Moving to Spain from the UK: guide for UK families

If you’re planning a long-term move, this guide walks you through the order that matters most, from visas and documents to housing, healthcare, costs, and money setup. The aim is to help you arrive legally and get daily life running quickly and smoothly with less confusion.

Key takeaways

• Before you move: Choose the visa route that matches your actual move reason, as buying property alone does not grant residency rights.
• Before you move: Assemble your legal document stack early, ensuring your passport, visa forms, proof of funds, healthcare policy, and official translations are ready.
• After you arrive: Prioritise securing your NIE number, completing municipal registration (empadronamiento), and completing your TIE appointment if applicable.
• Costs: Separate one-off relocation expenses from recurring monthly costs so your initial month’s budget remains manageable.
• Healthcare: Identify your specific coverage route, whether through Spanish employment, an S1 form, compliant private insurance, or the Convenio Especial.
• First 90 days: Execute your settling-in steps in order: obtain your visa, establish your local address, register on the municipal roll, set up healthcare, open a bank account, and organise daily finances.

Can UK citizens still move to Spain after Brexit?

Yes. UK citizens can still move to Spain, but long stays now usually need the correct visa or residence route.

One thing worth knowing is that visiting Spain and relocating there are different things. A short stay is one set of rules, but living, working, studying, or retiring in Spain for more than 90 days is a residency question.

Which visa routes matter most for UK movers?

Most UK movers only need to focus on a few broad routes, not every option in Spanish immigration law. Expatica’s Spain visas guide and Spain work visa guide are the best next reads if you want route by route detail.

Use the Spanish Consulate in London and the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration to check current document lists, eligibility rules, and any changing financial thresholds.

• Work routes: for people hired by a Spanish employer
• Self-employment or remote-work routes: for freelancers, business owners, or some remote workers
• Student routes: for approved study in Spain
• Non-working residence routes: for people who can support themselves without local employment 

What do the 90-day rule and residency basics mean in practice?

UK passport holders can generally spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area without a visa. However, that is a visitor rule, and not a way to live in Spain long-term.

If you want to stay longer, you usually need the right visa before travel and then local residence follow-up after arrival. You may also need a TIE, or Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, which is the foreign identity card used for many non-EU residents.

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Your paperwork checklist before and after the move

Spanish bureaucracy makes more sense when you treat it as a chain of linked steps. First you prove why you can move, then you prove where you live, and only then do many everyday services open up.

That is why it helps to separate UK and Spain tasks. For a practical arrival companion, see Expatica’s first week in Spain guide.

What should you prepare before leaving the UK?

Start with the documents you can control before travel. Consulate requirements vary by visa route, so do not rely on a generic checklist from a forum or social media group.

As immigration consultant Leonardo Ortíz notes, getting key appointments can take weeks or even months in bigger cities, so book early and keep digital copies of everything.

• Passport and copies: check validity and save scans
• Visa file: gather forms, photos, and appointment confirmations
• Proof of funds or income: prepare statements, pension papers, contracts, or business records where relevant
• Health and background documents: arrange insurance, criminal record checks, or medical papers if your route asks for them
• Housing and language prep: shortlist temporary accommodation and organise translations or legalisation if needed

What should you do in your first 30 days in Spain?

Your first month is about turning permission to move into proof that you now live there. That usually means local registration, residence follow-up, healthcare setup, and a workable everyday admin base.

A common question is what unlocks the rest of the process. The padrón, also called empadronamiento, is often central because it proves your local address.

1. Register on the padrón as soon as you have a valid address.
2. Complete your TIE or residence follow-up if your route requires it.
3. Register for social security or healthcare if you are working, self-employed, or using an eligible S1 route.
4. Set up essentials such as your phone, utilities, school paperwork, and banking.

Insider Tip: Book your padrón appointment as soon as you have a lease or proof of address, because the certificado de empadronamiento is often needed for healthcare, school enrollment, and later admin.

How much does it cost to move and settle in Spain?

Your budget should separate one-time relocation costs from ongoing living costs. These do not hit at the same time, which is why many movers underestimate how cash-heavy the first month can be.

Build your financial plan in layers rather than relying on a single total. Regional pricing varies significantly across the country. As the major commercial and cultural capitals, Madrid and Barcelona carry noticeably higher expenses than coastal favourites like Valencia, Málaga, or Alicante.

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What one-time costs catch people out?

The surprise costs are usually the ones that stack together, including deposits, private insurance for visa purposes, official translations, removals, and short-term accommodation.

