How to Move to Spain This Summer

The Digital Nomad Visa is the only residency program you can apply for while already in Spain. No embassy appointments, no consulate trips. You arrive on a Schengen visa, apply online, and get approval within 20 business days.

That's why summer is the real deadline. Every other program requires advance preparation — at best, you'd have results by autumn. The Digital Nomad Visa is the only one you can start right now.

One more fact that surprises most people: out of roughly 60 countries that offer digital nomad visas, only three lead to citizenship. Czech Republic, Greece, and Spain. From day one, your clock toward a European passport has already started.

More than 53,000 people currently live in Spain on this program. 25,000 of them got their visa just last year. This is the country's most in-demand immigration program right now.

It works. But requirements get stricter every year. Right now is the best window to get in.

This is a full legal residency in Spain — valid for 3 years, with the right to live, work, access healthcare, and enroll your children in state schools.

Not a tourist status. Not a grey area. An official residency that opens the path to permanent residence, and after 10 years, to one of the most powerful passports in the world.

What it gives you in practice:

• 3 years of legal residency in Spain with the right to work remotely
• A European bank account
• Access to public healthcare for your whole family
• Free education for your children
• Travel throughout Europe without Schengen day limits
• Path to permanent residence at year 5 and citizenship at year 10

You can apply without a registered address, without having housing arranged in advance, and without a Spanish tax number. This matters, because many people assume they need to sort things out on the ground first. You don't.

I run consultations every day, and every single time I start the same way: checking whether someone meets the four basic criteria. Let's go through them together.

1️⃣ Income



Это сумма до вычета налогов, то есть брутто. Валюта значения не имеет: рубли, доллары, евро. Главное, чтобы доход был регулярным и подтверждённым.
Если немного не хватает, не страшно. Можно добавить накопления на счету. Формула простая: умножаете недостающую сумму в месяц на 36 (три года визы) и показываете эту цифру как резервный капитал.
Важный нюанс: доход должен приходить на счёт одного человека, основного заявителя. Складывать доходы двух членов семьи нельзя.


2️⃣ Remote work

The contract or agreement must specify that the work is to be performed remotely. Currently, Spain also requires a letter from the company confirming that they authorize the employee to work from abroad. It’s a fact that requirements have become stricter over the past two years. I hold consultations every day, and I always start the same way: I check whether the person meets four basic criteria. Let’s go over them together.


3️⃣ Work experience

At least three months of employment with your current employer or business partner. The company itself must have been in business for more than a year.


4️⃣ Education or professional experience

Either a relevant degree higher than a bachelor’s, with an apostille. Or three years of verified work experience in the field. Certificates and courses are no longer accepted. This is a change that has taken effect over the past two years.

If your profession does not match your degree, this can be resolved. We write an explanatory letter outlining the logic of your career path. The key word is: explain. The immigration agency does not read resumes; it reads arguments.

Good news: the application is submitted entirely online and processed in Madrid. That means it doesn't matter which city you're in when you apply. You have three options.

Option 1. Come on vacation — any city you like. Relax while we handle the paperwork. Then decide where you want to settle once you're here.

Option 2. Go straight to the city where you plan to live. Start looking for housing and getting to know the area alongside the visa process.

Option 3. Arrive wherever is most convenient on your Schengen visa, then relocate to another region of Spain after your status is approved.

A quick overview of cities. Barcelona: the most expensive. Madrid is a step down. Valencia, Alicante, and Málaga are more affordable. In northern Spain, Galicia and Asturias have significantly lower prices and an easier rental market. Those open to Portugal often end up settling along the western coast.

Before You Arrive: Preparation

This is the most important phase. The move doesn't start on the plane. It starts 90 days before.

We assign you a dedicated expert who reviews your situation and builds a personalised document checklist. No two cases are the same, so no two document packages are identical. Then we collect, verify, apostille, and translate. Important: an apostille is valid for 90 days from the date it's issued. You can't prepare documents six months in advance and wait — they'll expire before submission.

The tightest bottleneck is employer documentation: company registration papers, the remote work permission letter, and proof of payment. Companies can be slow to respond, which is why starting immediately matters.

After You Arrive: Three Stages

Stage 1. You land. Within 72 hours, we file your application online. You go sightseeing. Approximately 20 business days later (around 30 calendar days), you receive approval. From that moment, you are in legal residency status.

Stage 2. We book your biometrics appointment — one visit to a police station. We find you the earliest available slot. After that, your residency card is printed within 30 days.

