Spain Visa Options for Americans in 2026: Which Route Fits You
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Moving from the UK? Read our guide to moving to Spain from the UK and its visa options.
In this article
- Which visa forbids the life you plan: remote work, Spanish clients, a job or family joining later?
- The main long-stay routes in one table
- How the consulates want U.S. income proven for the non-lucrative visa
- Where you file, and Washington’s move to BLS
- What a visa costs
- Filing from inside Spain
- Routes that closed, and routes the table leaves out
- Match your row, then read your consulate’s page
- FAQ
Spain visa options for Americans depend on one thing: how you will support yourself once you live there. Savings or pensions lead to the non-lucrative visa. A remote job leads to the telework visa, studies to the student stay, a Spanish job offer to the employer-sponsored permit. The spouse of a Spaniard has a free family permit. Each route sets its own money test, work rights and filing office. Each decides what you may do until the first renewal. A U.S. passport alone covers short visits only. This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice; verify current requirements with the relevant Spanish authority or a licensed professional.
Which visa forbids the life you plan: remote work, Spanish clients, a job or family joining later?
Start with what each route forbids. The non-lucrative visa and the job-search permit bar all work. The other routes limit your clients, your region or when family can join.
- Remote work on a retirement visa. The migration ministry’s information sheet (hoja informativa) authorizes non-lucrative residence with no work or professional activity of any kind. The Washington consulate adds that the ban covers remote, online work.
- Spanish clients on the telework visa. Law 14/2013 sits behind the telework, entrepreneur and highly qualified routes. Under it, an employee teleworker may work only for companies outside Spain. A freelance teleworker may bill Spanish companies up to 20 percent of total activity.
- A job-search permit that bars jobs. By the ministry’s sheet, the 24-month permit for graduates of Spanish degrees allows no work at all.
- A narrow first work permit. Royal Decree 1155/2024, the immigration regulation, limits an employer-sponsored permit to one region and occupation for up to 1 year. The self-employed permit is limited to one region and sector.
- Family that follows later. Under general family reunification, relatives join only after the resident has lived in Spain for 1 year and applied to stay another. Two groups move sooner. Relatives of telework, entrepreneur and highly qualified permit holders may apply with them or later under Law 14/2013. So may relatives of higher-education students, under the regulation.
The main long-stay routes in one table
Two public yardsticks set the 2026 money tests. First, IPREM: the indicador público de renta de efectos múltiples, or public income index. Each state budget fixes it, under Royal Decree-law 3/2004. The 2023 budget law set it at 600 euros a month and 7,200 a year. No budget has passed since. The Constitution therefore keeps the 2023 law in force, and Royal Decree-law 3/2026 confirms that extension for 2026. SEPE, the public employment service, still gives 600 euros. Second, the minimum wage, the SMI (salario mínimo interprofesional): 1,221 euros a month in 14 payments, or 17,094 euros a year, under Royal Decree 126/2026. One more name to know. The UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos) is the ministry unit that decides Law 14/2013 permits.
