This guide sets out essential information for British citizens moving to or living in Spain.
Read about the services our consulates in Spain can provide.
This information is provided as a guide only. You should get definitive information from the Spanish authorities. Read the general guidance on moving to and living in Spain from the Spanish government. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is not liable for any inaccuracies in this information.
Read general guidance on moving or retiring abroad.
To stay up to date:
If you were living in Spain before 1 January 2021
Some parts of this guide only apply if you were living in Spain since before 1 January 2021. You should read these in addition to the rest of the guidance in each section.
You should also read our Living in Europe page for detailed guidance about citizens’ rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.
Visas and residency
You must tell the UK government offices that deal with your benefits, pension and tax if you are moving or retiring abroad.
Check the entry requirements for Spain.
Before you move to Spain you must apply for the appropriate visa from the Spanish consulates in London or Edinburgh, or the Spanish consulate in Manchester (details available from the Foreign embassies in the UK list. You must apply for your residence document as soon as you arrive in Spain. Your children must also be registered with their own residency documents.
Read the Spanish government’s guidance on:
Visas and residency if you were living in Spain before 1 January 2021
If you have been living in Spain legally since before 1 January 2021, you and your family members have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. You must ensure you are correctly registered as a resident. Your children must also be registered with their own residency documents.
If you registered as a resident before 6 July 2020, you will have a green A4 certificate or credit card-sized piece of paper from Extranjeria or the Police called a ‘Green Certificate’. Whilst this remains a valid residency document, the British Embassy in Spain and the Spanish Government strongly recommend that you register for a ‘Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE)’.
Most British residents in Spain hold a TIE. It is a biometric ID card with ‘Articulo 50 TUE’ printed on it, which shows that you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. It is more durable and widely recognised across Spain and the EU than the Green Certificate. It also simplifies administrative processes and border crossings, because it is listed in the EU’s Schengen Border Guard Handbook, whilst the non-biometric Green Certificate is not.
To be exempt from registering with the EU’s Entry Exit Scheme (due to start in Autumn 2024) British residents in the EU will be required to show a uniform-format biometric card which is listed as a residency document under the Withdrawal Agreement. For residents of Spain, that card is the TIE. It is expected that Green Certificate holders may face significant delays and difficulties at borders if they do not have a TIE. Contact the Spanish Government’s ‘Extranjeria’ offices for information on how to apply for the new TIE.
If you were living in Spain prior to 1st January 2021 but you don’t have any residency documents and are registering for the first time, you will be asked to submit evidence to prove that you complied with the residency criteria at the time (e.g. you were registered on the municipal registry (padron municipal). If your application is successful, you will be issued with a biometric residence card called a ‘Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE).’ This card has ‘Articulo 50 TUE’ printed on it which shows that you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. If your application is rejected, you may be able to appeal. For further information see ‘Appeal process’ section below.
Residency certificate recognition (certificado de registro – ‘green residency certificate’)
If you have difficulty using your green A4 certificate or credit card-sized piece of paper within Spain, you can refer to this . This document sets out the most relevant official Spanish government websites that confirm the validity of the Green Certificate document as valid proof of residency status in Spain, and therefore, entitlement to public services.
Please note that the Green Certificate is non-biometric and not referenced in the UK–EU Withdrawal Agreement or Annex 22 of the Schengen Border Guard Handbook. It is therefore not compatible with EU’s Entry Exit Scheme (EES) and British residents in possession of the Green Certificate may lose out on the resident exemption. To ensure you are exempt from registering with EES checks, you will need to show a TIE. Contact the Spanish Government’s ‘Extranjeria’ offices for information on how to apply for a TIE.
