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Relocation guide · Australia to Spain
By Emily & Ben · Facts checked 19 October 2026
Emily is Australian and we live in Valencia now, so this is a route we think about a lot. Moving from Australia to Spain is a bigger jump than moving within Europe. The school year flips, Medicare stops covering you, and your driver's licence can't simply be swapped for a Spanish one.
Australians can visit Spain without a visa for short stays, but living here means a residence visa applied for in Australia. This guide covers what is specific to Australian families: which Spanish office handles your application, how Australian documents get legalised, and what happens to your healthcare, super and tax once you leave.
| Visa-free stay | Up to 90 days in Schengen, with biometric EES registration on arrival |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | Embassy in Canberra (ACT and Queanbeyan only) or the consulates in Sydney and Melbourne |
| Non-lucrative income | 400% of IPREM plus 100% per dependant: €2,400 + €600 a month at the 2026 IPREM |
| Police check | Name and fingerprint check, apostilled by DFAT, then sworn-translated |
| Driving licence | Valid 6 months after you become resident; no exchange agreement, so you sit the Spanish tests |
| Healthcare | No reciprocal agreement with Spain; private insurance needed unless you work in Spain |
| Tax treaty | Australia and Spain tax treaty, signed 24 March 1992 |
Smartraveller notes that Spain is in the Schengen area, so Australians can make short stays of 90 days or less without a visa and now register fingerprints and a photo at the border. Anything longer needs a residence visa, applied for before you leave. Check which office covers you first. The Spanish embassy in Canberra only handles the ACT and Queanbeyan, and everyone else applies through the consulate general in Sydney or Melbourne.
The non-lucrative visa is for families who will live on savings, rental income or pensions and won't work in Spain. The main applicant needs 400% of IPREM, Spain's benchmark income figure, plus 100% for each family member. IPREM is still €600 a month in 2026, so a couple with two children needs €4,200 a month, or €50,400 for the year. Canberra asks for three months of bank statements signed and stamped by your branch. Your health policy must have no waiting periods and no excess. The legal decision period is three months, and it can run longer if they ask for an interview.
The digital nomad visa (officially the international telework visa) suits a parent working remotely for companies outside Spain. Under the Melbourne consulate's note, no more than 20% of your work can be for a Spanish company. You need three months with your employer, an employer that has been trading for at least a year, and a degree or three years' relevant experience. Every applicant needs an NIE before applying, and you can get one at the consulate. Melbourne states the income test as 200% of IPREM, plus 75% for the first family member and 25% for each additional one. The London consulate words it as a percentage of the Spanish minimum wage instead, so confirm the current figure with your consulate.
If one of you holds an EU passport (Italian or Irish, for example), the rest of the family can apply for an EU family member residence card instead of either visa.
This isn't legal advice. Consulates update their checklists often, so confirm with your consulate or a qualified immigration lawyer before you book anything.
Our cost-of-living estimates are in US dollars a month for a family of four, so treat them as rough. A three-bed place in Valencia comes to about $1,200, compared with $2,800 in Sydney, $2,400 in Melbourne and $2,000 in Brisbane. Groceries run about $500 in Valencia against $750 in Sydney. Childcare is where the gap is widest: roughly $550 a month in Valencia and $1,600 in Sydney.
Two costs our estimates leave out matter more for Australians than for most movers. One is health insurance for the whole family, because Medicare doesn't cover you in Spain (we put it at around $160 a month in Valencia). The other is flights home to see family. Budget for at least one trip a year.
School is compulsory in Spain from age 6 to 16, and the year runs September to June. In the Valencian Community the 2026 to 2027 year starts on 9 September and ends on 18 June. Australian schools run on the calendar year, so your kids will land partway through a year whichever way you time it. Ask each school which class your child will join.
Public schools are free and teach in Spanish, plus Valencian in our region. Concertada schools are privately run with state funding. International schools mostly follow British, American or IB programmes. Our Valencia estimate for international fees is about $1,000 per child per month, compared with $1,800 in Sydney.
