Understanding and planning fiscal residency and Spanish tax is a very important when making the transition to become a resident in Spain. Tax in Spain is very different to the UK, and has become even more complicated since the UK left the EU as the way certain types of income are treated changed.
Here we provide an overview of the tax related requirements and key points that most need to consider when becoming a Spanish resident.
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.
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.
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.
The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa offers residency to British nationals who have the financial means to support themselves without working. The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa scheme is therefore ideal if you are retired, or have passive income, for example income from rental properties or other investments. The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa is intended for full-time residency in Spain, i.e. 6 months or more per year.
The EU travel rules for non-EU family members of EU citizens are different to the general rules for other nationals of non-EU countries.
If you are a citizen of an EU country living in or or travelling to another EU country, your family can join you, including core family members who are not EU citizens.
Non-EU core family members include spouse, children, dependent descendants, dependent parents or dependent grandparents. It also applies to non-EU registered partners, however only if the country they are travelling to considers registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage.
Spanish residency for non-EU family members of an EU citizen in Spain, is an extended right. Family member includes spouse or civil partner, children or dependants of who are part of the household, and under 21 years of age.
A citizen of an EU country has an automatic right to live in Spain, however must obtain their Spanish EU citizen residency certificate before their non-EU family members can then apply for their Spanish residency.
The non-EU family member makes their residency application in Spain, and must be legally present when they do so. The non-EU family member does not need to apply for a long term residency visa before they come to Spain. If they are a national of a country who’s citizens enjoy visa free travel as tourists to the Schengen zone, they can travel to Spain under Schengen rules and make their family member residency application whilst they are within their 90 days allowed under Schengen rules.