non-EU applicants
Every non-EU passport meets the same paperwork wall: home-country apostille, sworn Spanish translation by a registered traductor jurado (€30-50 per page), originals plus copies. Spanish bureaucracy rewards over-documentation. Bring two of everything.
Where speed varies most is the autonomous community and the city, not the visa category. Madrid and Barcelona Oficinas de Extranjería are perennially booked; Valencia, Bilbao, and Granada move faster. Some applicants deliberately empadronar in a smaller town to bypass capital-city queues, then move once the TIE is in hand. Whether this is allowed depends on intent; in practice it is widely used.
Banking. With a NIE, CaixaBank, BBVA and Santander open accounts for non-EU residents on extended KYC (proof of funds, source declaration, occasional video call). Wise and Revolut handle 90 % of first-year transactions without friction once a NIE is in hand. Before the NIE arrives, conto non residentes options are restricted at most banks.
Health insurance for the visa stage is a separate purchase from a Spanish provider with no copays. Public healthcare under SNS-ES only enrols you after the TIE and empadronamiento. Plan on private bridge coverage for the first six to twelve months.
Frequently asked
Which visa is realistic for a remote worker in 2026?
The DN visa (Visa para Nómadas Digitales) at € 2,849/mo/month. Requires a university degree or 3 years of relevant work experience; a foreign-employer contract older than one year, or 75 % freelance income from non-Spanish clients. Since 2023 the Beckham law is available to DN holders (24 % flat on Spanish income for 6 years), but only for salaried employees, not autónomos.
Can I still get a Spanish Golden Visa?
No. The programme was terminated on 3 April 2025 under housing-crisis pressure in Madrid and Barcelona. Existing holders keep status and can renew, but cannot add new family members. Investor alternatives: Italy (Visto per Investitori from €250,000), Greece (Golden Visa from €250,000), Malta (Citizenship by Investment from €700,000), Portugal (venture funds from €500,000).
How many years to Spanish citizenship?
10 yr years of continuous residence for most. 2 yr years for citizens of the Ibero-American community: Latin America, the Philippines, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal. Plus the CCSE exam (Spanish history, culture, Constitution) and DELE A2 (Spanish language), both via the Cervantes Institute, around €200 combined.
Does NLV allow remote work?
No. NLV (Visado de Residencia No Lucrativa) explicitly forbids any work activity, including remote work for a foreign employer. "I live in Spain but work for a company in Germany", NLV does not allow that. The tax authority can check and revoke the visa. The DN visa exists for that purpose since 2023.
How long does the TIE take after arrival?
Cita previa for biometrics at the Oficina de Extranjería runs about 3 mo in Madrid and Barcelona, 1-2 months in smaller cities (Granada, Zaragoza, Bilbao). After biometrics the plastic TIE arrives 30-45 days later. Until the plastic, you operate on the visa and empadronamiento.
What is Arraigo and who qualifies?
A regularisation route after 3 yr years of documented presence in Spain via . Four subtypes: Social (integration plus a one-year contract), Laboral (a 6-month work history), Familiar (for parents of Spanish or EU-citizen children), Formativo (commitment to accredited training). Used by people who moved without a matched visa and built a life in Spain over several years.
Verified · 2026-04-15