Clear, current guides on the routes that matter to international clients — written and maintained by a Málaga Bar–registered lawyer.
Our two flagship guides for the clients we serve most.
The complete guide for US retirees living in Spain on passive income — 2026 income requirements, documents, health cover, taxes and renewals.
Read the master guide →How founders and self-employed professionals relocate to Spain and elect the flat 24% tax regime through the innovative-entrepreneur route.
Read the master guide →The whole relocation journey in one place — visas, documents, healthcare, taxes, cost of living and your arrival checklist.
Read the ultimate guide →All the routes side by side — who each suits, the requirements, work rights and the tax angle — to find the right one for you.
Compare the visas →Tax residency, IRPF, Beckham, wealth tax, treaties and the US layer — the whole picture in one guide.
Read the tax guide →The lifestyle, visa, healthcare, tax and first-year planning issues that matter most when Spain is your retirement move.
Read the retirement guide →How far your money goes, city by city — housing, healthcare, schools and budgeting for your move.
Read the cost guide →From your first visa to permanent residency and a Spanish passport — the full ladder explained.
Read the path guide →Public system, private cover, the convenio especial and S1 — how you actually get care, and the cover your visa requires.
Read the health guide →Your one-off relocation budget — visa fees, apostilles, deposits, purchase taxes and setup, separate from monthly living costs.
Read the budget guide →NIE, empadronamiento, the TIE card, opening a bank account and registering for healthcare — the arrival sequence, in the right order.
Read the first-steps guide →Bringing your spouse and children — routes, income thresholds, who counts as family, spouse work rights and schooling.
Read the family guide →Public, concertado, private and international schools — how the system works, enrolment, language and university access.
Read the schools guide →High-impact comparisons for clients still deciding whether Spain is the right move and how to structure the first year.
Residency, tax, healthcare, lifestyle and paperwork compared before you commit to one country.
Read →Non-lucrative, digital nomad, Beckham-linked work routes, student and family options side by side.
Compare routes →The one-off relocation budget: visa costs, translations, deposits, shipping, purchase taxes and setup.
Plan the move →Visa, housing, insurance, travel, setup and tax-year timing for a non-lucrative move.
Read →The reference index behind non-lucrative, family and other Spanish visa income tests.
Read →When study is compatible with a passive-income route, and when a student route is cleaner.
Read →The half-count rule for EU long-term residence, and why the student-to-residence switch matters.
Read →Article 190 and Hoja 58: timing, provisional work rights and the one-year work residence result.
Read →Hoja 55, Hoja 55 bis, Article 191 and Article 192 mapped before choosing the wrong filing lane.
Read →Why ascendants and dependent relatives need a different evidence plan from spouses or children.
Read →The Spanish tax return that matters if you own property here before becoming resident.
Read →Landlords need a different plan depending on whether they are resident, non-resident, EU or non-EU.
Read →The pages most likely to change timing, evidence or withdrawal decisions before a non-lucrative visa move.
The US tax-free promise does not automatically travel; the missing US tax can leave Spain with the whole charge.
Read →America rewards taking the shares out of the plan. Spain rewards never touching them. Both rules turn on the same fact.
Read →The old Opportunity Zone deferral ends no later than 31 December 2026; that can be your first Spanish tax year.
Read →The NIIT follows you to Spain. The US will not credit Spanish tax against it, and Spain need not credit it at all.
Read →Medicare may not cover care in Spain, but Part B and Part D income surcharges can still follow the old tax return.
Read →Article 38.3 wipes out the Spanish gain if you buy a life annuity. It also wipes out the credit that was shielding you from the US charge.
Read →Whole life and universal life can become Spanish wealth-tax, Modelo 720 and beneficiary-tax assets.
Read →Why the deceased owner's required beginning date can decide whether the Spanish tax years are planned or forced.
Read →Substantially equal periodic payments read cleanly as means, but the IRS locks the amount while Spain keeps raising the euro bar.
Read →A CRAT or CRUT pays you a lifetime income and reads as means — but the US four-tier deferral does not survive the move to Spain.
Read →Series EE and I bonds can release decades of interest in one year, and final maturity may pick the year for you.
Read →A pass-through entity may be re-read by Spain, while the K-1 itself is weak proof of recurring visa income.
Read →Section 1202 can make a sale tax-free in the US while doing nothing for Spanish residence-year taxation.
