Plan your move to Spain
Answer a few questions and get a move plan: which residency options may fit you, and introductions to local attorneys, movers, agents and insurers when you need each one.
Takes about five minutes. Free for you, because providers pay us.
A sample move plan
A couple retiring to Valencia in about nine months
- NowImmigration attorneyConfirms which residency option you qualify for.
- 5 months beforeReal estate agentLines up a rental for your first year.
- 3 months beforeInternational moverSurveys, quotes and books a shipping date.
- 2 months beforeHealth insuranceCover that starts the day you land.
- Moving dayYou move to Spain
- After you arriveUS expat tax preparerYour first return from abroad.
How it works
Tell us about your move
Who is moving, when, where to, and how you will support yourself. Rough answers are fine.
Get your move plan
You see which residency options may fit, and a timeline of who you need and when you need them.
Meet providers when it's time
We introduce you to up to 3 local providers for each service you asked for. You choose who to hire, or nobody.
Help with each part of the move
Most moves need several specialists, at different times. Read what each one does, then ask for an introduction.
- Immigration attorneyVisa applications, the TIE card, renewals and anything unusual in your case.
- Real estate agentRentals for your first year, or a purchase once you know the area.
- International moverShipping household goods by sea, with Spanish customs and the duty exemption.
- Pet relocationMicrochip, rabies vaccination, the EU health certificate and the flight.
- Health insurancePrivate Spanish policies that meet the visa rules, and how they fit with public care.
- US expat tax preparerUS returns from abroad, Spanish tax residency and making the two fit together.
Where people settle in Spain
Not sure yet? That's a normal place to start. The intake has a "not sure" option.
Madrid
The capital, with the country's biggest hospitals, the most direct flights to the US and no beach.
Barcelona and Catalonia
A large Mediterranean city with an international workforce and the highest rents in Spain.
Valencia and the Costa Blanca
A flat, walkable city on the sea, and the coast south to Alicante where many foreign retirees live.
Málaga and the Costa del Sol
Mild winters, a busy airport and the largest English-speaking community in the country.
Seville and inland Andalusia
Historic cities with lower rents, where you will need Spanish and summers are very hot.
The Balearic and Canary Islands
Mallorca and its neighbours in the Mediterranean, and the Canaries with spring weather all year.
Northern Spain
Green, cool and rainy from Galicia to the Basque Country, with few foreigners and little English.
Guides to read first
- Moving to Spain from the US: the steps in orderWhat to do, in what order, from the consulate appointment to your first tax return as a Spanish resident.
- Spain residency for Americans: the visas and how to get oneThe residence visas open to Americans, what each requires, and the steps from the consulate to long-term residency.
- Spain non-lucrative visa: requirements, income and stepsSpain's visa for retirees and others who can live without working: the money required, the documents and the consulate process.
- Spain digital nomad visa: requirements and how to applyThe visa for remote workers with employers or clients outside Spain: income, documents, where to apply and tax.
- Spain golden visa: it has ended, and what to use insteadSpain stopped giving residency for property and other investments in April 2025. What that means and the routes that remain.
- NIE number, TIE card and empadronamiento in SpainThe identity number, the resident card and the town hall registration: what each is for and how to get it.
- Spanish citizenship for Americans: how long it takes and how to applyTen years of residence for most Americans, the shorter routes, the exams, and what Spain says about keeping your US passport.
- Best places to live in Spain for AmericansSeven cities and regions compared on climate, cost, language, healthcare and getting home.
Ready to see your plan?
Five short sections. You can stop at any point, and nothing is shared until you agree to it at the end.