Working and Living in Spain

Spain combines consumer price levels below the European Union average with a recognized quality of life. In Eurostat’s comparative price level indices for 2024, Spanish consumer prices stood at about 91% of the EU average, against 98 in Italy, 108 in France, 109 in Germany and 141 in Ireland. Madrid and Barcelona concentrate most of the international jobs, while the Mediterranean coast (Valencia, Alicante, Málaga) attracts people for its climate and setting at a more measured budget.

The main point to watch is housing: in the large cities, and particularly in Madrid and Barcelona, rents have risen sharply in recent years and are the item that most narrows the cost advantage. Several everyday categories (dining out, services, transport) remain relatively affordable.

For a more accessible budget while keeping a skilled job market, Valencia and the coastal cities offer a sought-after compromise. Rather than reasoning in averages, the most reliable approach is to compare your current net position with your projected position on the ground, taking tax and social contributions into account:

The Spanish labor market is driven by tourism, technology, business services, renewable energy and industry. Madrid and Barcelona form the two major hubs for international profiles, followed by Valencia, Málaga and Bilbao. The unemployment rate remains well above the European Union average (10.5% against 6.0% in 2025, Eurostat annual data), which makes command of the language and specialization all the more decisive. Pay ranges by sector are detailed below, in the Sectors and salaries section.

The working language depends on the sector and the city:

Multilingual shared-services and customer-relations centers, very present in Barcelona and Málaga, regularly recruit French, German, Dutch and other European-language speakers to serve Western European markets, and are one of the more accessible entry points for someone who does not yet speak Spanish. One sequencing point for nationals of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland: the right to work has to be secured before the job starts, through one of the routes set out in decision 6.

The most common structure for doing business is the Sociedad Limitada (SL), the equivalent of a private limited company. Since the 2022 law known as Crea y Crece (Law 18/2022), its minimum share capital is 1 EUR (against 3 000 EUR previously), with a transitional regime as long as the capital remains below 3 000 EUR (a share of profits placed in reserve and framed liability for the partners). It can be 100% owned by foreign partners, whether European Union nationals or third-country nationals, and incorporation by electronic filing generally takes a few days. Owning shares in a Spanish company does not by itself confer a right to live in Spain: residence and work authorization are a separate matter, set out in decision 6.

To operate as a self-employed worker, the status is that of the autónomo, whose social contributions (RETA) are calculated in bands of net income. It is a different framework from the simplified self-employment schemes found in some other countries: equivalences are misleading, since the contribution and reporting rules are not the same.

The NIE (foreigner identification number) and a digital certificate are required to set up a company or register as an autónomo. Formation is possible remotely, but it presupposes these prior formalities.

The corporate income tax rates above result from a reform (Law 7/2024) whose scale changes from one year to the next until it reaches its target level: it is preferable to check the rate in force in the year of your project rather than relying on a fixed figure.

The choice of structure and regime depends on your activity, your projected turnover and your personal circumstances, in particular if you remain a tax resident in another country.

Spain offers a special tax regime for certain people who transfer their tax residence to the country, commonly known as the Beckham Law (the special regime for workers posted to Spanish territory, article 93 of the Spanish personal income tax law). Under conditions, it allows employment income to be taxed at a flat rate rather than at the ordinary progressive scale, during the tax year in which residence changes and the five following tax years.

The regime applies a flat rate of 24% on employment income up to 600 000 EUR per year, and 47% above that threshold. The central conditions include not having been a tax resident in Spain during the five tax years preceding the move. Since the startup law (Law 28/2022) took effect in 2023, its scope covers employees moving under a contract, remote workers employed from abroad through exclusively digital means (including holders of the digital nomad visa), company directors (a shareholding limit applies to directors of asset-holding entities), certain entrepreneurial activities and highly qualified professionals serving startups or working in research and development, and it is open to any nationality, European Union nationals included.

This flat rate is not automatically more favorable than the ordinary progressive scale, whose burden also varies from one autonomous community to another, since regional governments set part of the scale. The value of the regime depends on the level and nature of the income and is assessed case by case. The treaty position also matters for income kept abroad: Spain has double taxation treaties in force with more than eighty jurisdictions, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Germany, Japan and France, and how a given treaty interacts with this regime calls for a personalized review.

Not to be confused with the digital nomad visa (the residence route for teleworkers described in decision 6), which falls under immigration law and concerns only non-EU nationals: the Beckham Law is a tax election, distinct from residence formalities, although the two can be combined where the conditions of each are met.