For more information:
If you need further information on how to register as a resident, you may find the information on the webpages from these organisations in Spain useful:
| Region of Spain | Website |
|---|---|
| Alicante, Valencia and Castellon | Babelia |
| Andalusia, Castilla la Mancha, Castilla León, Ceuta, Extremadura, Madrid, Melilla, Murcia | The International Organization for Migration |
| Aragon, Asturias, Balearics, Basque Country (Pais Vasco), Canary Islands, Cantabria, Catalonia, Galicia, La Rioja, Navarra | Age in Spain |
For details of official Spanish government and non-government organisations including in the voluntary sector, visit the Support in Spain website.
Family members
Your close family members are able to join you and settle in Spain at any time in the future. Read more information on who this applies to in the Living in Europe guidance. They should apply online before moving to Spain (in Spanish) or through a third party in Spain, such as a lawyer. Alternatively, they can apply within 3 months of arrival to Spain.
Depending on their nationality, some non-EU family members may need a visa before travel. The Spanish authorities should issue Withdrawal Agreement family reunion visas free of charge.
Read the Spanish government’s guidance for ‘UK nationals and their family members residing in Spain’. This explains how you and your close family members can apply for the TIE and how to renew your TIE before it expires.
Appeal process
If your request to register under the Withdrawal Agreement is refused, read the refusal letter carefully. It will set out the decision, the reasons for it, and how to appeal. You have 1 month to appeal from the date of the refusal letter.
The appeal process usually has 2 steps:
- administrative appeal, where a different administrative authority reviews the decision
- court appeal
The outcome of an appeal is final. If you want to appeal, we strongly recommend you seek independent, specialised legal advice. The British Embassy cannot get involved in individual immigration applications and we cannot provide legal advice.
You can:
If you do not want to appeal, or do not meet the criteria to reside in Spain under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, you should consider other options:
Passports and travel
Coronavirus travel restrictions may affect may affect travel to and from Spain.
You can apply for or renew your British passport from Spain. The British Embassy does not issue passports.
Check the Spain travel advice for passport validity requirements.
Always carry your passport when travelling within the Schengen area. If you have citizenship of an EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country, in addition to your British citizenship, you should enter and leave Spain using your EU or EFTA passport.
If you stay in Spain with a Spanish residence permit or long-stay visa, this time does not count towards your 90-day visa-free limit for the Schengen area.
If you visit other Schengen area countries outside Spain, make sure you do not exceed the visa-free 90 days in any 180-day period. You are responsible for counting how long you stay under the Schengen visa waiver, and you must comply with its conditions.
Different rules apply if you are travelling to other EU and Schengen countries as a resident of Spain. Check each country’s travel advice page for information on entry requirements.
If you were living in Spain before 1 January 2021
When you travel, carry your residence document (the green A4 certificate or credit card-sized piece of paper or the TIE) or frontier worker permit issued under the Withdrawal Agreement, in addition to your valid passport.
You must proactively show your residence document (the green A4 certificate or credit card-sized piece of paper or the TIE) if you are asked to show your passport at border control. If you have applied for, but not yet received, your residence document, show proof that your application is in progress.
If you cannot prove that you are a resident in Spain, you may be asked additional questions at the border to enter the EU. Your passport may be stamped on entry and exit. This will not affect your rights in the country or countries where you live or work. If a passport is stamped, the stamp is considered null and void when you can show evidence of lawful residence.
If you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, you can enter and exit Spain with a valid passport. You do not need any additional validity on the passport beyond the dates on which you are travelling.
Children travelling from Spain
Children (under 18 years old) resident in Spain, who travel out of Spain without a person who has parental responsibility, may need a certified authorisation by that person. This is required in addition to a valid travel document.
The regulation does not apply to foreign children resident in Spain who are subject to the law of their country of nationality, or to non-resident foreign children visiting Spain.
The Spanish immigration authorities are aware that there is no similar standard regulation in the UK, and therefore British consulates do not provide travel authorisation documents.
British children do not need written permission to travel unless they are subject to a court order which states that written permission is required from those holding parental responsibility. If the child is subject to such a court order, or to ensure that an unaccompanied child will be able to leave Spain without delay, you must obtain a certified authorisation from a public notary in Spain.