| Route, and who it fits | 2026 money test | Work | Where you file | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-lucrative: savings or pensions | 400 percent of IPREM, 2,400 euros a month, plus 600 per relative | None, remote work included | Consulate or its visa center | 1 year from entry, then 2 years each, with over 183 days a year in Spain |
| Telework: remote work for employers or clients abroad | 200 percent of the SMI, 2,442 euros a month, plus 916 for the first relative and 305 or 306 for each other | Foreign companies; freelancers up to 20 percent Spanish clients | Consulate, or the UGE from inside Spain | Visa up to 1 year, permit up to 3, then 2 years each; long-term residence at 5 years under the general rule, as the telework article is silent |
| Student, higher education | 100 percent of IPREM, 600 euros a month, plus 450 for the first relative and 300 for each other | Up to 30 hours a week, in the region of the stay | Consulate; from Spain for higher education only | Length of the studies, then up to two 1-year extensions; the years count at 50 percent toward EU long-term residence |
| Job search after a Spanish degree | 100 percent of IPREM, or 50 percent with housing prepaid | None | Online from Spain, in the 60 days before the study stay ends or, at the risk of a penalty, up to 90 days after | 24 months, not renewable |
| Employer-sponsored work | A salary of at least the full-time annual SMI, 17,094 euros, even part time | One region and occupation | Employer in Spain, then you at the consulate within 1 month | Up to 1 year, then 4 years with any work anywhere |
| Self-employment | No figure; a sufficient investment | Your business, one region and sector | Consulate, in person | 1 year, then 4 years with any work |
| Highly qualified or EU Blue Card | Salary of 41,356.36 euros a year, or 33,085.09 on the Blue Card’s reduced bar | For the employer | UGE online, decided in 20 days, then the visa | 3 years, or the contract plus 3 months, then 2 years each; long-term residence at 5 years |
| Entrepreneur, with a favorable report from ENISA, the state innovation company | 100 percent of IPREM at the consulates, 600 euros a month, plus 50 percent per relative | Your project | UGE online; from abroad, one application starts the permit, then the visa | Visa 1 year, permit 3 years, then 2 years each; long-term residence at 5 years |
| Family reunification: relatives of a non-EU resident | The resident shows 150 percent of IPREM, 900 euros a month for two, plus 300 per extra member | Spouse, partner and working-age children | The resident files in Spain after 1 year; the relative asks for the visa within 2 months | To the resident’s end date, 1 year minimum, then 4 years |
| Relatives of Spaniards | None on the sheet; the procedure is free | Any work, anywhere | The Spaniard files in Spain, or you at the consulate if you both live abroad | 5 years, or the Spaniard’s planned stay; a shorter permit renews for 5 years |
| Relatives of other EU citizens | None of your own; the EU citizen works, has resources and health cover, or studies | Any work, except dependent children and grandchildren over 21 and dependent parents and grandparents | In Spain, within 3 months of entry | Card for 5 years; permanent after 5 continuous years |
Two rows rest on pages that disagree. First, the entrepreneur test. The Washington and Los Angeles consulates set it in IPREM. Law 14/2013 refers its thresholds to the minimum wage, and the UGE’s instructions give no figure. Treat 600 euros a month as a floor, and show more. Second, telework. San Francisco, Chicago and Boston still print the 2025 figure of 2,368 euros. Washington and the UGE use the 2026 minimum wage. Budget for 2,442 euros.
Long-term residence comes later. The ministry’s sheet on national long-term residence asks for 5 years of legal, continuous residence. Absences may last up to 6 months at a time and 10 months in total, or 18 in total for work. The sheet does not list which permits count. For the EU long-term permit, the regulation adds stable resources and health insurance.
How the consulates want U.S. income proven for the non-lucrative visa
The regulation accepts savings or a regular income, in euros or the equivalent in foreign currency, proven by any lawful evidence for the whole permit period. For foreign accounts, show the December 31 balance and the average over the last year. The non-lucrative guide explains the 400 percent rule. The paperwork is where consulates differ:
- Washington: 3 months of statements from checking, savings and investment accounts; a bank certificate with both balances; proof of Social Security or pensions; the latest tax return. Its page sets the minimum at $32,000 a year plus $8,000 per dependent.
- Los Angeles: savings or a non-work income, and for retirees a pension, annuity or investment accounts, with 3 months of statements and the last tax return. Its page, dated February 11, 2026, says applicants cannot have or leave U.S. loans or mortgages.
- San Francisco: Social Security or other retirement benefits, plus 3 months of detailed statements. Its page both lists and refuses investment accounts for retirees. It also wants a notarized letter in Spanish promising not to work, even online.
- Boston: 3 months of statements and Social Security or pensions. Its page does not admit IRA or 401(k) plans for people not officially retired; they add 3 years of IRS returns.