Read →A HECM can become due when the home stops being your principal residence, before the Spanish tax question even starts.
Read →Spain says you kept part of the house. Section 2702 can say the part you kept is worth nothing — and Section 2036 brings it back anyway.
Read →The heirs may be able to commute a surviving spouse's legal usufruct into cash, assets or income. That choice changes the US estate file.
Read →They exist to avoid probate. Spain has no probate — and Spanish inheritance tax follows the person who receives, wherever the account sits.
Read →Spain may settle the succession, but a US recorder, broker or transfer agent can still require a separate release file.
Read →More in-depth guides — consulate-by-consulate filing, income evidence, apostilles, taxes and regional living guides — are being added regularly.
Our growing library for founders and autónomos relocating to Spain.
The full step-by-step for self-employed applicants — bilingual EN/ES.
Read →What changed for founders: ENISA, company directors, family members and Modelo 149.
Read →Outside board seats, the administrador route and how board fees are taxed at 24%.
Read →Investment office moves, effective management, wealth tax and Modelo 149.
Read →PFIC, the treaty, equity and totalization — coordinated with US rules.
Read →Totalization, certificates of coverage and autonomo contributions for Americans.
Read →Marketing, PR, dev shops and consultants: route choice, client concentration and PE risk.
Read →Cap tables, ENISA, HoldCo + Spanish subsidiary, transfer pricing and equity.
Read →Amazon FBA and DTC brands: permanent establishment, VAT vs income tax, RETA.
Read →Private-client relocation: Andalusian wealth tax, property and effective-management risk.
Read →The active-role problem for passive wealth, substance, and each member's route.
Read →What makes an AI project look genuinely innovative — beyond an API wrapper.
Read →Foreign-held crypto, reporting deadlines, 172/173 and the Beckham calendar.
Read →Salary tokens, founder grants, vesting, later sales and Modelo 721 reporting.
Read →Company, founder role, token custody, ENISA, PE risk and Beckham timing.
Read →When to trigger a sale, secondary, token unlock or IPO around the six-year window.
Read →Pre-arrival timing for founders weighing a sale, secondary, dividend recap or earn-out.
Read →Escrow, holdbacks, seller notes and earn-outs mapped tranche by tranche under Beckham.
Read →Indemnities, escrow deductions and completion accounts after a founder sale.
Read →Cash-settled equity plans, payout triggers and Beckham timing for founders.
Read →How carry, fund waterfalls and Spain's special carried-interest rule interact with Beckham.
Read →Retainers, success fees, advisory equity and boutique-firm PE risk under Beckham.
Read →Several mandates, authority, equity and company-management risk under Beckham.
Read →ETA buyers, acquisition vehicles, operator salary, promote and PE risk under Beckham.
Read →Separate passive angel returns from a real advisory, director or founder role.
Read →How restrictive covenants and post-sale service pay are taxed apart from the sale price.
Read →Separate post-sale salary, board fees and consulting income from the founder exit price.
Read →Professional athlete exclusion, artists, royalties and image rights.
Read →Why creators are a special case, the freelancer trap and the three real routes in.
Read →Spain's flat 24% next to Portugal's IFICI and Italy's impatriati regimes.
Read →Can a remote worker elect the flat-tax regime? The 6-month window.
Read →Location-specific and profile-specific entry points for founders, company owners and high-income movers.
The bilingual EN/ES guide for self-employed applicants using the Beckham route from Málaga.
Read →For founders and wealth-holding families moving to Marbella, with Andalusian wealth-tax and management-risk angles.
Read →The route for directors and administrators of Spanish companies, including timing and remuneration questions.
Read →The outside-director profile: portfolio and independent board seats, and the worldwide-work trap on board fees.
Read →What changed for founders: ENISA, company directors, family members and Modelo 149.
Read →How tech founders frame innovation, ENISA and relocation evidence before moving to Spain.
Read →Cap table, HoldCo/subsidiary and equity issues for SaaS founders considering the Beckham regime.
Read →Amazon FBA and DTC brands: permanent establishment, VAT versus income tax and RETA planning.
Read →Substance, active roles, effective management and wealth-tax coordination for investment-office relocations.
Read →Token compensation, Modelo 721, later disposals and evidence planning for crypto-native founders.
Read →How to align company control, founder role, token custody and first-year Beckham evidence.
