Moving to Spain from France in 2026: residence, taxes and capital

A French or other EU citizen needs no residence permit to move to Spain: within three months of arrival they obtain an EU citizen certificate. A third-country national with a French permit applies at the Spanish consulate general for their area of France, or requests the nomad permit from inside Spain. For a wealthy family, exit taxes matter most.

France does not let capital leave for free: the holder of a large portfolio is taxed on departure on gains not yet realised, and a Paris flat kept after the move is taxed under non-resident rules. Spain then levies wealth tax on assets worldwide. Below is the procedure for three readers, an EU citizen, a third-country national with a titre de séjour and a mixed family, plus a worked example for a family with €1,500,000 in capital and a flat in Paris.

French or EU citizen: registration, not a residence permit

A French citizen enters freely and, within three months, files form EX-18 in person at the foreigners’ office or the police. The EU citizen certificate is issued on the spot (RD 240/2007, art. 7). The grounds are closed: you work in Spain as an employee or self-employed, or you show sufficient means and health insurance covering all risks. There is no fixed amount for EU citizens, unlike the non-lucrative permit. What the document looks like is covered in our article on the NIE verde.

The routes for third-country nationals, such as the nomad, non-lucrative or startup permits, are neither needed by nor applied to an EU citizen. This matters for tax too: the Beckham regime depends on the reason for the move, not on the type of permit, so a French citizen moving to work as an employee, including remotely, can claim it (see below).

A mixed family: a third-country spouse of an EU citizen

If one spouse is a citizen of France or another EU country and the other is, for example, a Russian citizen, the second spouse gets not an ordinary permit but an EU family member card (RD 240/2007, arts. 2 and 8):

• Who counts as family: a spouse; a partner recorded in a public register of an EU country, which includes the French PACS; children under 21 or older and dependent; dependent parents.
• How to apply: in person, within three months of arrival, on form EX-19. The receipt proves legal stay, and the card is issued within three months for five years.
• Visa: a valid EU family member card issued by France exempts you from a visa when entering Spain.
• Marriage and birth certificates need a translation into Spanish and, depending on the issuing country, an apostille. French certificates need no apostille under EU Regulation 2016/1191, and with the multilingual form no translation either. Russian civil registry certificates need no apostille under the 1984 exchange of notes between Spain and the USSR; a sworn translation is enough. Certificates from other countries do need an apostille.

A different procedure applies to the family of a Spanish citizen who has not lived in another EU country: the regulation on foreigners has a separate permit for them. General rules for moving as a family are in our article on family reunification.

A French residence permit: which Spanish route to choose

France is in Schengen, and a titre de séjour together with a passport lets you stay in Spain for up to 90 days in any 180 (Schengen Convention, art. 21). You cannot live in Spain on it. If you arrive from France and hold no Spanish permit, you must file an entry declaration with the police within three days (RD 1155/2024, art. 13); how to do it is covered in our article on the declaración de entrada.

The nomad permit from inside Spain. The law allows anyone legally present in Spain to apply, and a stay of up to 90 days on a titre de séjour is legal (Law 14/2013, art. 74 quinquies). The permit is granted for up to three years. In practice this is how it is done: several people in nomad chats confirm that they entered through France or on French documents and filed once in Spain.

EU long-term residents. If you hold a carte de résident marked longue durée-UE, granted after five years of legal residence in France (service-public), you need no visa. You apply to a Spanish consulate general in France before the move or to the foreigners’ office in Spain no later than three months after entry (RD 1155/2024, art. 179). An ordinary ten-year carte de résident without that mention does not qualify.

The EU Blue Card. After 12 months in France with a Blue Card you can move to Spain for highly qualified work: the Spanish card is requested no later than one month after entry, and you may work from the date of the complete application (Law 14/2013, art. 71 bis).

Spanish consulates in France: where to apply

A national visa is accepted by the consulate general whose district covers your département. There are ten in France: Paris, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Pau, Toulouse, Perpignan, Montpellier, Marseille, Lyon and Strasbourg (list of consulates and départements). The rules are the same (consulate general in Paris):

• Place of residence only. The consulate accepts applications from people living in its district and asks for proof of residence, and for the nomad visa proof of legal residence in France (nomad visa page).
• In person. Filing through a representative for the non-lucrative visa is only an exception.
• A criminal record certificate from every country you lived in over the last five years: for many, France and Russia.
• A passport valid for at least one more year and issued no more than ten years ago.
• After arrival on a non-lucrative visa, the foreigner card within one month.

Example. A family from Moscow lives in Paris on a titre de séjour: two adults and two children, with income from a portfolio. For the non-lucrative visa they must show €4,200 a month, or €50,400 a year. Which statement works is covered in our article on non-lucrative residence, and the policy requirements in our article on health insurance.