- Houston: 12 months of full statements with a stable balance at least equal to the minimum, or, for retirees, benefit letters and 5 months of statements. Its page converts the minimum to about $33,400 a year and $8,330 per relative.
- New York and Chicago: original documents proving a periodic income or assets that guarantee one. Chicago wants them stamped. New York adds that the visa does not allow teleworking.
- Miami and San Juan: the general 400 percent rule only, on the Miami and San Juan pages.
No consulate names its exchange rate. Washington’s $32,000 and Houston’s $33,400 imply different ones. Use your own consulate’s dollar figure, and keep a cushion.
Where you file, and Washington’s move to BLS
Rule one: you file where you legally live. The Washington section refuses applications from outside its district. The districts, from the embassy’s list:
- Washington (consular section of the embassy): Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia and North Carolina.
- Boston: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
- Chicago: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.
- Houston: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
- Los Angeles: Southern California counties, Arizona, Colorado and Utah; the consulate’s own page adds Inyo County.
- Miami: Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
- New York: New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
- San Francisco: Alaska, Northern California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and the Pacific possessions.
- San Juan: Puerto Rico, Culebra, Vieques and the Virgin Islands.
Where the file goes next depends on the consulate. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Houston take the non-lucrative visa at BLS, by appointment; BLS is the outside service provider the ministry’s sheets allow. New York and Boston take it at the consulate, by email appointment. Miami takes non-lucrative and study visas at BLS, and other residence visas by postal mail, with tracking for telework. San Juan takes files in person by appointment and advises applying at least a month ahead.
Washington’s own pages disagree about its change. The English Place of submission page, undated, sends all visa applications from its district to the BLS center by appointment from October 1, 2026. Only three things stay at the consular section: diplomatic and official visas, the self-employed work visa and the recovery of long-term residence. Its telework, entrepreneur, employee and family reunification pages give September 1, 2026 instead. The Spanish version, read on October 1, 2026, still sent only a short list to BLS (Schengen, study, non-lucrative, highly qualified and intra-company visas), and the rest to the consular section by email appointment. The news list announces nothing. From October, expect BLS for everything but a self-employed visa. Reread your visa type’s page on the day you book.
What a visa costs
Washington’s first-quarter 2026 table, printed January 9, 2026, sets these fees:
- Visas: $140 for non-lucrative, family and other national visas; $160 for study; $190 for an employee visa; $270 for a self-employed visa.
- Permits and service: $13 for an initial residence permit, $86 for an entrepreneur-law permit, $240 for a self-employment permit, and $20 for BLS.
Fees also differ between consulates. The entrepreneur visa costs $270 at Washington, but $190 at New York, Houston and Los Angeles. The telework visa costs $190 at all six consulates whose pages give a fee: Washington, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Miami and Houston. Visas for relatives of Spaniards are free. Washington says fees are revised quarterly, yet its general information page still links this January table. Confirm the fee when you book.
Filing from inside Spain
The telework permit needs no visa: anyone lawfully in Spain may apply for it. For every UGE permit, Law 14/2013 sets a 20-day decision, treats silence as approval and extends your current stay while the file is pending. Do not leave Spain before the decision. A pending first application gets no police return authorization, and no official page says how the EU’s Entry/Exit System reads the extension.
Online filing has changed. In judgments of July 8 and July 29, 2026, published September 22, 2026, the Supreme Court annulled the rule that made individuals file seven kinds of application online with a foreigners’ office (oficina de extranjería). A non-lucrative renewal, or a first work permit filed by an individual employer, can again go in person or online. A company employer still files online, under Law 39/2015. The government may also impose online filing again. The ministry’s renewal sheet still shows online filing only. Student extensions and the job-search permit stay online only, under their own articles.
Routes that closed, and routes the table leaves out
- The investor visa. Organic Law 1/2025 closed the investor route of Law 14/2013 on April 3, 2025. Earlier files are decided under the old rules. Granted permits stay valid.
- No working holiday. The ministry’s list of youth mobility agreements names Argentina, Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The United States is not on it.
