Moving to Spain from the Netherlands: what ends, what continues.

What stays easy

No visa. One registration, and it is quick.

As an EU citizen you can live, work and retire in Spain without a visa or a work permit. What deserves your attention is what changes in the Netherlands the day you leave, because several things end automatically.

Your first weeks in Spain

Five things, in this order.

• Register as an EU citizen. If you will stay more than three months, apply in person at the Foreigners’ Office (Oficina de Extranjería) or a designated police station, within three months of arriving. You receive the EU registration certificate, the ‘green certificate’, which carries your NIE. The fee is small (currently about €12) and the certificate does not expire. Book the appointment online, because waiting times vary by province.
• Show you can support yourself. You will say whether you are working, self-employed or studying, or that you have enough means and health cover for you and your family. There is no visa-style income formula, but you do need to be able to back up what you declare.
• Register at the town hall (padrón). Empadronamiento is your proof of address in Spain and opens the door to the health centre, school places and many local services.
• Sort healthcare and tax early. The public healthcare route that applies depends on whether you work, are retired or receive a pension from home. If you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain you will generally become Spanish tax resident, taxed on your worldwide income.
• Moving for work? Ask about the Beckham regime. It offers a flat 24% on Spanish employment income up to €600,000 for six tax years. You must not have been Spanish tax resident in the previous five years and you must apply within six months of starting work. Conditions apply, so take advice before you sign a contract.

Before you leave the Netherlands

Before you leave the Netherlands.

• Deregister from the BRP. You must deregister if you will be abroad for more than eight months, and the months do not need to be consecutive. Failing to do so can lead to a fine.
• Health insurance. Your Dutch zorgverzekering generally ends when you leave and deregister, so tell your insurer in good time. In Spain you are covered through Spanish social security if you work. If you receive a Dutch pension, ask the SVB and the CAK what applies to you.
• AOW. Your AOW pension stops building while you live abroad, roughly 2% less for each year you are not insured in the Netherlands. If you left less than a year ago you may be able to take out voluntary insurance. The SVB has an office at the Dutch embassy in Spain.
• Child benefit and allowances. If you live outside the Netherlands and do not work there, you are usually not insured for child benefit. Allowances (toeslagen) also need checking. Ask the SVB before you go, not after the payments stop.
• Tax. In the year you emigrate you file a special M tax return rather than the usual online one. Which country taxes your pension and other income depends on the Netherlands–Spain treaty, so take advice.

Coaching and guidance only, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Rules change, so confirm each point with the official authority or a licensed adviser before you act.