Moving to Spain from the UK in 2026: visas, documents, taxes and pensions

Since Brexit, moving to Spain from the UK works the same way as moving from any other country outside the EU. British citizens can visit for 90 days in any 180 without a visa, but to live in Spain they need a residence permit. Most people use one of two routes: the digital nomad visa, if they work remotely for UK employers or clients, or the non-lucrative visa, if they live on pensions, rent or savings. The rules are identical whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland; only the Spanish consulate that handles your application changes. Two groups are different: holders of an Irish passport, who move as EU citizens, and Britons who already lived in Spain before 2021.

Which route fits your situation

British citizens after Brexit

Since 1 January 2021, British citizens are treated in Spain as nationals of a country outside the EU. The UK is on the list of countries whose citizens can enter the Schengen area without a visa, in the annexes to EU Regulation 2018/1806: up to 90 days in any 180. That time is for visits. Living in Spain, working there or simply staying longer requires a Spanish residence permit.

Short trips are now also recorded by the EU Entry/Exit System, and the EU expects to add the ETIAS travel authorisation in the last quarter of 2026. Neither applies to people who hold a Spanish residence card.

Remote work: the digital nomad visa

If you work for a UK company or clients outside Spain, the main route is the digital nomad visa. You need income of at least €2,849 a month, which is 200% of the Spanish minimum wage. A second family member adds €1,069 and each further member €356. The employer or client must have existed for at least a year, your working relationship with it must have lasted at least three months, and no more than 20% of your income may come from Spanish clients.

Because British citizens enter Spain without a visa, you can choose where to apply. At a Spanish consulate in the UK, the visa is issued for one year and replaced by a three-year permit in Spain. From inside Spain, during your visa-free stay, you file with UGE, the unit that handles these applications, and the permit is issued for three years straight away.

Pension, rent or savings: the non-lucrative visa

For people who do not plan to work, including many UK retirees, the route is the non-lucrative visa. You need €2,400 a month for yourself and a further €600 for each family member, plus private health insurance with no co-payments. You cannot work in Spain or remotely for anyone else.

This visa cannot be requested from inside Spain. You apply at the Spanish consulate that covers your part of the UK, and the first card is valid for one year.

Other routes

The golden visa for property investment was abolished by Organic Law 1/2025 from 3 April 2025, so buying a home in Spain no longer gives any right to live there. Founders of innovative companies can use the startup visa, and graduates of Spanish universities can move on to the job seeker residence permit. The full list of what we handle is on our services page.

Which Spanish consulate covers your part of the UK

Spain has three consulates general in the UK that deal with visas, and each covers a set territory. You must apply at the one for the place where you live, and appointments are booked through BLS International, the visa centre that works for the consulates.

So there is no separate process for moving to Spain from Scotland or from England: the paperwork is the same, and only the consulate differs. People in Northern Ireland apply through Edinburgh. If you are not a British citizen but live in the UK, you can apply through these consulates only with a UK residence permit; a UK visit visa is not enough.

Documents from the UK: ACRO, apostille, translation

Every residence route asks for a criminal record certificate. For UK residents, the only accepted document is the ACRO Police Certificate. The Edinburgh consulate checklist states plainly that a Disclosure Scotland certificate is not accepted, and a standard DBS check does not work either. You need a certificate from every country where you lived in the past two years, issued no more than six months before you apply, plus a signed statement that you have had no criminal record in the last five years.

• Apostille. UK documents are legalised with an apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office. The ACRO certificate is issued on paper, and the apostille goes on the original.
• Translation. Documents in English must be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator (traductor jurado) authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Timing. ACRO, the FCDO and the translator each take their own time. Together it is usually several weeks, so start the certificate before you book your appointment.

Irish passport holders: moving as an EU citizen

Ireland is not part of the UK. It is an EU member state, and an Irish passport makes you an EU citizen with the right to live and work in Spain without a visa or permit. Many people in Northern Ireland are entitled to Irish citizenship, and many Britons have it through an Irish parent or grandparent. If you hold both passports, use the Irish one for everything in Spain.

The process follows Spain’s rules for EU citizens under Royal Decree 240/2007. Enter with your Irish passport, register your address at the town hall, and within three months apply in person with form EX18 for the EU registration certificate. The fee is €12, and the certificate with your NIE number is issued at the appointment. A spouse or children without an EU passport apply for a family member card with form EX19 in the same period.

Moving from the Republic of Ireland itself raises its own tax and social security questions, and those are not covered in this guide.

If you already lived in Spain before 2021

Britons who were legally resident in Spain before 31 December 2020 are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement. They keep the right to live and work in Spain, and their residence card, the TIE, refers to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. They do not need any of the visas in this guide; what matters is renewing the card on time and not breaking the continuity of residence. The UK government keeps its Living in Spain guide up to date for this group.

Taxes for people moving from the UK

The UK–Spain tax treaty

You become a Spanish tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year or if the centre of your economic interests is in Spain. Spain has no split-year treatment: a resident is taxed on worldwide income for the whole year. In the year of the move, when both countries may treat you as resident, the UK–Spain double taxation convention signed in London in 2013 decides which country has the right to tax you, starting with where you have a permanent home and then where your centre of vital interests is.