If you have parental responsibility for Spanish children in Spain, you can obtain a certified authorisation at a notary, national police station (in Spanish, or at the Guardia Civil (in Spanish).
Flight discounts for residents in Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla
Read the Spanish government’s guidance on who is eligible to access discounts on flights (in Spanish), and on how this has changed for UK nationals since 1 January 2021.
Healthcare
Read our guidance on healthcare in Spain and make sure you are correctly registered for your circumstances.
If you are resident in Spain, you must not use your UK-issued EHIC or GHIC for healthcare in Spain, unless you are a student or a detached (posted) worker.
Travel insurance is also not intended to cover healthcare costs if you live overseas.
Read the Spanish government’s guidance on access to healthcare.
You should also read guidance on:
Working in Spain
If you are planning to move to Spain and work, you must apply for the appropriate visa. Application processing times vary and you should only make travel arrangements once your visa has been issued.
Read the Spanish government’s guidance on:
Read the guidance on visas and applying for a visa at the:
To apply for a job, you may need to provide a:
Read:
If you plan to work in Spain, even if you work for a UK-based company, this may affect where you pay National Insurance-type contributions. Read the National insurance and social security contributions section for more information.
If you were living in Spain before 1 January 2021
You have the right to work without a visa, under the Withdrawal Agreement.You can use your TIE or green A4 certificate or credit-sized piece of paper as proof of your right to work.
If you live in Spain and were regularly commuting to work in another EU or EFTA country before 1 January 2021, read our guidance for frontier workers.
Professional and academic qualifications
You may need to get your professional qualification recognised if you want to work in a profession that is regulated in Spain.
Read guidance on:
Recognition and legalisation of UK academic documents
If you need your UK academic qualification officially recognised in Spain, follow the Spanish Ministry of Education’s guidance (in Spanish).
Your degree certificate or other documents need to be certified by a UK notary public and then legalised by the FCDO Legalisation Office. This legalisation service is not provided by the British Embassy in Madrid, UK consulates in Spain, or the British Council in Spain.
Read guidance on getting your UK degree qualification certified and legalised in the UK.
If you were living in Spain before 1 January 2021
If the relevant regulator in Spain officially recognised your professional qualification before 1 January 2021, or you started the recognition process by this date, make sure you understand the terms of your decision. You should get advice from the relevant regulator.
Studying in Spain
If you plan to study in Spain, carry out an internship or take up a placement as a language assistant, you must meet all visa requirements before you travel.
Contact the relevant higher education provider in Spain to check what fees you may have to pay.
Read guidance on:
If you were living in Spain before 1 January 2021
The studying in the European Union guidance
includes information if you were already living in Spain before 1 January 2021.
Tax
The UK has a double taxation agreement with Spain so that you do not pay tax on the same income in both countries. Ask the relevant tax authority your questions about double taxation relief.
You should seek professional advice on paying tax in Spain from a lawyer (see ‘Find a lawyer in Spain’ directory) or from a ‘gestor’ (or ‘gestoría’). A gestor is a private professional agent who specialises in dealing with Spanish administrative bureaucracy such as tax and accountancy on behalf of a client.
It is common practice in Spain to instruct a gestor, although other countries may not have this service. See the National Register of Accredited Gestores for a directory of gestores in your area.
Read guidance about:
Declaring your assets
As a Spanish resident, you must declare your global income to the Spanish authorities, no matter which country it came from. If you are not a resident, you will only pay tax on income that came from Spain.
You may need to file an annual declaration of overseas assets called a Modelo 720. There are penalties if you do not file, or give incorrect or incomplete information.
National insurance and social security contributions
National Insurance-type contributions (NIC) are called ‘social security contributions’ (SSC) in Spain. Find out if you need to pay National Insurance in the UK or social security contributions in Spain.