Read →Sale, secondary, token unlock or IPO: reading the payout against the Beckham timeline.
Read →Pre-arrival sale timing for founders deciding whether to close before Spanish residence starts.
Read →How escrow, holdbacks, seller notes and earn-out tranches land across the Beckham timeline.
Read →Warranty claims, indemnities and price adjustments after moving to Spain.
Read →Cash-settled phantom shares, SARs and payout timing for founders relocating to Spain.
Read →Carried interest, fund waterfalls and management-company risk under Beckham.
Read →Success fees, deal bonuses, advisory equity and foreign boutique management risk.
Read →Interim and portfolio executives with multiple mandates, equity and authority.
Read →Acquisition entrepreneurs, HoldCo/OpCo structure and operator-role evidence.
Read →Restrictive covenants and consulting fees taxed apart from the founder sale price.
Read →Salary, director fees, board advisory work and consulting income after closing.
Read →High-earner Beckham planning for salary, bonus, equity and the 47% excess rate.
Read →Coordinate Beckham planning with PFIC, equity, treaty and Social Security totalization issues.
Read →Get an instant answer, then talk to a lawyer.
All practical question pages in one place: NLV, documents, consulates, family routes, NIE/TIE and relocation by country.
Browse questions →The full toolkit in one place: route quiz, non-lucrative income calculator and Beckham tax calculator.
Open tools →A 60-second quiz that recommends your best route to Spain — then connects you with a lawyer.
Take the quiz →For retirees and passive-income applicants: check fit, blockers and the next document step.
Check NLV fit →Move a slider to your Spanish income and see the flat 24% Beckham regime vs ordinary IRPF — with your estimated saving.
Open the calculator →Pick your family size and see the minimum income the non-lucrative visa requires (based on the IPREM).
Open the calculator →Not just for Americans — the route for financially independent expats worldwide (UK, Canada, Gulf, Asia).
Read →Once the visa is approved and you land: the order of steps, the TIE card procedure, healthcare registration and the annual tax calendar.
The order of operations — address, padrón, TIE, banking and tax clock.
Read →How your US address touches state tax, brokerages, the IRS, Social Security and voting — and your options.
Read →What the 2026 RAP rules changed, why the foreign earned income exclusion does nothing on a non-lucrative visa, Parent PLUS, and how default reaches your Social Security.
Read →Why an approved visa is not permission to remove a child, what the 1980 Hague Convention treats as wrongful removal, the consent or relocation order to obtain before departure, and what the padrón and the school ask afterwards.
Read →When a translated American divorce decree is only evidence, when Spain needs recognition or exequatur, and why support, custody, property and registry effects must be separated.
Read →Why citizenship is decided at birth by a physical-presence test, the eCRBA and its appointments in Fuengirola, the first passport, and the child's own residence card.
Read →Comercializadora vs distribuidora, the CUPS code, cambio de titular vs a new supply, PVPC, and the bill as proof of address.
Read →Coverage that changes street by street, permanencia vs sin permanencia, the convergent bundle, install times and rural fixed-5G.
Read →Why cover follows the car not the driver, terceros vs todo riesgo, the bonus-malus reset, your US no-claims record, and how a claim works.
Read →Booking the appointment, the Modelo 790 fee, huellas and collection.
Read →Replacing the card under article 209.9, the return authorisation, and the one-month duty to report a change of address.
Read →The DS-82 mail route via the Madrid embassy, the in-person DS-11 exceptions and how it affects your TIE.
Read →Applying or renewing from abroad, the interview catch, Enrollment on Arrival and passport alternatives to REAL ID.
Read →Why the summons keeps arriving, why overseas voting is not the shield people think it is, and the registration deadline that closes on a 26th birthday.
Read →Compulsory schooling from six to sixteen, what the Constitutional Court really held, and the article of the immigration regulation that turns enrolment into a renewal condition.
Read →The autorización de regreso: when you need it to re-enter Spain and how to apply.
Read →Private insurance, INSS recognition, padrón, TIE and the regional health card.
Read →The practical order for town hall registration, TIE, private insurance and public-health routes.
Read →The pay-in public health agreement for residents: 2026 fees, eligibility and the prescription gap.
Read →Why Part B and Part D premiums can still rise after the Spain move, based on older US income.
Read →Renta, Modelo 720/721, wealth tax and the Beckham filing dates.
