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Visas and residence permits for Spain in 2026 – which route fits, from EU citizen to digital nomad

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

The golden visa is gone, a new immigration regulation has applied since 20 May 2025 and the salary thresholds moved again in 2026. Here is which Spanish visa or residence permit fits you – EU registration, UK rules, work permit, EU Blue Card, digital nomad, student, family or non-lucrative.

Smiling woman with a backpack holding a passport and ticket at an airport
Photo: Nina L/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock

Spanish visas and residence permits run on a new rulebook, the immigration regulation approved by Real Decreto 1155/2024. The key dates:

DateWhat changed
3 April 2025Golden visa abolished by Organic Law 1/2025
20 May 2025New immigration regulation (RD 1155/2024) in force
1 January 2026SMI (minimum wage): €1,221 a month in 14 payments, €17,094 a year
16 April 2026Family of Spaniards, including adult children and parents, can apply from inside Spain (RD 316/2026)
June 2026EU Blue Card threshold: €41,356.36 a year, reduced €33,085.09
30 June 2026Extraordinary regularisation windows closed
8 July 2026Supreme Court annuls parts of RD 1155/2024 (published 22 September 2026)

Source: the BOE (official state gazette), the Ministry of Inclusion and the UGE-CE, read 23 September 2026.

Do EU and UK citizens need a visa for Spain?

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa to live, study or work in Spain. Staying over three months, you register in person within three months of entry and receive a certificate with your NIE (foreigner identity number) for €12. You qualify if you work, or if you study or live on your own resources and have health insurance covering you in Spain. Your non-EU family members apply for an EU family residence card within three months of entry; their entry visas are free.

UK citizens resident in Spain before 31 December 2020 keep their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement and can hold a TIE (foreigner identity card) stating so, for €12. UK citizens arriving since 1 January 2021 fall under the general regime: 90 days in any 180 without a visa, and a national visa to stay longer to work, study or live. From 1 January 2026 the Spanish Consulate General in London charges British citizens £516 for a non-lucrative visa, £719 for work, telework, family reunification and highly qualified visas, and £345 for study over six months.

Which Spanish residence permit fits you?

Two benchmarks decide most money tests: the SMI (salario mínimo interprofesional) and the IPREM, a public income index that remains €600 a month.

RouteWho it is forMoney test (2026)Work allowed?
Employee work permitNon-EU worker with a Spanish job offerCollective-agreement pay; part-time at least the full-time SMI a yearYes, at first in one region
EU Blue CardHighly qualified jobs€41,356.36 a year, or €33,085.09 reducedYes
Digital nomad (international telework)Remote workers for companies outside Spain200 % of the SMI a monthRemote work; freelancers up to 20 % for Spanish clients
StudentHigher education and other studies100 % of the IPREM – €600 a monthUp to 30 hours a week
Family reunificationFamily of a non-EU residentSponsor: 150 % of the IPREM for two people, plus 50 % per extra memberYes, spouses, partners and working-age children
Non-lucrative residencePeople living on their own means400 % of the IPREM – consulates state €2,400 a monthNo

Source: RD 1155/2024, Ley 14/2013, the Ministry of Inclusion, SEPE and the Spanish consulates in Buenos Aires and Mexico, read 23 September 2026.

How do you get a work permit or an EU Blue Card?

For an ordinary job, your employer applies at the foreigners' office of the province where you will work, and the national employment situation must allow the hire. It does if your occupation is in SEPE's quarterly catalogue of hard-to-fill jobs, or if the employer's offer through the public employment service finds too few jobseekers.

The office has three months to decide, and silence means refusal. You then have one month to apply in person for the visa, must be registered with Seguridad Social (social security) within three months of entry and apply for your TIE within one month of that. The first permit lasts up to a year; a renewal runs four years and allows any job anywhere in Spain. You pay €10.94; your employer pays €203.84, or €407.71 if your pay is at least twice the SMI.

The EU Blue Card needs a higher-education qualification from a course of at least three years, or five years of relevant experience, and a contract or firm offer of at least six months. The reduced threshold applies to shortage occupations in groups 1–2 and to people who qualified in the last three years. You or the company file online with the UGE-CE, the ministry's unit for large companies, which must decide within 20 days – silence means approval. The permit lasts three years.

Digital nomad visa Spain: who qualifies and how much must you earn?

The international telework route is for non-EU professionals working remotely for companies outside Spain. You need a degree from a recognised university, vocational or business school, or at least three years' professional experience. The company must be at least a year old, and you must have worked with it for the last three months.

The income test is 200 % of the SMI (€1,221 a month in 2026); the Spanish consulate in Buenos Aires puts that at €2,442 a month over 14 payments. Add at least 75 % of the SMI for the first family member and 25 % for each additional one. You must also be registered with Spanish Social Security; freelancers join RETA, the self-employed scheme.

The visa lasts up to a year and itself proves residence, so a TIE is optional. In the 60 days before it expires, you can switch to a residence permit of up to three years, renewable for two-year periods; the fee inside Spain is €73.26 per person. Employees on this visa can qualify for the Beckham regime – see part 7.

Non-lucrative visa, student visa and family reunification

The non-lucrative visa is for people who will live in Spain without working. The rule is 400 % of the IPREM a month plus 100 % per family member; the consulates in Buenos Aires and Mexico state €2,400 a month plus €600 per family member. You also need health insurance with an insurer authorised in Spain covering all public-system risks. The first permit lasts a year; to renew it for two years you must have lived in Spain for more than 183 days in the calendar year – which also makes you tax resident (part 7).

Students need €600 a month unless their accommodation is prepaid; tuition does not count. Apply at least two months before the course starts. A higher-education study permit lets you work without a separate permit, and graduates with at least a bachelor's degree from a Spanish institution can get a 24-month permit to look for work or start a business.

A non-EU resident can bring family after a year of residence, having applied to stay at least another year, with health insurance and a regional housing report no more than six months old. Family members of Spaniards have had their own five-year permit since RD 1155/2024, with the right to work anywhere. On 8 July 2026 the Supreme Court annulled its automatic refusals for criminal records, without individual assessment, in articles 97.4 and 98.1.

What happened to the golden visa – and which routes have closed?

Organic Law 1/2025 ended residence through property or other investment from 3 April 2025. Applications filed earlier are decided under the old rules, and existing investor visas and permits stay valid for their term.

If you are already in Spain without papers, RD 1155/2024 reorganised arraigo (residence through settlement) into five types and cut the required stay to two years, except for family arraigo. The extraordinary regularisation under Real Decreto 316/2026, for people in Spain before 1 January 2026, closed on 30 June 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Find your route in the table aboveBefore anything else
2Compare your income with the SMI (€1,221) or IPREM (€600) testBefore you apply
3Gather translations, apostilles and insurance, then applyStudents: at least two months before the course
4Register on the padrón and apply for your TIETIE within one month of entry
5Note your renewal windowTelework: 60 days before the visa expires

Source: the Ministry of Inclusion, the UGE-CE and RD 1155/2024, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.