Moving to Spain from the UK: The Complete 2026 Guide
Every week someone tells me the same story. It starts on a grey Tuesday in Manchester or Surrey, with a search for flights, and ends with the question: could we actually live there? The answer is yes, and plenty of British families already do. What changed with Brexit is not whether you can move to Spain, but how.
I am not writing this from an office in London. We made the same move ourselves, from Germany to Estepona, with the same consulate appointments, the same apostilles and the same first winter of paperwork, and we have since walked British clients through every step of it. This guide to moving to Spain from the UK follows the order things actually happen: the visa routes and the income each one needs, the paperwork in the UK and in Spain, healthcare, tax on your pension, driving and pets. And because everyone asks it sooner or later, it also answers the question behind the question: where on the Costa del Sol do British movers end up, and what does a home there cost? I work in Estepona, so that is the part I can tell you from the inside.
Moving to Spain from the UK after Brexit: what has changed
Since 1 January 2021, UK nationals are treated as citizens of a non-EU country. Without a visa you can spend up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period in the Schengen area, and Spain counts towards that total. Long winters in the sun therefore need a residence permit, and so does anything that looks like living here rather than visiting.
Borders are now biometric
The EU's Entry/Exit System has been fully running since 10 April 2026. Your fingerprints and a photo are taken the first time you cross, and every entry and exit is logged, which is also how those 90 days are counted. Residents who hold a biometric TIE card are exempt from that registration. ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visitors, has not started yet and the EU no longer gives a firm date, so it matters for friends visiting you, not for you.
If you already lived in Spain before 2021
Anyone legally resident in Spain before 1 January 2021 keeps their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, including the right to work without a permit. If you still hold the old green residence certificate, exchange it for a biometric TIE. It is the only residence document named in the Withdrawal Agreement, and it spares you the biometric registration at the border.
Which visa fits you
Buying a house in Spain does not give you the right to live here. You need a residence permit that matches how you will support yourself, and the honest question to start with is where your money comes from: a pension, a UK employer, your own clients, or a Spanish job.
The Spain non-lucrative visa for retirees
This is the classic route for British retirees and early retirees. You may live in Spain as long as you can support yourself without working here, and that includes remote work for a UK employer, so employees and freelancers need a different permit. The threshold is tied to IPREM, Spain's public income indicator, currently €600 a month. Consulates can ask for more than the minimum and will look closely at how stable and how accessible your money is. The first permit runs for one year, the renewal for four, and after five years of continuous legal residence you can apply for long-term residence.
The digital nomad visa if you keep your UK work
The international remote work permit is for people who work for companies based outside Spain; freelancers may earn up to 20% of their work from Spanish clients. The threshold is 200% of the Spanish minimum wage, which for 2026 means €2,849 a month, and consulates want to see regular income: contracts, invoices and payslips from recent months, not a one-off bank balance. Remote workers can also look at the special tax regime for new arrivals, often called the Beckham law, which taxes employment income at a flat 24% up to €600,000 a year for the year of the move and the following five.
What happened to the golden visa
You may still see adverts for the residence permit that came with a property purchase of €500,000 or more. Spain stopped accepting new applications on 3 April 2025. Permits granted before that date stay valid under transitional rules, but buying a home no longer leads to residency on its own. It does still decide something else, though: where you will actually live.
Working, studying or joining family
Three more routes come up regularly. A work permit is tied to a job offer from a Spanish employer, and the employer starts the process. The self-employed route, becoming an autónomo, suits people who open a practice, a shop or a consultancy here; you register with the tax office and with social security, where contributions are based on what you earn. A student visa covers language courses and degrees and allows limited work alongside. And if your partner or parent already holds a Spanish permit, family reunification brings you in through their file rather than your own income.
Applying step by step
You apply in the UK, at the Spanish consulate that covers your address: London, Manchester or Edinburgh. Applications are handed in through BLS International, the consulates' visa service provider, and every family member needs their own appointment.
- Book the appointment early. You can apply up to 90 days before the date you want to enter Spain, and slots in spring and early summer go quickly.
- Order the certificates last. Your ACRO police certificate and your medical certificate may not be older than three months when you apply, and both still need an apostille and a sworn translation, which takes time.
- Sort your cover and your proof of income. Health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, or proof that you have applied to register an S1, plus statements showing the required income for a full year.
- Hand in, collect, travel. If your application succeeds, you collect the visa in person within one month of being notified.
- Apply for your TIE within a month of arriving at the foreigners' office or a police station. Appointments can be booked out for weeks, so make it the first thing you do.
