Before you move
Decide with room to plan
Choose the permit route, check your tax residence history and look at the Beckham regime before you sign.
Land in Spain, legally and tax-ready.
Legal and tax advice for people and companies moving to Spain.
What brings you to Spain?
Choose the situation closest to yours and see what usually matters first.
You are moving for a job
A contract with a Spanish company, or your employer is sending you here. The months around your start date decide a lot.
What usually matters first
- 1Whether you were tax resident in Spain in the five years before your move.
- 2Your start date: it opens the six-month window to opt into the Beckham regime.
- 3The permit your contract requires, if you are not an EU citizen.
You will work remotely from Spain
Your employer or clients are abroad, and you will live here. Both your permit and your tax residence need a plan.
What usually matters first
- 1The international teleworking permit, if you are not an EU citizen.
- 2When you become tax resident: more than 183 days, your economic interests or your family.
- 3Whether the Beckham regime can apply to remote workers in your situation.
You have income or assets in other countries
Accounts, investments or property you keep outside Spain. Becoming resident changes what you declare and where.
What usually matters first
- 1As a Spanish tax resident, you are taxed on your worldwide income.
- 2Which country may tax each income under the applicable treaty.
- 3Information returns on assets abroad, such as form 720.
Your company is bringing people to Spain
Assignments, transfers or new hires from abroad. Each person needs the right permit route and a clear tax position.
What usually matters first
- 1The permit route for each person: intra-company transfer, highly qualified professional or employment.
- 2Each person's tax residence and whether the Beckham regime may apply.
- 3Timing: start dates drive both permits and tax deadlines.
Your move, in three moments
Immigration and tax decisions depend on each other. Three areas, one plan, with the same weight from the start.
Build your roadmap in two minutes- ImmigrationThe permit that fits what you will do in Spain.
- Tax planningDecisions to take before and around your arrival.
- Tax complianceThe returns and declarations that follow.
When you arrive
Get the first deadlines right
Registration, your NIE and TIE, and the six-month window to opt into the Beckham regime if it applies.
Your first tax year
Declare it once, and correctly
Your first income tax return as a resident, assets abroad and, where it applies, wealth tax.
Three numbers that shape your first year
Each one comes from the rules. How they apply depends on your facts.
5 years
without Spanish tax residence before your move, to qualify for the Beckham regime.
6 months
from the start of your activity to opt into the Beckham regime with form 149.
183 days
in Spain in a calendar year make you tax resident. It is one of three tests, not the only one.
Could the Beckham regime apply to you?
The special regime for inbound workers, known as the Beckham law, lets people who move to Spain for work be taxed under non-resident rules for the year of the move and the next five, if they meet its conditions.
Who
Employees, international remote workers, directors and some entrepreneurs
+5
tax years it can cover after the year of arrival
Family
Since 2023, your spouse and children can also opt in
You speak with the partners from the first call.
We recommend first and explain why afterwards, in plain language.
We tell you what depends on the authorities, and we keep you informed at every step.
We only advise on legal and tax matters, so our advice is never tied to selling you something else.
Wherever you land, your region matters
Spain's tax rules are national, but where you live inside Spain also counts.
Your region of residence is decided mainly by where you spend most days, and regions set part of your income tax. They can also set their own wealth tax rules.
Community of Madrid
Cibeles, Madrid Catalonia
Port Vell, Barcelona Valencian Community
Explanada de España, Alicante Balearic Islands
La Seu, Palma Andalusia
Seville Basque Country
Bilbao Catalonia
Tossa de Mar, Costa Brava Canary Islands
Canary Islands Asturias
Cudillero, Asturias Andalusia
Málaga Galicia
Santiago de Compostela Cantabria
Comillas, Cantabria Castile and León
Burgos Aragon
El Pilar, Zaragoza Castilla-La Mancha
Cuenca Extremadura
Mérida Region of Murcia
La Manga del Mar Menor
Guides for before and after your move
Moving to Spain for work: the legal and tax steps, in order
We recommend working backwards from your start date. Most of the decisions that matter, for your permit and for your taxes, have to be taken before you arrive, and a few deadlines start the day you begin working.
Beckham law in Spain: who may qualify
The regime is open to more people than many think, and closed to some who assume they qualify. Four questions decide almost every case, and one deadline decides the rest.
Talk to a partner
Tell us about your move. A partner will review it with you and recommend the next step.
Talk to a partner