First Steps
Moving to Spain From the US: The Checklist, in the Right Order
The FBI check, its apostille, the medical certificate and your U.S. accounts, sequenced so nothing expires before your consulate appointment.
First Steps
The decisions and actions that matter before you book anything, in the order they actually happen. This section is for Americans who are still deciding whether Spain is the right move, and for those who have decided and want to sequence the first months correctly. We cover the honest cost of the move as a one-time bill and as a monthly budget, how to choose between Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Alicante and the smaller cities, what changes for retirees, remote workers, families and entrepreneurs, and the pre-departure checklist of things that are far easier to do from the U.S. than from Spain: apostilles, FBI checks, bank arrangements, medical records, shipping.
We also cover the first-month sequence after landing: the NIE and TIE, empadronamiento at the town hall, a Spanish phone number, the banking bridge while your Spanish account opens, and the housing search. The aim is to keep each step from blocking the next one.
Practical guides for Britons planning the first stretch of a move to Spain, from choosing a residence route to settling in. This section starts with the question most British retirees ask first: which residence route fits, how the State Pension and healthcare fit around it, and what the paperwork looks like when you are not covered by a work contract. We follow the sequence that matters in the first weeks, from the NIE number to the registration at your town hall and the residence card, and explain which steps depend on others so that you do not book appointments in the wrong order.
We also cover the decisions that are harder to undo: what to do with your UK home, your UK bank accounts and your pension, and when to tell HMRC that you are leaving. Alongside the paperwork we look at what a first month in Spain really involves, from finding somewhere to live to getting a phone line. Every rule is dated and linked to the official page it comes from.
First Steps
Where to Live in Spain as a Briton: Regions Compared on Official Data
How your choice of Spanish region and town changes your taxes, healthcare, school language and rent, compared on official tables, with where Britons already live and where UK help sits.
First Steps
Your First Month in Spain: The TIE Clock and What to Do Around It
The residence card deadline runs from your entry into Spain. How to sequence the TIE appointment, the padrón and your address in the first weeks.
First Steps
Where to Live in Spain as an American: Cities on Official Data
Six Spanish cities side by side on official figures only: the region that taxes you, median rents, stressed zones, the language of your child's school, AEMET climate normals and recorded crime.
First Steps
Retiring in Spain as an American: Income Proof, Healthcare, Taxes
The non-lucrative money test stream by stream, what each U.S. consulate accepts as proof, health coverage from the private policy to the convenio and Medicare, and when Spain taxes you.
First Steps
Retiring to Spain as a Briton: Your Residence Route and Pension
Which residence route a Briton uses to retire in Spain, what the non-lucrative visa asks for, where consulate pages differ, and what happens to the State Pension and UK benefits.
First Steps
8 Mistakes Americans Make When Moving to Spain, and the Fix for Each
The costly mistakes after a move to Spain come from rules that apply on a date. Eight of them, from tax residency to the padrón, with the official rule and the fix.
Visa & Legal Status
Applying for a Spanish Visa From the UK: Which Consulate and Where
London, Manchester or Edinburgh: which Spanish consulate covers your UK address, where a long-stay visa file is lodged, and which consulate pages apply to Britons moving now.
Visa & Legal Status
Spain Visa Options for Britons: Which Long-Stay Route Fits You
The long-stay routes open to a Briton arriving now, side by side: money test, work rights, validity and the London consulate fee in pounds, plus the golden visa that closed in 2025.
Banking & Finance
Leaving UK Tax Residence When You Move to Spain: Rules for Britons
HMRC's Statutory Residence Test in order, split year treatment, Spain's calendar year residence test and the treaty tie breaker for the year both countries can claim you.
Education
Enrolling Your Child in a Spanish School: A Guide for Americans
Public and concertado schools, the 2026-2027 spring windows of four regions, the birth-year rule, placement of pupils schooled in the U.S., mid-year admission and Spanish support.
Banking & Finance
Sending Money From the UK to Spain: Comparing Pound to Euro Quotes
How Britons moving to Spain can compare pound to euro transfer quotes: the reference rate, the markup, fixed and intermediary fees, the UK disclosure rules and what Spain asks you to declare.
Visa & Legal Status
Spain Visa Options for Americans in 2026: Which Route Fits You
The main long-stay routes open to a U.S. citizen, side by side: the 2026 money test, whether you may work, where you file, how long the first permit lasts and when long-term residence opens.
Admin & Bureaucracy
Empadronamiento in Spain for Britons: Registering on the Padrón
Who must register on the padrón, the identity and address papers town halls ask for, who later wants the certificate, and how renewal, moving and leaving Spain work for Britons.
Transport & Driving
Exchanging a UK Driving Licence in Spain: The 2026 Rules for Britons
How Britons who move to Spain swap a UK driving licence for a Spanish one under the 2023 agreement: the six-month limit, the check code, the medical report and the licences left out.