- Short stays without a visa. Scouting trips before the move follow the short-stay rules set out in the Spain 90 day rule guide for Americans.
- Intra-company transfers and researchers. Both are Law 14/2013 permits. A transferee needs 3 months of prior work for the group. A research permit lasts up to 3 years, with up to 12 months afterward to look for work. Washington covers transfers on its highly qualified page.
Match your row, then read your consulate’s page
First, find your row and check its 2026 money test, allowing for the dollar rate. Second, open your consulate’s page for that visa type. Note the place of submission, the fee and the proof of means it accepts. Then check the extras. Telework pages such as Chicago’s ask for an FBI background check under 6 months old, apostilled by the State Department. Telework and non-lucrative pages such as New York’s ask for health insurance with no deductible or copayment.
A retiree with Social Security and pension letters can usually file alone. So can a student enrolled in higher education, and a remote employee with 3 months of history at an employer active for at least a year. I would bring in a licensed professional for an entrepreneur project, a self-employed plan, a permit filed from Spain late in your stay, or a file built on IRA or 401(k) balances at a consulate that limits them. The Spain Navigator puts every step of your move to Spain in order, from the visa to settling in.
FAQ
Can I keep my U.S. remote job on the non-lucrative visa?
No. The ministry's sheet authorizes residence without any work or professional activity. The Washington consulate adds that the ban covers remote, online work. A U.S. job you keep after the move belongs on the international telework route instead. It asks for 200 percent of the minimum wage, 2,442 euros a month in 2026, and lets an employee work only for companies outside Spain.
Which route fits a retiree living on Social Security?
Usually the non-lucrative visa. It needs 400 percent of IPREM, 2,400 euros a month in 2026, plus 600 euros per relative. Washington, San Francisco and Boston list Social Security and pensions as proof. Beyond that, the lists vary. San Francisco's page both lists and refuses investment accounts. Boston refuses IRA or 401(k) plans for applicants who are not officially retired.
Can I apply from Spain while visiting as a tourist?
For the telework permit, yes. Law 14/2013 lets anyone lawfully in Spain apply without a telework visa. The UGE decides within 20 days, silence counts as approval, and filing extends your stay until the decision. Stay in Spain until then: a pending first application gives no return authorization. Non-lucrative visas go through your state's consulate. Higher-education students may apply from Spain at least 2 months before their legal stay ends.
Is the golden visa still an option?
No. Since April 3, 2025, Organic Law 1/2025 has left Law 14/2013 without its investor articles. No new investor visa or permit can be requested. A file lodged before that day is still decided under the old rules. An investor visa or permit already granted stays valid and renews under the rules in force at its first grant. New applicants need another route.
Can my family come with me?
Yes, on several routes, if the money test covers them. The non-lucrative visa adds 600 euros a month per relative in 2026. The telework visa adds 916 euros for the first relative and 305 or 306 for each other. Relatives of higher-education students and of telework, entrepreneur and highly qualified permit holders may follow later. General reunification waits 1 year. A Spaniard's spouse has a separate free permit.
Is there a working holiday visa for young Americans?
No. The ministry lists Spain's youth mobility agreements: Argentina, Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. None covers the United States. For a young American who wants to live in Spain and earn some income can look at the student route instead. Students in higher education may work up to 30 hours a week alongside their studies.
Sources
Official pages this article was checked against, with the date we last read them.
