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.
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:
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.
British citizens / UK nationals now have to follow the same process as other non-EU national citizens of third countries to get Spanish residency, i.e. there is a requirement to first obtain a visa.
The financial means required for a British Citizen / UK national to obtain a residency visa, is a lot higher than it was when the UK was in the EU. A single applicant needs to have around €30k per year in either income or savings, whereas a citizen of an EU country €6k is sufficient.
British nationals also have to obtain a police criminal report, get official supporting documents legalised, and medical certificates are also required for most visa applications.
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.
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.
31 St. James Avenue, Suite 905 Boston, MA 02116
cog.boston@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
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
1800 Bering Drive, Suite 750 Houston, TX 77057
cog.houston@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
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
2655 Le Jeune Road, Suite 203 Coral Gables, FL 33134
cog.miami@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Florida, South Carolina, Georgia
150 East 58th Street, 30th & 31st Floors New York, NY 10155
cog.nuevayork@maec.es
Jurisdiction: New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey
1405 Sutter Street San Francisco, CA 94109
cog.sanfrancisco@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Alaska, Northern California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, US Pacific
2375 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20037
cog.washington@maec.es
Jurisdiction: Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia, North Carolina
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.
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.
The Windsor Framework, agreed in 2023, is the updated set of rules that governs trade between Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and Northern Ireland, while keeping Northern Ireland aligned with certain EU single market regulations.
For vehicle movements, this means:
No customs duties or checks for genuine personal use vehicles moved from GB to NI.
But: Northern Ireland remains in the EU customs territory for goods that may move onward to the EU (e.g. to Spain).
To import a vehicle from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, you need to be authorized under the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) and potentially utilize the Simplified Processes for Internal Market Movements. This framework streamlines the process for eligible goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, allowing for a reduced declaration process.
Crucially, this allows you to declare goods as “not at risk” of entering the EU, meaning you won’t pay EU duties if the vehicle is staying in Northern Ireland or will be moved back to Great Britain. Goods declared as “not at risk” are not subject to the full customs procedures, and will avoid customs duty and VAT. If the vehicle in the future is then taken to an EU country, such as Spain, it is treated originating in the EU as it is assumed customs was taken care of when the vehicle was moved from GB to NI. This is what appears to be being distorted.
If a GB vehicle (from England, Scotland, or Wales) is moved to Northern Ireland (NI) and is “at risk” under the Windsor Framework, i.e. it is not going to be used in NI but is to be taken to Spain, then EU customs rules apply, and the vehicle is effectively treated as if it were being imported into the EU customs territory.
The vehicle must go through the EU customs import procedure at entry into NI (because NI aligns with the EU Customs Code).
A customs declaration must be made via the UK Trader Support Service (TSS) or an agent.
The vehicle is automatically deemed “at risk of entering the EU”.
This triggers EU tariffs and import customs and VAT (10% and 20%) just as if the vehicle were entering the EU directly.
Clearly if an indivdual is taking their car from GB to NI where they have an address and will be using it, then “not at risk” would be applicable. However, if the intent is to simply route the car through Northern Ireland, not take it there or use it there, and instead take it Spain, then clearly “not at risk” cannot truthfully or legitimately be declared.
Spanish customs authorities are (at least for now) applying a blanket exemption from import duty and VAT to vehicles declared as originating from Northern Ireland, regardless of the owner’s residence history or whether the vehicle was genuinely located in NI.
In effect, if a vehicle is registered in NI (or shows NI as the last place of registration), Spanish customs are processing it as exempt, based on the assumption that:
It is moving from within the EU customs territory (under the Northern Ireland Protocol), and
It is therefore not subject to the same treatment as goods coming from Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales), which are now “third countries” under EU law.
Let’s consider a legitimate scenario under the Windsor Framework and EU import rules:
You live in England and are relocating to Northern Ireland, or
The personal vehicle is physically taken from GB to NI and actually used there.
Later, you relocate again, this time to Spain, or you just decide to take the vehicle to use in Spain.
The vehicle is moved to Spain and declared as coming from NI.
Spanish customs, under current practice, treat this as exempt from duty and VAT.
✅ This is legal as the vehicle and it’s origin is truthfully declared and the authorities apply their rules for exemptions accordingly.
Here’s what’s not legal:
You live or lived in England and own a GB registered car
The vehicle never physically enters Northern Ireland.
The car is shipped or driven directly to Spain, and presented at registration as having originated in Northern Ireland.
Even if the exemption is applied, if the basis for that treatment is a false representation, it remains fraudulent — and:
The vehicle owner is liable,
Any facilitators (e.g. vehicle regitration agents) are criminally exposed,
Spanish authorities may later pursue recovery of tax plus penalties.
❌ This is fraud.
The Windsor Framework allows genuine cross-border movement, not paper-based fraud.
Falsely declaring origin, destination or residence for tax avoidance is illegal under:
Spanish Penal Code (Article 305 – Tax Fraud),
EU Customs Code, and
UK Fraud Act 2006, if part of the deception occurred in the UK.
Read more about the legal implications.
To legally use Northern Ireland as a step in the import chain, the vehicle must:
If you cannot prove actual use or residence in NI, the route is not valid, and any attempt to claim tax exemption is likely to be considered fraudulent.
So while it’s true that Spanish customs are applying a blanket exemption, to UK vehicles that are registered to a Northern Ireland address, this only holds up legally if the NI origin is true.
If the origin is falsified, the exemption has been wrongly applied, and the parties involved may be prosecuted even after the fact.
Spanish tax authorities (Agencia Tributaria) can open a retrospective investigation if there is evidence of false origin declarations — leading to reassessment, fines, and criminal charges.
The Windsor Framework for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, does not create a tax loophole for avoiding Spanish import duties. It facilitates legitimate trade and personal movement between parts of the UK—but abusing it evade import duty and VAT when importing a vehicle from Great Britain to Spain could lead to:
The vehicle being seized in Spain,
Significant fines and backdated VAT/duty,
Criminal charges for fraud,
Possible investigation in the UK and EU.
If you’re importing a car to Spain and genuinely lived in Northern Ireland, you may have a legitimate route to lower taxes—but it must be truthful, documented, and compliant with both UK and Spanish law.