If you plan to move to Spain and work, even if you continue working for a UK-based company, you and your employer may need to pay social security contributions in Spain. These social security contributions would entitle you to certain benefits, such as healthcare, in Spain.
Read guidance on National insurance for workers from the UK working in the EEA or Switzerland.
Check your UK National Insurance record.
Benefits
UK benefits
Read our guidance on entitlement to UK benefits and pensions while you are living in Spain.
Check which benefits you can claim while abroad and how to claim them.
Many income-related benefits such as Pension Credit and Housing Benefit cannot be paid if you’re abroad for more than 4 weeks.
Spanish benefits
You may be entitled to Spanish benefits. To find out if you are entitled to Spanish benefits and how to claim, you can:
Pensions
Read guidance on entitlement to UK benefits and pensions while you are living in Spain.
Read State Pension guidance if you have lived in Australia, Canada or New Zealand and you are claiming or waiting to claim your UK State Pension.
If you retire in Spain, you can claim:
Read the Money and Pension Service’s MoneyHelper guidance on pension and retirement for more information on cross-border pensions.
Life Certificates for UK State Pensions
If you get a ‘life certificate’ from the UK Pension Service, you must respond as soon as possible. Your payments may be suspended if you do not.
Money and banking
Whether UK banks can provide service to customers living in the EEA depends on local laws and regulation.
Read the Money and Pension Service’s MoneyHelper guidance on banking, insurance and financial services for more information on cross-border banking.
Accommodation and buying property
Read guidance on how to buy or let property in Spain.
Driving in Spain
Read the guidance on:
You cannot renew or replace your UK, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man driving licence if you live in Spain.
If you have one of these licences, you can use it to drive for up to 6 months after becoming resident in Spain. To continue driving after this, you must apply for a Spanish driving licence.
The process for obtaining a Spanish licence depends on whether you have a UK, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man licence.
You cannot use an International Driving Permit (IDP) instead of a Spanish licence.
From 16 March 2023 you can drive using your valid UK or Gibraltar licence until 15 September. This is a temporary measure that the UK and Spanish governments have agreed.
If you have a valid UK or Gibraltar driving licence
If you were living in Spain before 16 March 2023, you can use your valid UK or Gibraltar driving licence to drive in Spain for 6 months from this date (15 September).
UK or Gibraltar licence holders who moved to Spain before 16 March 2023 and fail to make the exchange by 15 September will no longer be able to drive on their UK licence and will need to wait until their licence exchange has been completed to drive after that.
If you move to Spain after 16 March 2023, you can drive using your valid UK or Gibraltar licence for six months from the date you acquire residency. We recommend you start the exchange process during this time.
Exchange is possible after six months, but your UK licence will not be valid for driving in Spain while you await your exchange to be completed.
Read:
You will need to present a ‘check code’ from the DVLA, along with other documentation, at your appointment. If you have problems obtaining a check code, contact the DVLA on +44 300 083 0013.
If your licence was issued in Northern Ireland, read Northern Ireland government guidance to obtain the check code. If you have problems obtaining a check code, contact the DVA.
If your licence was issued in Gibraltar you do not need a check code.
Expired UK or Gibraltar licences
Spanish authorities will exchange your expired UK or Gibraltar licence for a Spanish one if it was valid when you entered Spain. You cannot drive on an expired UK licence.
We know that some UK licence holders with expired UK driving licences (primarily those over 70) have been experiencing issues when trying to exchange their licence for a Spanish one.
The Department of Transport has been working to resolve this issue with the Spanish Government and can confirm that Spain’s Traffic Authority (DGT) will be able to exchange expired UK licences, as long as they expired after the individual moved to Spain.
A digital “check code” to enable the DGT verify these licences is available via gov.uk.
If your licence was issued by Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man
You cannot currently exchange your Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man licence for a Spanish one. You must apply for a Spanish licence as a non-EU national. This includes taking both a theory and practical driving test.
