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Relocation guide · United Kingdom to Spain
By Emily & Ben · Facts checked 19 October 2026
Ben grew up in the UK and we now live in Valencia with our two kids. Since Brexit, Britain counts as a third country for Spanish immigration. A British family now applies for a residence visa through a Spanish consulate, the same way an American or Australian family would, with a handful of UK-specific forms on top.
This guide covers what is different for British families: the visas, the UK paperwork, your licence and NHS cover, and tax.
| Visa-free stay | Up to 90 days in any 180-day period across Schengen |
|---|---|
| Main family visas | Non-lucrative (no work in Spain) or digital nomad (remote work for non-Spanish companies) |
| Non-lucrative income | 400% of IPREM plus 100% per dependant: €2,400 + €600 a month at the 2026 IPREM |
| Criminal record check | ACRO certificate for each adult, apostilled and sworn-translated |
| Driving licence | Valid for 6 months after you become resident, then exchange (no test) |
| Public healthcare | S1 for UK State Pension recipients; otherwise work in Spain or buy private cover |
| Tax treaty | UK and Spain double taxation convention, in force since 2014 |
A British passport gets you up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area. That covers a scouting trip, not a school year. To live in Spain you apply for a residence visa from the UK before you go. The Spanish consulates in London, Manchester and Edinburgh each cover their own district, and London takes applications through the BLS visa centre.
The non-lucrative visa is for families living on savings, pensions or investment income who will not work in Spain. The main applicant needs 400% of IPREM, Spain's benchmark income figure, plus 100% for each dependant, shown for a full year. IPREM is still €600 a month in 2026, which works out at €2,400 a month for the main applicant and €600 for each family member. For two parents and two children that is €4,200 a month, or €50,400 for the year. The London checklist also asks for Spanish-authorised private health insurance and a medical certificate issued within three months of applying. Its stated decision time is two months.
The digital nomad visa (officially the international telework visa) suits a parent who works remotely for a company outside Spain. London's checklist asks for at least three months with that employer, a Companies House certificate showing when the company was set up, and either a degree or three years of experience (a gov.uk employment history printout is accepted). Income must be 200% of the Spanish minimum wage, plus 75% for the first family member and 25% for each one after that. If you stay in UK National Insurance, you also need an A1 certificate from HMRC and a registered S1. The checklist dates from May 2023, so confirm the current figure.
If one of you holds an EU passport (an Irish one, say), the rest of the family can apply for an EU family member residence card under free movement rules instead. A job offer from a Spanish employer is a separate work-permit route.
This isn't legal advice. Requirements change and consulates read them differently, so check with your consulate or a qualified immigration lawyer before you apply.
Our cost-of-living estimates are in US dollars a month for a family of four, so read them as rough comparisons. A three-bed flat in Valencia comes in around $1,200, against $3,200 in London and $1,600 in Manchester. Groceries are about $500 in Valencia and $800 in London. Full-time nursery shows the biggest gap: roughly $550 a month in Valencia and $1,800 in London.
One cost goes the other way. Back home the NHS was free at the point of use. In Spain, unless you work or hold an S1, you pay for private family insurance, around $160 a month in our Valencia figures. Madrid and Barcelona rents ($1,700 and $1,800 in our figures) sit just above Manchester's.
School is compulsory in Spain from age 6 to 16. The Spanish year runs from September to June. In the Valencian Community the 2026 to 2027 year starts on 9 September and ends on 18 June, so a summer move lines up with the British calendar and your kids don't lose a term.
You have three kinds of school to choose from. Public schools are free and teach in Spanish, and in the Valencia region in Valencian too. Concertada schools are privately run with state funding. International schools come last, and many follow the British curriculum. Our Valencia estimate for international fees is about $1,000 per child per month, under half the London figure.
Younger children usually pick up Spanish quickly in a local school. A teenager partway through GCSEs or A levels is often better off in a British-curriculum school.
The S1 is where British families most often get caught out. It gives you NHS-funded healthcare in Spain if you receive a UK State Pension or certain exportable benefits, and your dependants can be added. A working-age family moving for a new life usually won't qualify.
If you work in Spain and pay Spanish social security, you get public healthcare on the same terms as Spanish workers. If you don't work, the visa requires private insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain that covers everything the public system covers. Once you have been on the padrón (the town hall register) for a year, gov.uk says you can pay a monthly fee to join the public system through the convenio especial.
Once you arrive on a residence visa you apply for your TIE, the foreigner's identity card that carries your NIE number, within one month. Register on the padrón at your town hall too, because schools and health centres ask for it. Most Spanish banks will want to see your NIE before they open an account.
When you move pounds into euros, compare a specialist transfer service with your bank's exchange rate before any big transfer. If either of you is near pension age, you can claim the UK State Pension from abroad as long as you have paid enough National Insurance.
Driving is simpler than for most non-EU arrivals. Your UK licence is valid in Spain for six months after you become resident. The UK has been on Spain's list of licence exchange countries since March 2023, so you swap it without sitting a test, using a check code from the DVLA. Don't let the six months run out: gov.uk notes you cannot renew or replace a UK licence once you live in Spain.
Spain treats you as tax resident if you spend more than 183 days there in a calendar year, or if your main economic interests are in Spain. It also presumes you are resident if your spouse and dependent children live there. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April and uses the statutory residence test. When you leave, the year is usually split into a resident part and a non-resident part.
The UK and Spain have a double taxation convention, in force since 2014, so the same income isn't taxed in full twice. Which country taxes first depends on the type of income. As Spanish residents you will also need to report assets held abroad, such as UK bank accounts and investments, on Modelo 720.
If one of you moves for a job in Spain, the special regime for workers posted to Spain (usually called the Beckham law) can let you pay tax as a non-resident for the year you arrive and the following five. You opt in on Modelo 149, and the conditions are strict. This isn't tax advice. Speak to an adviser who knows both systems before you sell a house or move a pension.
12 months out
Pick a visa route. Check passports: issued less than 10 years before you arrive and valid at least 3 months after you plan to leave Schengen.
9 months out
Order fresh birth and marriage certificates. Get private health insurance quotes from insurers authorised in Spain.
6 months out
Start looking at schools and areas. Book your consulate or BLS appointment.
4 months out
Apply for ACRO certificates and the medical certificate, get them apostilled, then sworn-translated.
3 months out
Submit the application. London aims to decide within two months, and you collect the visa within one month of approval.
First month in Spain
Apply for your TIE within one month, register on the padrón, open a bank account and enrol the kids.
By month 6
Exchange your UK driving licence before it stops being valid in Spain.
Not for the non-lucrative or digital nomad visas as the UK consulates describe them. You apply before you travel and prove you live in the consulate's district. Overstaying the 90 days can lead to a Schengen ban of up to three years.
Only if one of you gets a UK State Pension or certain exportable benefits, in which case dependants can be added. Most working-age families need Spanish social security through work or private insurance.
No. The non-lucrative visa is for living in Spain without working. Remote work for a UK company belongs on the digital nomad visa, which also needs an A1 from HMRC if you stay in UK National Insurance.
Yes, within six months of becoming resident. Because of the UK's exchange agreement with Spain, you don't take a Spanish test.
The UK and Spain double taxation convention stops the same income being taxed in full twice. You may still file in both countries in the year you move.
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.