UK pensions and savings

• UK State Pension and private or workplace pensions are generally taxed in Spain once you are a Spanish resident.
• Government service pensions, such as civil service, armed forces or local government pensions, are generally taxed only in the UK under the treaty, unless you are a Spanish national.
• ISAs are not tax-free in Spain. Interest, dividends and gains inside them are taxable for a Spanish resident.
• Modelo 720. A Spanish tax resident must report assets outside Spain by 31 March if any of three categories, accounts, securities or property, is worth more than €50,000. UK bank accounts, investment platforms and a house in the UK usually count.
• Beckham regime. If you move for a job, you may be able to pay a flat 24% on Spanish employment income up to €600,000 for the year of arrival and the next five years, provided you were not a Spanish tax resident in the previous five years.

Spanish income tax, wealth tax and inheritance and gift tax all have a regional component, so the same situation can cost different amounts in Madrid, Valencia or Andalusia. It is worth running the numbers with an adviser before choosing where to settle.

Healthcare and social security

How you access Spanish public healthcare depends on your situation, as the UK government’s healthcare guide for Spain explains.

• UK State Pension recipients can get an S1 form, which lets them register for Spanish state healthcare paid for by the UK.
• Workers and self-employed people who pay into Spanish social security are covered on the same basis as Spanish workers.
• Everyone else, including non-lucrative and digital nomad visa holders not paying into the Spanish system, needs private health insurance. After a year of registered residence you can join the convenio especial, a public scheme with a monthly fee.
• GHIC covers temporary stays only and is not a substitute for healthcare when you live in Spain.

Social security between the UK and Spain is coordinated under the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. If a UK employer sends you to work in Spain for a limited time, you may stay in the UK National Insurance system with a certificate of coverage; otherwise contributions are paid in Spain. Contribution periods in both countries can count towards a state pension.

Driving licence

A UK driving licence is valid in Spain for six months after you become resident. After that you need a Spanish licence, but you do not have to take tests: under the UK–Spain agreement applied since March 2023, a UK licence can be exchanged without practical or theoretical exams. The licence must be valid, and it cannot be one that was itself obtained by exchanging a licence from a third country. Spain’s traffic authority lists the UK among countries with an exchange agreement. Start the exchange early in your six months, and have your DVLA check code ready.

Spanish citizenship

Spanish citizenship by residence is granted after ten years of legal residence in Spain; years spent in the UK do not count. The shorter two-year period applies only to nationals by origin of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and to Sephardic Jews, under article 22 of the Spanish Civil Code. The UK is not on that list, so when naturalising you must also declare that you renounce British citizenship. On the UK side, British nationality ends only through a formal renunciation made to the Home Office, so discuss your own case with a lawyer before relying on keeping both.

Frequently asked questions

Can UK citizens still move to Spain after Brexit?

Yes, but not on free movement. British citizens need a Spanish residence permit, most often the digital nomad visa for remote workers or the non-lucrative visa for people living on pensions or savings. Visits of up to 90 days in any 180 remain visa-free.

Is moving to Spain from Scotland or Northern Ireland different from England?

No. The rules and documents are the same across the UK. Only the consulate changes: Scotland and Northern Ireland are covered by the Spanish consulate in Edinburgh, Wales and the north of England by Manchester, and London and the south of England by London.

Can I move to Spain with an Irish passport?

Yes. An Irish passport makes you an EU citizen, so you need no visa or permit. You register within three months of arrival with form EX18, pay a €12 fee and receive the EU registration certificate with your NIE at the appointment.

How much income do I need to move to Spain from the UK?

It depends on the route. The digital nomad visa requires €2,849 a month for the main applicant. The non-lucrative visa requires €2,400 a month plus €600 for each family member, and does not allow work.

Which criminal record certificate do I need for a Spanish visa?

The ACRO Police Certificate, with an FCDO apostille and a sworn Spanish translation. Disclosure Scotland and DBS certificates are not accepted. The consulate also asks for a signed statement that you have had no criminal record in the last five years.

Can I exchange my UK driving licence in Spain?

Yes. Under the UK–Spain agreement applied since 2023, a valid UK licence can be exchanged without tests. You can drive on your UK licence for six months after becoming resident, so start the exchange within that time.

Will I get Spanish healthcare as a UK pensioner?

If you receive a UK State Pension, you can apply for an S1 form, which lets you register for Spanish state healthcare paid for by the UK. People on the non-lucrative visa who are not pensioners need private health insurance.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 — lists of countries whose nationals need or do not need a Schengen visa. EUR-Lex.
• Embassy of Spain in London — consulates and their territories.
• Consulate General of Spain in Edinburgh via BLS International — digital nomad visa checklist.
• Real Decreto 240/2007, de 16 de febrero — entry and residence of EU citizens. BOE-A-2007-4184.
• Ley Orgánica 1/2025, de 2 de enero — abolition of residence for investment. BOE-A-2025-76.
• Convenio entre el Reino de España y el Reino Unido para evitar la doble imposición, London, 14 March 2013. BOE-A-2014-5171.
• UK–Spain agreement on mutual recognition and exchange of driving licences, provisional application from 16 March 2023. BOE-A-2023-8050.
• UK Government — Living in Spain and Healthcare in Spain.
• Código Civil, articles 22 and 23. BOE-A-1889-4763.

Last updated September 2026. Laws and consular requirements change, so check official sources before you apply.