Australia has reciprocal health care agreements with 11 countries, including the UK, Italy and Ireland. Spain is not one of them, and Smartraveller is blunt about it: Medicare doesn't cover you in Spain. The Melbourne consulate's telework note puts Australia in the group with no social security agreement covering healthcare. Applicants from those countries need private insurance, and travel insurance won't count.
In practice, your visa requires a Spanish-authorised policy that covers what the public system covers, with no waiting periods or excess. If a parent later takes a job with a Spanish employer and pays Spanish social security, the family can move into the public system through that job.
After you arrive on a residence visa you have one month to apply for your TIE, the foreigner's identity card. Telework visa holders are the exception, because Melbourne says their visa is enough on its own for the first year. Register on the padrón at your town hall as well, since schools and banks ask for it. Expect a Spanish bank to want your NIE before opening an account.
For moving Australian dollars, set up a specialist transfer account and test it with a small amount before the big transfer for a rental bond.
Super stays in Australia. The ATO's departing payment (DASP) is for people who worked in Australia on a temporary visa, so leaving the country as a citizen doesn't let you cash it out. Keep your fund details current and plan around the normal release rules.
Driving is the nasty surprise. Your Australian licence works in Spain for six months after you become resident, and Smartraveller says you need an international driving permit alongside it. Australia isn't on Spain's list of licence exchange countries, so after six months you need a Spanish licence, which means passing the Spanish tests.
On the Spanish side, more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year makes you resident, as does having your main economic interests here. Spain will also presume residence when your spouse and dependent children live here. Australia can keep treating you as a resident after you leave. Under the ATO's domicile test you stay an Australian resident unless the ATO is satisfied your permanent place of abode is outside Australia. The ATO weighs things like where your family lives, where your assets are and your ties to work in Australia.
Australia and Spain signed a tax treaty in 1992, and it decides which country taxes what when both claim you. As Spanish residents you will also need to report assets held abroad, such as Australian bank accounts and shares, on Modelo 720.
A parent relocating for a Spanish employer should look at the Beckham law. Under this special regime for posted workers, you pay Spanish tax as a non-resident in your arrival year and for five years after, if you meet its strict conditions and file Modelo 149. This isn't tax advice. Get an adviser who works across both systems, particularly on how Spain treats super.
12 months out
Pick a visa route and work out which Spanish office covers your state. Decide when the kids will switch school years.
9 months out
Order birth and marriage certificates. Get quotes for Spanish-authorised family health insurance with no waiting periods or excess.
6 months out
Book your consulate appointment. Telework applicants should get an NIE through the consulate now.
4 months out
Apply for fingerprint police checks and medical certificates, send them to DFAT for apostilles, then get sworn translations.
3 months out
Submit the application. Canberra quotes three months to decide, and you collect the visa within one month of approval.
First month in Spain
Apply for your TIE within one month (non-lucrative), register on the padrón, open a bank account and start school.
By month 6
Pass the Spanish driving tests before your Australian licence stops being valid here.
No. Australia has no reciprocal health care agreement with Spain, so you need private insurance for the visa, or Spanish social security through a job in Spain.
No. Australia isn't on Spain's licence exchange list. You can drive on your Australian licence plus an international driving permit for six months after becoming resident, then you need to pass the Spanish tests.
Not by leaving. The departing payment is for people who worked in Australia on temporary visas. For citizens, super stays in the fund until the normal release rules apply.
Canberra covers only the ACT and Queanbeyan. Everyone else goes through the consulate general in Sydney or Melbourne, depending on your state, and you need an appointment.
Not automatically. The ATO's domicile test can keep you resident unless your permanent home is clearly outside Australia. The 1992 treaty settles which country taxes what if both claim you.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Rules change, so check the official sources above or a qualified adviser before you act.
Talk it through with us. The first 30-minute call is free, online or in person in Valencia.