French documents: apostille from notaries and translation

The Spanish consulate accepts foreign documents only with an apostille or legalisation and a Spanish translation. Since 1 May 2025, apostilles in France are issued not by the courts of appeal but by the notarial profession, through 15 regional councils and chambers. You order online at apostille.notaires.fr or in person, €10 excluding VAT per document for an individual, double for express service (notaires.fr). The French criminal record certificate is requested online on the Ministry of Justice website (service-public). Russian documents are apostilled in Russia. Translations for Spanish authorities are done by a sworn translator, see our article on sworn translation.

Leaving France: exit tax and the final return

The most expensive surprise for owners of capital is the French exit tax under Article 167 bis of the tax code. It applies to those who were French tax residents for at least 6 of the last 10 years and who, with their household, hold securities worth €800,000 or more, or a stake giving at least 50% of a company’s profits (impots.gouv). On departure, tax is assessed on gains you have not yet realised.

• No immediate payment. When you move to an EU country, deferral is automatic and needs no guarantee (form 2074-ETD notes). Form 2074-ETD is filed with the income tax return for the year of departure.
• The tax is cancelled if the securities are not sold: after 2 years when they are worth less than €2,570,000, and after 5 years when worth more. This applies to departures since 2019.
• An early sale ends the deferral and the French tax becomes due. That is why sales of large holdings are planned before leaving.

The income tax return for the year of departure is mandatory, and your new address goes on it (impots.gouv). While you are a French resident, a Spanish account must be reported on form 3916; the fine for an unreported account is €1,500 (form 3916 notes). How France defines tax residence is covered in our article on taxes in France.

The Spain-France treaty: where each item is taxed

The treaty was signed in Madrid on 10 October 1995 and has been in force since 1 July 1997; it covers taxes on income and on capital (BOE-A-1997-12729). For a Spanish resident:

• Residence. If both countries claim you, the deciding factor is the permanent home, then the centre of vital interests, then habitual abode and nationality (art. 4). A Paris flat you keep for yourself points towards France.
• Real estate in France, meaning rent, sale and wealth tax, may be taxed by France, and Spain credits the French tax (arts. 6, 13, 23, 24).
• Dividends from French companies are taxed in Spain, and France may withhold up to 15% (art. 10). Interest: up to 10% in France (art. 11).
• Shares. Gains are taxed by the seller’s country, with two exceptions: companies consisting mainly of real estate, and a substantial holding of at least 25% of capital or profits together with your spouse, parents and children. France may tax the sale of such a holding even after you move (art. 13.2).
• Pensions. A private-sector pension is taxed only in Spain (art. 18). A French civil service pension is taxed only in France unless you are a Spanish national (art. 19).

The treaty with France has no clause on the Beckham regime, unlike the treaty with Germany, where those who opt for the regime lose the protection of most articles. How that works for Germans is covered in our article on moving from Germany to Spain.

A flat in France: sell before the move or after

• While you are a French resident, the sale of your main home is fully exempt from capital gains tax (service-public).
• After departure, the former main home is also exempt if you moved to an EU country, the flat stood empty from your departure, neither let nor lent, and was sold by 31 December of the following year (impots.gouv).
• If you let it, a non-resident pays 19% plus a 7.5% solidarity levy if insured in an EEA social security system. EU citizens who lived in France for at least two consecutive years get an exemption of up to €150,000 of gain on one home.
• IFI after the move applies only to French real estate and only if its net value exceeds €1,300,000 (impots.gouv).

A French exemption is not a Spanish one. Spain taxes a resident for the whole calendar year, and if the flat is sold once you are already a Spanish resident, the gain falls into the Spanish savings base at rates of 19 to 30%, with nothing to credit because France took no tax. The safest course is to sell the main home in the year before the move.

Spain: tax residence, wealth tax and the Beckham regime

You become a Spanish resident if you spend more than 183 days in the country in a calendar year or if the centre of your economic interests is here; if your spouse and minor children live in Spain, you are presumed resident too (Personal Income Tax Law, art. 9). There is no split year: a family that moves in spring is usually resident for the whole year. More in our article on tax residency.

A resident pays wealth tax on assets worldwide. If the region has not set its own allowance, the base is reduced by €700,000, and the main home is exempt up to €300,000 (Law 19/1991). Net wealth above €3,000,000 is also subject to the large fortunes tax (Law 38/2022). French IFI only covers real estate; the Spanish tax covers your portfolio as well. Accounts, securities and real estate in France worth more than €50,000 in any group are reported on Modelo 720 by 31 March of the following year (RD 1065/2007; Modelo 720 and 721).

The Beckham regime taxes income at 24% up to €600,000 and 47% above, in the year of the move and the next five. Foreign income other than employment income is not taxed in Spain, and wealth tax applies only to Spanish assets (Personal Income Tax Law, art. 93). The conditions: no Spanish residence in the five years before the move, and a move under an employment contract, including remote work, as a company director, or as an entrepreneur with a project approved by ENISA. Someone living only on capital cannot use it. A calculation on your figures is in our article on the Beckham Law.

Example: a family with €1,500,000 in capital and a flat in Paris

The family has lived in Paris for eight years: a securities portfolio of €1,500,000, a flat worth €900,000, bought for €600,000. Income comes from the portfolio and from one spouse’s remote job.