A common first-month squeeze is paying a visa fee, a rent deposit, and a removals invoice before your Spanish salary, pension, or transferred savings are fully in place.

What does monthly life in Spain usually cost compared with the UK?

Many UK movers find that some daily costs can feel lighter in Spain, especially outside the most expensive city centers. But rent, transport, utilities, and childcare can vary sharply by area.

Larger cities usually cost more than smaller towns, especially when it comes to housing, so always compare the places you are seriously considering, rather than looking at one national average. 

Where should you live and should you rent first?

Housing decisions work better when you think about daily life rather than a vacation image. The real test is whether the area fits your work, school, transport, healthcare, and year-round budget.

For most newcomers, renting first is the safer move while you get to know the area and the country. Expatica’s guides to renting in Spain and buying property in Spain can help once you narrow your shortlist.

Is it better to rent or buy when you first move?

Renting is often smarter when you are still learning the local market, waiting on paperwork, or testing whether a neighbourhood works outside peak season. It also lowers the risk of making a rushed decision.

Buying may make sense later if your legal status, finances, and location choice are stable. Keep in mind that this is different from residency, and buying property in Spain does not give UK citizens the automatic right to live there long-term. 

• Rent first if: you need flexibility or still want to compare areas
• Buy later if: your status, finances, and location are already settled
• Ask before signing: what the utilities, community costs, and deposit terms really look like

Insider tip: In many Spanish rentals, the advertised rent doesn’t always reflect the whole financial picture. Landlords sometimes try to pass on building community fees (gastos de comunidad) or annual rubbish collection taxes (tasa de basuras) on top of the base rent. Before signing, ask to see a recent utility bill breakdown and confirm in writing which non-utility charges, if any, you are expected to cover. 

How do healthcare, taxes, and everyday money setup work?

Healthcare, tax residency, and daily banking are the foundational pillars of settling in Spain. Once you transition from a visitor to a resident, how you access medical care, declare your global income, and manage local payments changes significantly. 

Your exact administrative setup depends entirely on your legal status, meaning employees, self-employed workers (autónomos), retirees, and expats living on foreign income each follow a different path.

How do UK movers access healthcare in Spain?

Access to Spanish healthcare depends on legal residency and status, not NHS entitlement. A common mistake is relying on a GHIC card, but it only covers emergency care during short-term stays, not permanent relocation.

Long-term cover requires registering for public healthcare through local employment (Seguridad Social), transferring UK state pension rights via an S1 form, taking out compliant private health insurance, or enrolling in the pay-in Convenio Especial scheme after one year of residency. 

• Work or self-employment: usually gives access through Spanish social security contributions
• S1 route: available for some UK state pensioners or other eligible people
• Private insurance: often needed for visa applications and sometimes useful as a bridge
• Convenio Especial: a public pay-in option for some residents who do not qualify another way

Detailed registration rules are covered in Expatica’s guides to healthcare in Spain and health insurance for Spanish visas. 

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What should readers know about tax, banking, and moving money?

Tax residency in Spain often starts when you spend more than 183 days there in a calendar year, but day count is not the only factor. IRPF, or Spanish personal income tax, can also depend on where your main economic interests or close family base sit, so keep your UK and Spain obligations separate until your status is clear.

Many newcomers open a local account with a major local bank such as Santander, BBVA, or CaixaBank once they have the right paperwork. At the same time, some movers use Expatica’s Spanish bank account guide and international money transfers in Spain guide to compare how they will handle deposits, bills, and transfers.

To bridge the gap before local accounts are fully set up, many expats rely on flexible multi-currency platforms like Wise. Holding over 40 currencies simultaneously lets you convert between GBP and EUR at transparent mid-market exchange rates, pay local bills, and send cross-border payments without waiting for Spanish paperwork to clear.

• Tax: check whether your stay and income pattern could make you Spanish tax resident
• Banking: expect many local services to work better with a Spanish account
• Money movement: plan how you will manage UK and Spain expenses at the same time

Your first 90 days in Spain: a simple timeline

1. Before departure: choose your route, book the consulate appointment, collect documents, arrange insurance if needed, and line up temporary housing.
2. First week: settle at your address, start your padrón registration, confirm your TIE or residence follow-up, and organise your phone and essential bills.
3. First 90 days: finish the healthcare and tax steps that apply to you, move from temporary to stable banking, and create a routine for rent, utilities, and transfers. Some readers use Wise during this stage because they may still need to receive money from the UK, convert funds, and use the Wise card in Spain and in 150+ countries while setup continues.