What goes in the folder
- Passport valid for at least 12 months, with two blank pages
- National visa form and form EX-01
- ACRO certificate, apostilled and translated, for every applicant over 18
- Medical certificate from a UK or Spanish doctor, in the wording the consulate requires
- Health insurance policy or S1 registration request
- Proof of income or assets for the full year
- Marriage and birth certificates for family members, apostilled and translated
- Fee form 790-052 and proof of your UK address
Where British movers land: Estepona
Nearly everyone moving to Spain from the UK arrives with the names they know from holidays and leave with a different shortlist. Marbella is half an hour up the coast and priced accordingly. Estepona, its neighbour to the west, is the one that keeps surprising them: a town of around 67,000 people that still works as a town in February, with a restored old town where the white alleys are hung with flowers, 21 kilometres of coastline, a promenade you can walk for an hour, and a cultural programme that runs from the Teatro Auditorio Felipe VI to a glass orchid house with some 8,000 species.
The everyday things that decide it
Málaga airport is 84 kilometres away on the AP-7, which in practice means your family can land and be with you before lunch, and Gibraltar airport is 45 kilometres in the other direction with its own British connections. Golf courses start a few minutes inland, the beaches are looked after all year, and daily life needs no translation: doctors, lawyers and shops are used to international residents. Doctors, lawyers and shops are used to international residents.
None of that is why we stayed, though. We stayed because of the ordinary week: the market on a Wednesday morning, neighbours who greet you in February when the tourists are gone, and a town small enough that your builder, your doctor and your baker know your name within a year. That is the part no brochure can show you, and the part we can.
Schools for British children
School is compulsory in Spain from 6 to 16, and families here choose between three kinds: state schools, which are free and teach in Spanish, semi-private concertado schools, and private international schools. British-curriculum schools sit along this stretch of coast and follow the English system up to A-levels, which matters if you might move back. The National Association of British Schools in Spain keeps a list of its member schools in Málaga province. Younger children usually land in a Spanish state school without much drama; teenagers with exams ahead are the reason most families pick a British school.
What homes cost, and how that has moved
Estepona is no longer a secret, and the numbers show it. On our own market analysis, resale asking prices in the town stood at around €5,000 per m² in August 2026, after a rise of roughly 98% over five years. That is the past, not a promise, but it explains why so many buyers stop treating a home here as a holiday purchase.
Why a new build suits a move from the UK
There is a practical reason why so many people moving to Spain from the UK end up in a new development rather than an older villa. The months you spend collecting apostilles, waiting for a consulate appointment and giving notice at home are exactly the months a home under construction needs. You arrive to a finished, guaranteed, well-insulated home instead of managing a renovation from 2,000 kilometres away, with the air conditioning, the terrace and the communal pool already there.
The price argument has changed too. In September 2026 new builds in Estepona were asking only about 3% more per m² than resales in the same town, because so much has been completed here at once. For the same money you get the newer building standard, and you get to choose the floor, the aspect and often the kitchen.
New homes in Estepona
What living in Estepona costs
This is the question behind every viewing, and the honest answer has two halves. Housing we can put numbers on, because we track this market ourselves. For the weekly shop we would only be guessing, and a guess in a guide like this is worth nothing.
Housing
If you rent before you buy, expect asking rents in Estepona to have averaged around €21 per m² a month in August 2026 on our own analysis, with newer developments at the upper end and older flats inland below it. Owners pay the annual IBI property tax to the town hall, plus community fees in any development with shared pools, gardens or lifts, and those fees are the number people forget: a large garden and a heated pool are lovely and they appear on the bill every month. Ask for the exact figure for the specific home before you commit, not the average for the building type.
Healthcare and insurance
Budget for cover from day one. Private policies are what most visa applicants take out, and after a year on the padrón the public convenio especial costs €60 a month under 65 and €157 from 65, with prescriptions paid in full. Once an S1 or Spanish social security covers you, that line largely disappears.
Everyday costs
Eating out, fruit and vegetables and heating are the places where British movers notice the difference first, and imported British products and electricity are where they notice it in the other direction. We do not publish a shopping-basket comparison, because the honest ones come with more caveats than numbers. What we can tell you is what a specific home costs to run, including its community fees, before you make an offer.
Money, banking and your belongings
Opening a Spanish bank account
You will need a Spanish account for the notary, for utilities and for the community fees, and the bank will ask for your passport, your NIE and proof of income or address. Non-residents can open an account before they move, usually with a certificate confirming non-resident status that the bank arranges. Compare what the transfers cost you: moving pounds into euros at a poor rate is the most expensive mistake in the whole move, and it repeats every month once your pension arrives.