1. Exit tax. The portfolio exceeds €800,000 and the family has eight years of residence, so tax on unrealised gains is assessed. Spain is an EU country, so deferral is automatic. The portfolio is worth less than €2,570,000: if the securities are not sold for 2 years, the tax is cancelled. Rebalancing is done before leaving.
2. The flat. The gain is €300,000. A sale in the year before the move: no French tax, and not yet a Spanish resident. A sale in the first Spanish year: no French tax if the flat stood empty, but the whole gain enters the Spanish base. Letting it means losing the French exemption and paying gains tax in both countries with a credit.
3. Wealth tax. If the flat is kept, Spain taxes the portfolio and the flat: with the €700,000 allowance the base is €1,700,000, and the rate depends on the region. The family stays below the €3,000,000 large fortunes threshold. There is no IFI in France: the flat is worth less than €1,300,000.
4. Beckham. The spouse with a remote employment contract can opt for the regime, and the portfolio then drops out of Spanish income tax on foreign income and out of wealth tax for six years. The other spouse and children under 25 can join the regime with them.

Healthcare, schools, banking and mortgages

• A French pensioner is treated in the Spanish system at France’s expense on form S1, and the French contribution record counts (Regulation 883/2004, arts. 6 and 24). What a Spanish pension amounts to is in our article on pensions in Spain.
• The European Health Insurance Card (CEAM) only covers urgent care during a trip and is valid for at most two years (ameli). For the visa and for living in Spain you need a policy or S1.
• School. How Spanish schools work and how to enrol a child is in our article on schools in Spain.
• Banking and mortgages. An account is opened with an NIE, see our article on opening a bank account in Spain; terms for buying a home are in our article on mortgages in Spain.

A moving plan for a wealthy family

1. 12 months ahead. Calculate the exit tax and decide what to sell before leaving; decide what to do with the flat; check whether the Beckham regime is available.
2. 3 to 6 months ahead. Choose the route: EU citizen registration, a family member card, the nomad permit from inside Spain, EU long-term residence or a visa at a consulate general. Apostilles, criminal record certificates, insurance.
3. On departure. The return for the year of departure with form 2074-ETD, form 3916 for the Spanish account, form S1 for a pensioner.
4. The first year in Spain. The certificate or foreigner card, the Beckham application on time, the first income tax return and Modelo 720 by 31 March of the following year.

All residence routes are in our article on the Spanish residence permit, and the general procedure in our article on moving to Spain. If you are still choosing between the two countries, see Spain or France, and for France itself, Living in France. A similar guide for those leaving Cyprus is in our article on moving from Cyprus to Spain.

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Frequently asked questions

Does a French citizen need a residence permit to move to Spain?

No. A citizen of France or another EU country enters freely and within three months obtains an EU citizen certificate on form EX-18. If they do not work in Spain, they need sufficient means and health insurance covering all risks.

Can I apply for the Spanish digital nomad permit after entering on a French residence permit?

Yes. The law allows anyone legally present in Spain to apply, and a titre de séjour allows a stay in Spain of up to 90 days in any 180. The application goes to the UGE, fee 790-038. When arriving from France, an entry declaration is required within three days.

Which Spanish consulate do I apply to if I live in France?

The consulate general whose district covers your département: there are ten in France, from Paris to Perpignan. You apply in person and prove residence in the consulate district.

Do French documents need an apostille for Spain?

Yes, the Spanish consulate accepts foreign documents with an apostille or legalisation and a Spanish translation. Since 1 May 2025, apostilles in France are issued by notaries and can be ordered online.

Will I pay French exit tax when moving to Spain?

The tax is assessed if you were a French resident for six of the last ten years and hold securities worth €800,000 or more. When moving to Spain it is not paid immediately: deferral is automatic, and after two or five years the tax is cancelled if the securities have not been sold.

Where is a French pension taxed after the move?

A private pension is taxed only in Spain. A French civil service pension is taxed only in France unless you are a Spanish national.

Should I sell my flat in France before the move or after?

Before is safer. While you are a French resident, the sale of your main home is exempt. After departure France also takes no tax if the flat stood empty and is sold by the end of the following year, but Spain will tax the gain if you are already resident there.

Sources

• RD 240/2007; RD 1155/2024, arts. 13 and 179; Law 14/2013, arts. 71 bis and 74 quinquies; Schengen Convention, art. 21
• Spanish consulates in France; consulate general in Paris: non-lucrative visa; consulate general in Paris: nomad visa
• service-public: carte de résident de longue durée-UE; notaires.fr: apostille; service-public: criminal record
• impots.gouv: exit tax; form 2074-ETD notes; impots.gouv: moving abroad; form 3916 notes
• Spain-France double taxation treaty; service-public: gains on a home; impots.gouv: non-resident gains; impots.gouv: IFI
• Personal Income Tax Law, arts. 9 and 93; Law 19/1991; Law 38/2022; RD 1065/2007; Regulation 883/2004; ameli: CEAM