Eligibility depends closely on the individual situation, and the option is exercised with the tax authority on form 149 within six months of the start-of-activity date shown in the Spanish social security registration.

There is no general nationality bar on buying property in Spain: European Union citizens buy with the same rights as nationals, and third-country nationals may also buy, subject to one specific limit, a prior authorization from the Ministry of Defence for property located in zones designated as being of interest for national defence (Law 8/1975), from which EU nationals are exempt. The NIE is required to sign the deed, which is completed before a notary with registration in the land registry.

Acquisition taxation varies by autonomous community. For resale property, the property transfer tax (ITP) generally sits between 6% (in Madrid, for example) and around 10 to 13% (in Catalonia, for example, on a banded scale), with reduced rates in some cases; Catalonia also applies a specific 20% rate to purchases of dwellings by large residential holders and to purchases of entire residential buildings. For new-build, the purchase is subject to VAT (10%) plus a stamp duty. As these rates are set region by region and are revisable, it is preferable to check the scale of the community concerned at the time of the project.

Two points deserve attention. First, owning property confers no right of residence for any nationality: the Golden Visa through real estate investment (from 500 000 EUR) was abolished by Organic Law 1/2025, with effect from 3 April 2025. Ownership and residence are now separate matters. Second, financing: non-residents can obtain a local mortgage, generally on stricter terms than residents, including a higher down payment, on conditions that change with market rates.

A 2025 government announcement proposed a tax of up to 100% of the property value for purchases by non-resident buyers established outside the European Union. At the time of this update it remains an unadopted proposal; it would in any case concern only non-resident buyers from outside the EU.

Spain is a European Union member state and a full member of the Schengen area, so the rule that applies on arrival depends on the passport held. Nationals of the EU, of the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and of Switzerland travel on a national identity card or passport under free movement: no visa, no work permit, and a registration duty only once the stay passes three months. Nationals of the third countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Brazil, may enter without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, provided they take up no gainful employment. Nationals of the countries listed in Annex I to the same regulation, among them India, China, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam and the Philippines, need a Schengen short-stay C visa even for a brief visit. Since 10 April 2026 the Entry/Exit System has recorded the entries, exits and refusals of non-EU travelers on short stays, with facial image and fingerprints, in place of passport stamping; ETIAS, the travel authorization announced for visa-exempt travelers, is not yet in force.

Whatever the passport, working or staying beyond a short visit is a separate matter. Nationals of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland need no authorization: they take up employment or self-employment directly, and apply for the EU citizen registration certificate within three months of arrival, at the immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) of their province of residence or at a police station (Royal Decree 240/2007). For every other nationality, working and settling run through a national visa or residence authorization: the general immigration framework, the mobility routes of Law 14/2013 (intra-company transfers among them) and, since the startup law (Law 28/2022), the digital nomad visa for remote workers. That last route is open to non-EU nationals who work remotely for companies established outside Spain through exclusively digital means: it requires, among other conditions, an employment or professional relationship of at least three months with a foreign company that has had real activity for at least one year, a degree or at least three years of professional experience, health insurance, and monthly resources of at least 200% of the Spanish minimum wage, raised by 75% of the minimum wage for a second family member and by 25% per additional member; a self-employed contractor may also serve clients in Spain within a limit of 20% of total activity. The route has two starting points (articles 74 quater and 74 quinquies of Law 14/2013): a teleworking visa issued by a Spanish consulate, valid for up to one year and a sufficient title to reside and work remotely, which the residence authorization can then follow; or, for a foreigner already lawfully in Spain, a visa-free short stay included, an application for the residence authorization filed directly in-country, with no prior consular visa. The residence authorization is granted for up to three years and renewable for two-year periods; registering with the Spanish social security (or, for employees, a certificate of coverage under an international social security agreement) is required once work is performed from Spain. A few steps then frame long-term settlement:

The NIE and the empadronamiento are the first two steps to plan for on arrival, because they condition access to most services and procedures. On a temporary stay, EU, EEA and Swiss nationals remain covered by their European Health Insurance Card; once work starts, registration with the Spanish social security opens access to the public healthcare system whatever the nationality. For people without an activity (retirees, those living off their own resources), the registration certificate requires proof of sufficient resources and health insurance.

In practice, obtaining the NIE and the empadronamiento quickly makes all the other settlement steps easier. This is general information rather than immigration or tax advice; for any personal situation, a qualified professional is recommended.