Update 10th March 2025 

ETIAS will start operations in the last quarter of 2026.
No action is required from travellers at this point.
The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch.

Source – the Officical ETIAS Website: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en

So, no change for some time yet, there is however a change for non-EU travellers to Spain in that they may be aksed to demonstrate sufficient financial means for their stay. In 2025, the minimum required is €118 per person per day. For stays of nine days or more, a minimum of €1,065 or its equivalent in foreign currency is necessary.

The ETIAS Visa Waiver is a visa waiver program created by the European Union to protect and strengthen its borders.  It copies the US Visa Waiver Program which provides prior travel authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System.  The main goal of the ETIAS visa waiver for Europe, is to identify possible threats or risks associated with visitors traveling to any of the Schengen Area countries. The ETIAS visa waiver will be needed to enter a Schengen member country.  It was originally planned to be in place by the end of 2022, however has been constantly delayed.  All visitors that currently do not need a visa to enter Europe will be expected to apply for an ETIAS travel authorization.

Getting your tax right when moving from the UK to Spain requires an understanding of all the things that need to be done and when to do them.  Here we provide information about all the things you may need to do or consider to make sure you get your tax right both on the UK side as a leaver and on the Spanish side becoming tax resident in Spain.

Things you may need to do to get Your Tax Right Before Moving from the UK to Spain

In 2024 Spain implemented significant reforms to its immigration laws to enhance migrant integration and address labour market needs.

Key Spain rule and law changes that are relevant to people that are not citizens of EU countries who are looking to move to Spain include:

Property Investor ‘Golden Visa Residency

In November 2024, the residency scheme for property investors, or ‘Golden Visa’ as it’s commonly known, was deleted from the Law, (Ley 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización), that brought it into being.  As of 3rd April 2025, the ‘Golden Visa’ is no longer available to new applicants.  Existing holders of the visa / residency and their family members can carry on renewing their residency, for as long as they continue to qualify under the rules as they were.  New applications by family members of existing holders are also possible.

Non-Lucrative Visa

Registering Classic Cars in Spain

The process of assigning a registration number to a Classic Car in Spain is more or less the same as that for a normal car.  However the car will have to go through more vigorous checks before it can be passed.  There is no differentiation in regard to age of vehicle and the registration number issued.  So a 50 year old classic Ferrari brought to Spain from another country, and a brand new Nissan Micra, could end up with consecutively numbered plates.

This is quite different to the UK for example, where vehicle registration numbers have a year marker, so you can know the cars are from the number plate.  Spanish vehicle registration numbers have no age identifier.

From a Classic Car perspective, this means that, if you’re bringing your pride and joy 1964 Mercedes SL to Spain, when you register it, you will end up with a registration number that doesn’t fit with the age of the car.  The registration will be just like any other regular new cars registered at the same time. Not great for prestige.

Spain does not have a system to issue personalised licence plates.  It does however have a system to identify and recognise Classic Cars as ‘historical’.  Classic Cars that qualify can achieve the status of being certified as a ‘historical vehicle’ and registered with historical licence plates, so the owner can enjoy the kudos of having their beloved motor officially recognised and marked as a Classic Car.

Getting ‘historical vehicle’ status for a Classic Car, also brings with the added perks of cheaper insurance, longer gaps between ITV´s and road tax exemption.

The starting qualifying criteria is the age of the car, the qualifying age being 30 years.

UPDATE

In November Congress approved a bill that included text to scrap the ‘Golden Visa’ and end this residency scheme as soon as January 2025. On December 2nd, the Senate vetoed the bill sending it back to Congress delaying the ending of the Golden Visa for property purchases in Spain for several months.  The legislation has now been passed and will come into effect 3rd April 2025.

It will be possible to apply for a ‘Golden Visa up to that date, and anyone who has been granted residency under the scheme will be able to continue renewing in the future.

Background to the End of the Spain’s Golden Visa

The end of the Spanish Golden Visa for UK British Nationals and other non-EU citizens, has been on the cards since Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s announcement in April 2024.

There are nine Spanish Consulates in the USA including Puerto Rico.  The Consulates of Spain in the United States of America provide a number of legal and administrative services to both Spanish citizens and those intending to travel to or do business with Spain.  This includes processing long term visa applications such as the non-lucrative visa for retired people who want to live in Spain.