Read →Foreign-asset reporting for US accounts, brokerage, retirement wrappers and property.
Read →Worldwide net worth, not just Spanish assets: the allowances, the Andalucía rebate and the Solidarity Tax floor.
Read →Why US brokers restrict foreign-address clients, the US-ETF/PFIC squeeze, and how to prepare.
Read →Why US funds stay clean for the IRS but lose Spain's traspaso deferral, and why European funds trigger the PFIC regime.
Read →Setting up SEPA direct debits for rent, utilities, taxes and Social Security.
Read →After one spouse dies: TIE, padrón, bank access, health cover and direct debits.
Read →The Spanish product almost half the country carries and no American knows: what it covers, repatriation, age limits, cost and whether to buy one.
Read →EX-01, updated income, insurance continuity, residence evidence and the new TIE.
Read →Why the new real-residence renewal count is not the same as Spanish tax residency.
Read →Your online ID (FNMT) for tax, Seguridad Social, extranjería and e-notifications.
Read →The dependency route, why SSI stops abroad but SSDI follows, and how Spain reads a US special needs trust.
Read →Why a US disability savings account does not automatically solve NLV means, SSI or Spanish reporting.
Read →Why a US guardianship order is not a Spanish signing plan for a disabled adult child.
Read →Why a DAF is often cleaner before Spanish tax residence starts, and how US deduction timing, appreciated securities, Modelo 720 and Spanish donation rules interact.
Read →Series EE and I bonds store up thirty years of untaxed interest and release it in one moment — and final maturity picks the year for you, cash or no cash. How to read the issue dates before choosing a move date.
Read →Why post-2018 alimony can vanish from the US recipient return but still become taxable general income in Spain, and how to use support safely for the visa.
Read →A resort week can be a foreign real-estate right, a club membership, a rental asset or a personal-use asset. Classify it before the first Spanish resident year.
Read →Article 33.4.b can erase the Spanish gain on a habitual residence after 65, but a US citizen still has the Section 121 cap and may lose the Spanish credit shield.
Read →Section 1202 makes the sale tax-free in America and buys you nothing in Spain. Why the exclusion does not travel, why no foreign tax credit rescues it, and why the closing date decides the outcome.
Read →In America the entity is invisible. Spain re-reads it with a test almost nobody quotes — and the answer turns on a US election, one that renouncing your citizenship can tear up.
Read →Spain's dependency system asks for five years of prior residence, your visa health policy is not a care policy, and most US long-term care insurance limits benefits paid abroad. The five-year window nobody plans for.
Read →The non-lucrative visa restricts your own labour, not what you may buy. But the day a carer starts in your house you acquire a Spanish payroll, a contributions file and, since 2022, an exit that is no longer free. What it costs at 2026 rates, and why the cash version is worse for a foreigner.
Read →A VA rating, an SSDI award or a US placard has no legal effect in Spain. How the certificado de discapacidad works, why 33% is the threshold that matters for income tax and a car, and why the dependency system is a different door.
Read →American law protects a service dog team by forbidding anyone to ask for papers. Spain builds a file instead — and wrote one paragraph, naming ADI and the IGDF, for dogs from countries with no certification scheme. There is no emotional support animal category at all.
Read →A valid US living will can be completely ignored in a Spanish hospital. The voluntad vital anticipada, why registration in the RNIP is the step that matters, and how it differs from your power of attorney and your will.
Read →Spain is often called an opt-out country, but the practical file is the registry plus the family conversation. How to document donor wishes after moving.
Read →Spain's ayuda para morir is a regulated medical procedure under LO 3/2021, not a living-will shortcut. Residence, capacity, repeated requests, doctors and Commission review all matter.
Read →Spain decides burial or cremation within 24 to 48 hours. The Consular Report of Death takes four to six months. The one insurance nearly half of Spain carries and almost no American buys — and why a power of attorney is already dead by then.
Read →Spain's oath asks you to renounce and the United States does not accept it. The two renunciations, the covered-expatriate tests, the 2026 exit tax figures, and the $60,000 estate-tax threshold waiting on the far side.
Read →You must apply at the consulate for your state of residence.
In-depth guides to the best places for expats to live in Spain — neighbourhoods, cost of living, community and which visa fits.
The immigration route for running your own business or profession in Spain.
What the cuenta propia permit is, requirements and process.
Read →Book a private consultation and get answers tailored to your exact situation.