- Constitución Española. Artículo 134
- Hoja 6. Autorización inicial de residencia temporal no lucrativa
- Hoja 7. Renovación de la autorización de residencia temporal no lucrativa
- Hoja 1. Autorización de estancia de larga duración para estudios superiores o de educación secundaria postobligatoria
- Hoja 20. Autorización de residencia para búsqueda de empleo o inicio de proyecto empresarial
- Hoja 12. Autorización inicial de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta ajena
- Hoja 14. Autorización inicial de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta propia
- Hoja 66. Autorización inicial de residencia y trabajo de profesionales altamente cualificados
- Hoja 8. Autorización de residencia temporal por reagrupación familiar
- Hoja 18. Autorización de residencia temporal de familiares de personas con nacionalidad española
- Hoja 49. Autorización de residencia de larga duración nacional
- Hoja 50. Autorización de residencia de larga duración UE
- Frequently Asked Questions: Residence and Work Authorisations for International Teleworkers
- Instrucciones para realizar una solicitud de la autorización de emprendedores
- Actualización del umbral salarial para profesionales altamente cualificados titulares de tarjeta Azul (junio 2026)
- Ley 31/2022, de 23 de diciembre, de Presupuestos Generales del Estado para el año 2023. Disposición adicional nonagésima
- Real Decreto-ley 3/2004. Artículo 2. Establecimiento de un indicador público de renta de efectos múltiples
- Real Decreto-ley 3/2026, de 3 de febrero, para la revalorización de las pensiones públicas y otras medidas urgentes en materia de Seguridad Social
- Cuantías anuales
- Real Decreto 126/2026, por el que se fija el salario mínimo interprofesional para 2026
- Real Decreto 1155/2024, Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 4/2000, texto consolidado
- Ley 14/2013, de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización, texto consolidado
- Ley Orgánica 1/2025, de medidas en materia de eficiencia del Servicio Público de Justicia, texto consolidado
- Real Decreto 240/2007, de 16 de febrero, sobre entrada, libre circulación y residencia en España de ciudadanos de los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea
- Ley 39/2015, del Procedimiento Administrativo Común de las Administraciones Públicas, texto consolidado
- Sentencia de 8 de julio de 2026, de la Sala Tercera del Tribunal Supremo, que estima parcialmente el recurso contencioso-administrativo 19/2025 contra el Real Decreto 1155/2024
- Sentencia de 29 de julio de 2026, de la Sala Tercera del Tribunal Supremo, que estima parcialmente el recurso contencioso-administrativo 21/2025 contra el Real Decreto 1155/2024
- Tarjeta residencia de familiar ciudadano U.E. Sede Electrónica de la Policía Nacional
- Extranjería. Autorización de regreso
- Non-working (Non-lucrative) Residency Visa
- Telework (Digital nomad) Visa
- Entrepreneur Visa
- Place of submission (Where to apply). Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington
- Lugar de presentación de solicitudes de visado. Sección Consular de la Embajada de España en Washington
- Employee visa. Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington
- Family reunification visa. Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington
- Residence visa for family members of Spanish Citizens. Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington
- Visas for Family members of a Citizen of the European Union. Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington
- Visa for Highly-qualified workers and Intra-company transfers. Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington
- Consular Jurisdiction (Who can apply). Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington
- Consulados. Embajada de España en Washington
- Noticias. Sección Consular de la Embajada de España en Washington
- Precios Recaudación Consular. 128 Washington Embajada. Trim. 1 2026
- Sección Consular de Washington. Información general
- Non-working (Non-lucrative) residence visa
- Entrepreneur visa (Los Angeles)
- Non-working (Non-lucrative) residence visa
- Non-lucrative Residence Visa (NLV)
- Non-working residence visa
- Non-working residence visa
- Lugar de presentación de solicitudes de visado. Consulado General de España en Miami
- Non-working residence visa
- Non-working residence visa
- Visado de residencia no lucrativa. Consulado General de España en San Juan de Puerto Rico
- Lugar de presentación de solicitudes de visado (San Juan de Puerto Rico)
- Consular Fees 2026. Consulate General of Spain in New York
- 2026 Visa Fees. Consulado General de España en Houston
- Telework visa (San Francisco)
- Telework visa (Chicago)
- Telework Visa (Digital Nomad Visa) (Houston)
- TELEWORK VISA (Digital Nomad Visa) (Miami)
- TeleWork-VISA (Boston)
- Convenios de movilidad de jóvenes. Migraciones