Bringing your furniture
Used household goods that you have owned and used before the move can normally be imported free of duty and import VAT when you transfer your residence to Spain, which is applied for at Spanish customs with an inventory and proof that you are moving here. Removal firms that run the UK–Spain route handle that paperwork every week; ask for it to be included in the quote rather than sorting it yourself. Bring less than you think. Terraces and built-in wardrobes change what furniture you actually need, and British electricals with three-pin plugs mostly end up in a box in the garage.
Your first year in Spain
Landing with a visa in your passport is the start, not the finish. The first months bring three registrations and four decisions, and they are easier when you know they are coming.
NIE number, TIE and padrón: your first three registrations
The TIE is your biometric residence card. The padrón is your registration at the town hall, which you need for the card, for healthcare, for schools and for local benefits, so do it as soon as you have an address. The NIE is your foreigner's identity number and appears on every contract, bill and tax form. If you move on a residence visa it comes with your residence file; buyers who are not moving yet can apply at a Spanish consulate in the UK or at a police station in Spain.
Healthcare in Spain for UK nationals
Your UK Global Health Insurance Card stops being the answer once you live here. If you receive a UK State Pension, apply to the NHS Overseas Healthcare Services for an S1 form up to 90 days before you move, then register it with Spanish social security, in person or online. You and your dependants then use Spanish state healthcare on the same basis as Spanish citizens. If you work in Spain, your contributions cover you. Everyone else needs private insurance, and after a year on the padrón can join the public convenio especial scheme, which costs €60 a month under 65 and €157 from 65, with prescriptions paid in full.
Tax and your pension
Spend more than 183 days here in a calendar year, or make Spain the centre of your life, and you become a Spanish tax resident, taxed on your worldwide income. The double taxation convention between the UK and Spain decides which country taxes what.
| Income | Taxed where, once you live in Spain |
|---|---|
| UK State Pension | Spain |
| Private and workplace pensions | Spain |
| Government service pensions | UK, but Spain counts them when setting the rate on your other income |
Two more things belong in your first year. Your UK State Pension keeps its yearly increase because Spain is in the European Economic Area. And Spanish residents must report accounts, investments and property held abroad on form 720 when a category passes €50,000, between 1 January and 31 March.
Book an hour with a Spanish tax adviser before you move, not after your first tax return.
Permanent residency and citizenship
After five years of legal, continuous residence you can apply for long-term residence, which drops the income conditions and lets you live and work here indefinitely. Spanish citizenship is a longer road for British nationals: the Civil Code asks for ten years of legal residence, plus language and civics tests and evidence that you are part of life here. Most of our clients stop at long-term residence, keep their British passport and treat the five-year mark as the moment the paperwork finally calms down.
Driving and pets
Your UK or Gibraltar licence is valid for six months after you become resident. Exchange it at the DGT before those six months are up; since the 2023 agreement between Spain and the UK there is no driving test, but you will need a check code from the DVLA, or the DVA for Northern Ireland licences. Licences from Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man cannot be exchanged, so their holders sit the Spanish tests.
For the dog or the cat, a pet passport issued in Great Britain is no longer valid. Your vet issues an animal health certificate instead, which must be used to enter the EU within 10 days. The microchip goes in before or with the rabies vaccination, and you wait at least 21 days after a first vaccination before travelling. Once Spain is your main home, a Spanish vet can issue an EU pet passport for the trips after that.
Buying your home here
Some of our clients rent for a few months and buy once their residence is sorted. Others buy first and use the home for holidays until they move. Both work, and both need the same two things before completion: your NIE and a Spanish bank account.
What the purchase costs in taxes
| Purchase in Andalusia | Tax |
|---|---|
| Resale home | 7% transfer tax (ITP) |
| New build | 10% VAT plus 1.2% stamp duty |
If you keep your UK residence for now
Owning a home in Spain while still living in the UK makes you a non-resident taxpayer here. Since Brexit that means 24% non-resident income tax instead of the 19% EU residents pay, both on rental income and on the notional income Spain charges for a home you use yourself, declared on form 210. Worth pricing in before you buy, along with the annual IBI and community fees.
And the "100% tax" on non-EU buyers?
In January 2025 the Spanish government announced plans for a tax of up to 100% on homes bought by non-EU residents, and a bill went to parliament in May 2025. It has never been debated or voted on, so it is not law and no date exists. We follow it and will update this guide if that changes.
Your timeline for moving to Spain from the UK
- 6–12 months before Choose your visa route, check your income against the threshold, talk to a Spanish tax adviser, and start viewing homes. If you like a new build, this is the moment it pays off.
- 3–4 months before Book the consulate appointment, order the ACRO and medical certificates, arrange insurance or apply for your S1, sort apostilles and sworn translations.
- Up to 90 days before Submit the visa application and line up your rental or your purchase, so you have an address for the padrón.
- Moving month Collect the visa in person, book pet travel and removals.