Daily Life
Spain Phone Plan and Internet for Britons: UK SIM, Contracts, Rights
What happens to your UK SIM once you live in Spain, how Spanish mobile and fibre contracts work, how to switch and keep a number, and where to complain when a provider will not listen.
Visa & Legal Status
The 90/180 Rule, EES and ETIAS for Britons Staying in Spain
How the rolling 90 of 180 day count works for Britons in Spain, what the Entry/Exit System records, where ETIAS stands, and what an overstay can cost under UK and Spanish rules.
Daily Life
Spanish Phone Plans and Home Internet for Americans: SIMs and Rights
What an American needs for a Spanish number and home internet: unlocking, SIM identification, contracts, switching, cancelling, complaints, roaming, 112, ES-Alert and the universal service.
Education
Enrolling Your Child in a Spanish School: A Guide for Britons
No recognition of UK studies up to fourth of ESO, then apostilles, homologation and UNEDasiss for GCSEs and A-levels, plus six regions' admission windows and how empadronamiento scores.
Healthcare
Healthcare in Spain for Britons: GHIC, Public Access and Private Cover
How a Briton moving to Spain gets health cover: why the GHIC covers visits only, the visa's private insurance rule, public access under RDL 7/2018 and the convenio especial at 60 or 157 euros a month.
Banking & Finance
Opening a Bank Account in Spain as a Briton, and Your UK Accounts
What a Spanish bank asks a Briton before and after residence, who has a right to the basic payment account, how to complain, and what UK banks, ISA providers and customs expect when you leave.
Transport & Driving
Driving in Spain on a U.S. License: The Six-Month Rule
How long a U.S. license stays valid in Spain for visitors, residents and students, whether you need an IDP, who can exchange a U.S. license, and the likely 500 euro fine after month six.
Visa & Legal Status
Spain Family Reunification for Americans: Who Can Join and When
The one-year wait, the income and housing tests, who counts as family, and the routes that skip the wait: filing together, a student or telework permit, or a Spanish spouse.
Transport & Driving
Public Transport in Spain for Americans: Passes, Cards and 2026 Fares
Which pass to buy in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Málaga, the papers a newcomer needs for a personal card, the 2026 state discounts, the Abono Único, bikes and e-scooters.
Housing & Renting
Finding a Rental in Spain as an American: Checks, Fees and Scams
How to check the owner in the Property Registry, test the asking rent against the state index, spot a fake listing, pay safely, and get from the first viewing to a signed lease in 7 days.
Transport & Driving
Spain Road Rules for Americans: Fines, Points and the 2026 Changes
The rules that change on October 1, 2026, the V-16 beacon, speed and alcohol limits, what a fine costs and how it reaches you, points, tolls and the low-emission zones of Madrid and Barcelona.
Daily Life
Moving to Spain With a Dog or Cat: The 2026 Rules for Americans
The order that gets a dog or cat from the U.S. into Spain in 2026: microchip, rabies shot, USDA endorsement and airport checks, then the regional registry, boosters and breed rules.
Housing & Renting
Renting a Home in Spain as an American: Your Lease Rights in 2026
The 5 or 7 years a home lease must last, leaving after 6 months, the IRAV cap on yearly updates, the fees the landlord pays, stressed zones, repairs and a sale of the flat.
Daily Life
Moving to Spain With a Dog or Cat From the UK: Rules for Britons
How a dog, cat or ferret gets from Great Britain into Spain: microchip, rabies wait, the animal health certificate, the Spanish point of entry, then the Spanish registry and dog rules.
Banking & Finance
How to Prepare Your U.S. Finances Before Moving to Spain
Keep a U.S. account, get your broker's policy for customers abroad before any address changes, and open the Spanish account knowing why the FATCA question comes up at the counter.
Banking & Finance
UK Pension Tax for Spanish Residents: A Guide for Britons
Which country taxes your UK workplace, government and State Pension once you live in Spain, how to stop UK tax at source with HMRC's Spain form, and where the official pages go silent.
Admin & Bureaucracy
Cl@ve and the Digital Certificate in Spain: A Guide for Americans
Why Cl@ve waits for your TIE, how to register without the video route, how to get the free FNMT certificate in Spain or at a U.S. consulate, and which procedures take which ID.
Visa & Legal Status
How Long Can Americans Stay in Spain? The 90/180 Rule, EES and ETIAS
The rolling 90 days in any 180, a worked count over three trips, what the EES records instead of stamps, ETIAS and its missing start date, the U.S.-Spain extension and the fines for overstaying.
Healthcare
Spain's Convenio Especial for Americans: Paying Into Public Healthcare
The 60 and 157 euro monthly fees, the one-year residence rule, what the basic portfolio leaves out, and how Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia handle the file and the cancellation.
US Taxes Abroad
US State Taxes After Moving to Spain: How to Break State Residency
Federal tax follows your citizenship to Spain. State tax follows your domicile, and California and New York keep former residents on the books unless the move is documented. What each state tests.