NOTE:  The consulates are in the process of outsourcing visa application administration to BLS Visa Centres.  The Spanish consulates in the United Kingdom made the switch to BLS in 2023.  You can read more about it here: https://lifestylegroup.es/spanish-non-lucrative-visa-applications-uk-handled-by-bls-international-visa-centres/.

As of the time of writing Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami and Washington Spanish Consulates in the USA have made the switch, while Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York are still in the process.

Below are details of each Spanish Consulate in the USA and the areas that they cover.

Spanish Consulate in Boston

31 St. James Avenue, Suite 905 Boston, MA 02116
cog.boston@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

Spanish Consulate in Chicago

180 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1500 Chicago, IL 60601
cog.chicago@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin

Spanish Consulate in Houston

1800 Bering Drive, Suite 750 Houston, TX 77057
cog.houston@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

Spanish Consulate in Los Angeles

5055 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 860 Los Angeles, CA 90036
cog.losangeles@maec.es
Jurisdiction: California (counties: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Barbara y Ventura), Arizona, Colorado, Utah

Spanish Consulate in Miami

2655 Le Jeune Road, Suite 203 Coral Gables, FL 33134
cog.miami@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Florida, South Carolina, Georgia

Spanish Consulate in New York

150 East 58th Street, 30th & 31st Floors New York, NY 10155
cog.nuevayork@maec.es
Jurisdiction: New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey

Spanish Consulate in San Francisco

1405 Sutter Street San Francisco, CA 94109
cog.sanfrancisco@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Alaska, Northern California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, US Pacific

Consular Section at the Spanish Embassy in Washington, DC

2375 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20037
cog.washington@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia, North Carolina

Spanish Consulate in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Edificio Mercantil Plaza, Piso 11 Oficina 1101 Avenida Ponce de León s/n Hato Rey – Puerto Rico 00918
Cog.SanJuandePuertoRico@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Puerto Rico, Islands of Culebra and Vieques, Virgin Islands

The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa offers residency to nationals from non-EU countries who have the financial means to support themselves without working.  The Non-Lucrative Visa residency scheme is therefore ideal if you are retired or have passive income, for example rental income from properties or income from other investments.  The Non-Lucrative Visa is for people who want to live full-time in Spain, and requires the holder to become tax resident.

What does the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa Offer?

San Juan is a festival celebrated on the night / morning of 23rd / 24th of June.  A magical night that welcomes the summer season, the celebrations take place during the shortest night of the year; the summer solstice. The festivities are usually held on the beach with friends around bonfires with drinks, food and fireworks.

Legends, tradition and rituals are connected by a common elements: fire and water.  Fire purifies and water recuperates, refreshes, and rejuvenates.  Young people jump over fires which, according to tradition, cleanses the body and the soul. Jumping in the sea at midnight is supposed to be a way to wash away evil spirits.

Every region in Spain has different local traditions, however all of them are related to fire and water.  After midnight, for example, people wash their faces and feet three times in order to be granted three wishes and for a happy twelve months thereafter. Bathing at this time is also said to be beneficial for skin complaints.

Traditionally, the Spanish did not visit the beach until this day in each year.  Thousands of people wandering into the water after midnight with the haze of bonfires everywhere is quite a sight.

Other rituals include, burning a piece of paper with your lovers name on it, or burning something old and personal to leave behind bad spirits from the past and start a new phase.

Dancing and praying around bonfires, and in some areas burning a rag man, which originally symbolized Judas Iscariot.  Pagan and religious traditions merge and blend in this fascinating celebration.

The largest celebration takes place in Alicante, where it is the most important festival in the city.  The San Juan bonfires festival in Alicante originated in 1928.   It was started by Jose María Py, who felt that Alicante needed an important fiesta.  She came up with an idea to combine bonfires with a Valencian tradition known as the “falles“, a traditional celebration held in commemoration of Saint Joseph.

Other countries such as Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Perú, Bolívia and Cuba celebrate this date influenced by Spaniards, Portuguese and other European immigrants.

In the wake of Brexit and the introduction of the Windsor Framework, many UK vehicle owners have questions about the legalities of moving cars from Great Britain to Spain via Northern Ireland.

There is a claim that there is a “legal loophole” to route vehicles through Northern Ireland (NI) to avoid paying customs duty and VAT in Spain, even when the owner never lived in or used the vehicle in Northern Ireland.

So is routing a GB vehicle through Northern Ireland to avoid import taxes in Spain legal?  In this article, we clarify how the Windsor Framework applies to vehicle movements, what is genuinely legal, and what could land you in trouble.

🚗 What Is the Windsor Framework?