Stage 3. You pick up your card in person.

You need to show up in person exactly twice: to submit biometrics and to collect the card. Everything else, we handle.

The card isn't the finish line. It's the starting point.

💳 Bank Account
Opens fully online. With your residency card, it's fast and straightforward. The account is the foundation for everything that follows.

📃 Self-Employment Registration
Once the account is open, we register you as self-employed. You receive a digital certificate — your key to all Spanish government services: taxes, payments, official documents, all in one place. Think of it as a Spanish equivalent of a government ID portal.

Social security contributions for the first two years: €86 per month. The earlier you register, the more contributions you accumulate before renewal at year three. Spain pays close attention to this.

🏥 Healthcare
Once you're paying social security, you have access to the public healthcare system. For your whole family. GP, emergency services, specialists. All covered.

🏫 Schools
Register your address with the local council, and that registration is what gets your children enrolled in a state school. Free. Public education in Spain is a European standard — from day one.

🪴 Housing
There's a detail here that catches many people off guard. A long-term rental contract in Spain means a minimum commitment of 6 months. A short-term contract runs 11 months, but leaving early means losing money.

The smart approach: start with short-term accommodation while you get your bearings. Once you've settled on a neighbourhood, move into something long-term. Outside of tourist-heavy cities, finding good housing is significantly easier right now — and the prices reflect that.

Year 3.
You make a decision. Either renew for another 2 years, or transition to independent contractor status with Spanish clients — which grants 4 years of legal residency and simplifies everything that follows.

Year 5.
Permanent residence. Work wherever you want. You can leave Spain for several years and your status stays intact. A mortgage also becomes available here — at 2–3% annually. Sometimes cheaper than renting.

Year 10.
Spanish passport. Visa-free access to 190+ countries.

Every application has a real person behind it. Here are a few of them:

A Family from Ukraine: From Mexico to Málaga

Husband, wife, and a young child. They live in Mexico, working for an American company. Income around $10,000 a month.

They ran the numbers honestly: half goes to living expenses, half stays. Tax rate under the Digital Nomad Visa: around 22%. Climate, sea, free healthcare, free school for their child. They chose Málaga and they say it's the best decision they've made in years.


A Financial Consultant from the UK

Richard. Annual income: €200,000. In the UK, he was paying 61% in taxes. He came to the consultation with one question: can you legally pay a fraction of what you currently owe, just by changing countries?

Yes. Completely legally. Spain's special tax regime for employees: 24% flat rate on income up to €600,000 per year. We ran the numbers. He saved tens of thousands of euros — simply by moving. He now lives in Barcelona, works for the same company, and says: "Why didn't I do this sooner."


Americans: There Are More of Them Than Ever

This is a distinct and growing wave. Some come directly from the US. Others are already living in Europe — in Germany, the Netherlands, France — and are choosing Spain. The sun, the sea, and a quality of life that's simply different on the same dollar income. But what brings all of them together isn't the weather or the food. It's their children.

In Spain, children are everywhere — in restaurants, cafés, out on the streets late in the evening. They are part of life here, not an inconvenience. Paediatrician, free. Emergency room, free. State school, free.

That's not just a financial benefit. It's a different level of peace of mind for your family.

My name is Alina, I'm the founder of DreamLife Spain. We've been doing this since 2020. In that time: 1,600+ relocations, 98.9% approval rate. More than 80% of our clients come through referrals.

Our product is called Dream Nomad Resident — €2,890 + VAT.
This is not a consultation. This is not a guide. This is residency done for you, from the first document to the card in your hands.

What's included:

🔹 Digital Nomad Visa: we manage your application through to approved residency
🔹 Full preparation and submission process
🔹 Digital certificate
🔹 Self-employment registration and social security setup
🔹 Tax setup with our partner advisors

You gather documents according to our exact checklist. We handle everything else. No queues. No correspondence with Spanish government offices. No wondering what they actually want from you.

We know every additional request Spain is making in 2026. We know what works and what doesn't. And we've already guided more than a thousand families through this process.

Every case is unique. That's precisely why we don't work from templates.

53,000 people have done this. The program works.

The first step is a consultation. 45 minutes, after which you'll have a concrete plan: exactly which documents you need, realistic timelines, and the specific numbers for your situation. DreamLife Spain helps people relocate to Spain clearly, legally, and without the uncertainty.

→ Book a consultation