- First month in Estepona Padrón at the town hall, TIE appointment, Spanish bank account, register the S1.
- First six months Exchange your driving licence and set up your first Spanish tax return and form 720.
Frequently asked questions
Is moving to Spain from the UK still possible after Brexit?
Yes. UK nationals are now treated as non-EU citizens, so anyone who wants to stay longer than 90 days in any 180-day period needs a visa or residence permit. The most common routes for British movers are the non-lucrative visa for people who live on pensions or savings, the digital nomad visa for remote workers, and work or self-employment permits.
How much money do I need for the Spanish non-lucrative visa?
The requirement is 400% of IPREM, Spain''s public income indicator. With IPREM at €600 a month, that is €2,400 a month or €28,800 a year for the main applicant, plus €600 a month (€7,200 a year) for each family member. Consulates can ask for more than the minimum and look closely at how stable and accessible the money is.
Where do I apply for a Spanish visa in the UK?
At the Spanish consulate that covers your UK address: London, Manchester or Edinburgh. Visa applications are handed in through BLS International, the consulates'' visa service provider. You can apply up to 90 days before you plan to enter Spain.
Does the Spanish golden visa still exist?
No. Spain stopped accepting new golden visa applications on 3 April 2025. Buying property no longer gives you a residence permit on its own; you need one of the regular routes such as the non-lucrative or digital nomad visa.
Can I use the NHS once I live in Spain?
Not directly. UK State Pension recipients can apply for an S1 form, register it with Spain''s social security (INSS) and then use Spanish state healthcare on the same basis as Spanish citizens. People who work in Spain are covered through their social security contributions. Others need private insurance and, after one year on the padrón, can join the public convenio especial scheme (€60 a month under 65, €157 from 65).
Is my UK pension taxed in Spain?
If you become tax resident in Spain (more than 183 days in a calendar year), your UK State Pension and private or workplace pensions are taxed in Spain under the UK–Spain double taxation convention. Government service pensions, for example those of civil servants, stay taxable in the UK, but Spain still counts them when setting the rate on your other income.
Can I drive in Spain on my UK licence?
Yes, for six months after you become resident. Before those six months run out, exchange it for a Spanish licence at the DGT. There is no driving test for the exchange; you will need a check code from the DVLA (or the DVA for Northern Ireland licences).
Where do British people live on the Costa del Sol?
Many British movers settle in Estepona, next to Marbella on the western Costa del Sol. The town has around 67,000 residents, a restored old town, 21 kilometres of coast and a full cultural programme, and it still works as a town outside the holiday season. Málaga airport is 84 km away and Gibraltar airport 45 km, both with flights to the UK.
Is a new build or a resale better when moving from the UK?
For most movers a new build is the easier option. The months you spend on apostilles, the consulate appointment and giving notice at home are the months a home under construction needs, so you arrive to a finished house instead of managing a renovation from the UK. In September 2026 new builds in Estepona were asking only about 3% more per m² than resales in the same town.
Sources & official links
- GOV.UK – Living in Spain (checked 19.09.2026)
- Consulate General of Spain in London – Non-lucrative residence visa requirements (PDF) (checked 19.09.2026)
- Consulate General of Spain in Manchester – Consular services and visas (checked 19.09.2026)
- BOE – Royal Decree 1155/2024, Spanish immigration regulation (checked 19.09.2026)
- BOE – Royal Decree 126/2026, minimum wage (SMI) for 2026 (checked 19.09.2026)
- Plataforma One (Spanish government) – Abolition of the investor visa (checked 19.09.2026)
- European Union – ETIAS (checked 19.09.2026)
- GOV.UK – Healthcare for UK nationals living in Spain (checked 19.09.2026)
- GOV.UK – Register your S1 form in Spain online (checked 19.09.2026)
- NHSBSA – Applying for healthcare cover for living abroad (checked 19.09.2026)
- Junta de Andalucía – Convenio especial for healthcare (checked 19.09.2026)
- Agencia Tributaria – Tax information for residents with income from the United Kingdom (checked 19.09.2026)
- Agencia Tributaria – Brexit and non-resident income tax (checked 19.09.2026)
- Agencia Tributaria – Form 720, declaration of assets abroad (checked 19.09.2026)
- GOV.UK – Countries where the State Pension increases every year (checked 19.09.2026)
- DGT – Exchanging a UK driving licence (checked 19.09.2026)
- HMRC – Double taxation UK–Spain, form Spain-Individual (checked 19.09.2026)
- Spanish Ministry of Inclusion (UGE) – International remote workers (checked 19.09.2026)
- GOV.UK – Taking your pet abroad (checked 19.09.2026)
- NABSS – British schools in Málaga province (checked 19.09.2026)
