Moving to Spain from the US

Staying a year or longer

The visa for international telework lasts up to one year, or less if the work period is shorter. It is enough on its own to live in Spain and work remotely while it is valid. The residence permit for international telework is decided in Spain and can last up to three years. It can be renewed for two years at a time while the conditions still hold. The income test is 200% of the Spanish minimum wage each month. To be safe, have more than €2,500 a month.

• Employees may work only for companies outside Spain. Freelancers may take Spanish clients for up to 20% of their professional activity. You need a degree or at least three years of experience.
• Visa holders can apply for the permit in the 60 days before the visa expires. The consulate also says US citizens in Spain without a visa, within their 90 days, can apply for the permit directly.
• The non-lucrative visa does not fit. The consulate says it allows no work at all, including remote work.

Sources: Consular Section, Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text), Spanish Ministry of Economy, Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco, European Central Bank. Checked 4 October 2026.

Documents, fees and timing

Employees need a company certificate showing at least three months with the employer, your pay, and explicit permission to work from Spain. Freelancers need proof of at least three months with one or more clients outside Spain, and that the work continues for at least a year. Both need a certificate showing the company has operated for at least a year, an NIE, and proof of Spanish Social Security coverage. The US citizen fee is US$190.

• You also need an FBI check issued within six months, with an apostille and sworn translation, and Spanish-registered health insurance.
• The NIE comes first. The Washington consulate says it normally takes 20 to 30 days.
• The consulate then has a legal deadline of 10 days, counted from when it forwards the file, not from your appointment.
• From 1 September 2026, Washington applications are made by appointment at the BLS visa centre.

Sources: Consular Section, Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text). Checked 4 October 2026.

Tax

Spain treats you as resident for a whole calendar year if you spend more than 183 days there in that year, counting sporadic absences, or if your main economic interests are there. The US foreign earned income exclusion's physical presence test needs 330 full days abroad within 12 consecutive months. A year that starts mid-year can split across two Spanish tax years. US citizens abroad generally file as they would at home, on worldwide income.

• Where both countries treat you as resident, treaties look at a permanent home, then the centre of vital interests. A residence permit and tax residence are separate questions.
• The 2026 exclusion limit is $132,900. You can usually take foreign income tax as a credit, but not on income you exclude.
• Foreign accounts together above $10,000 at any point in the year are reportable on an FBAR.
• Spain's special regime for people moving there requires no Spanish residence in the previous five tax years. You opt in on form 149.

Sources: Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency), Internal Revenue Service, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), US Social Security Administration, Seguridad Social (Spanish Social Security), Consular Section. Checked 4 October 2026.

Setting up

The telework visa needs public or private health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, covering everything the public system covers for the whole authorisation, with no co-payments or limits. Travel insurance is not accepted. The certificate is not needed if you prove Spanish public Social Security coverage instead. Everyone living in Spain must register on the padrón of the municipality where they usually live.

• The NIE is a personal number for dealing with Spanish administrations. The consulate says it does not give the right to live in Spain.
• A residence permit lasting more than six months is followed by a foreigner identity card (TIE). One embassy page describes requesting it within a month of entering, and warns appointments can take weeks.
• EU residents have the right to a basic payment account. The Banco de España says its fee is capped at €3 a month, including up to 120 payments a year in euros within the EU.
• A Spanish account counts toward the FBAR US$10,000 threshold.

Sources: Consular Section, Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text), Embassy of Spain in Ottawa (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Banco de España (bank customer portal), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Checked 4 October 2026.

Living in Zaragoza

Zaragoza is the city the research looked at most closely. The State Meteorological Agency's 1981 to 2010 normals for the airport give an average July high of 32.4°C and a January low of 2.7°C. There are about 22 foggy days a year and 322 mm of rain. We found no official source for rents, transport fares or other living costs there, so they are unknown here.

Sources: AEMET (Spanish State Meteorological Agency). Checked 4 October 2026.

Other places we looked at

The research also looked at Granada and Alicante, for contrast. We found no official source for rents in either place, so they are unknown here.

• Granada: the airport normals give an average July high of 34.8°C, a January low of 0.0°C and about 48 frost days a year.
• Alicante: the normals give a January low of 6.3°C and a July high of 30.3°C.

Sources: AEMET (Spanish State Meteorological Agency). Checked 4 October 2026.