Disabled drivers
If you have a UK Blue Badge and live in Spain, you must return it to the original UK issuing authority. You can apply for a new Spanish disabled parking card. The process is different in each region of Spain. Contact your local town hall or social services department for further information.
Read the EU guidance on the EU parking card for people with disabilities.
Bringing a UK-registered vehicle to Spain
Read our guidance on taking a vehicle out of the UK.
If you register as a resident or spend longer than 6 months of the year in Spain, you must register your vehicle with the Spanish authorities and you may need to pay some taxes. You may be exempt from some of these taxes. If so you will need certificates of exemption.
Read the Spanish Traffic Authority’s guidance on registering a foreign vehicle in Spain.
Driving outside Spain with a Spanish licence
You can use your Spanish licence when visiting the UK. Keep up-to-date with the UK Highway Code.
If you return to live in the UK, you can exchange your Spanish licence for a UK one without taking a test.
To drive in another country, in addition to your Spanish licence, you may need to apply for an International Driving Permit (in Spanish with English translation).
Read the EU guidance on:
Voting
Local elections
You can vote and stand in local elections in Spain once you have been resident for 3 years. To do so, you must:
- be registered on the municipal register where you live (padrón municipal)
- confirm your registration on the electoral roll (censo electoral), within the dates set by the electoral authorities before each election
You cannot register on the electoral roll at other times. You must re-register on the electoral roll before each local election.
Read:
To stand as a local election candidate, read Spanish organic law 5/1985 (in Spanish) or consult with your local Oficina del Censo Electoral.
Other Spanish elections
You cannot vote in general or regional elections in Spain or European Parliamentary elections.
UK general elections
From 16 January 2024, British citizens living abroad who have previously lived in the UK or been registered to vote in the UK at some point in their lives, are now eligible to register to vote in UK general elections regardless of how long they’ve been living outside the UK. A new law has removed the previous 15-year time limit.
You can:
Your overseas declaration is valid for 3 years. You will need to confirm your personal information every 3 years.
Births, deaths, marriage and civil partnerships
If your child is born in Spain, you must register your child as a resident in Spain. You can also register the birth with the UK authorities in addition to registering locally. If your child has British nationality, you do not need to register the birth with the UK authorities to apply for a British passport.
If someone dies in Spain read our guidance on:
Find out how you can get married or get a civil partnership abroad.
You may also need notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Spain.
Pets
If you’re moving to Spain with your pet, read the guidance and ensure you comply with the regulations:
To visit other countries with your pet, check the rules for the country you’re travelling to. Contact your vet to get the travel documents your pet needs.
Read guidance on:
Emergencies
Dial the European emergency number on 112 in Spain for the police, ambulance or fire brigade, or dial:
- 091 for police
- 061 for health emergencies
- 080 for firefighters
- 092 for local police
Dial the EU 116 000 hotline to report a missing child in the EU country where you live or in another EU country.
Read the guidance if you have been the victim of a rape or sexual assault in Spain.
If you’re the victim of crime, have been arrested, or are affected by a crisis abroad, contact the British Embassy Madrid or nearest consulate.
If your child is at risk of being, or has been, abducted, read:
Returning to the UK
Tell the UK and Spanish authorities if you are returning to the UK permanently.
To help prove you are now living in the UK, you should deregister with your:
- local town hall (padrón)
- the Spanish National Police (Residencia) (in Spanish)
- your local health centre
If you get healthcare in Spain through the S1 form, you must contact the Overseas Healthcare Team on +44 (0)191 218 1999 or Seguridad Social to make sure your S1 is cancelled at the right time.
To move your pension or benefits payments to the UK, tell the International Pension Centre and the Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social.
Read the guidance on returning to the UK permanently which includes information on, amongst other things, bringing family members, tax and access to services.
Useful information
List of useful websites for UK nationals living in Spain.
Support for British nationals abroad: a guide sets out how to stay safe abroad, and explains how the FCDO can support you if you get into difficulty.
