Moving to Spain from Switzerland: your rights, and your pension.

What stays easy

No visa. Registered like an EU citizen.

Swiss citizens are included through the EU–Swiss free movement agreement, and Spain’s registration rules treat you in the same way as EU citizens. The detail that matters is on the Swiss side: pillars, insurance and the order in which you do things.

Your first weeks in Spain

Five things, in this order.

• Register as an Swiss 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 Switzerland

Before you leave Switzerland.

• Deregister and tell your insurers. Deregister at your local authority and inform every insurer affected.
• AHV (state pension). Your Swiss state pension can be paid to you in Spain. You must apply for it yourself, ideally three to four months before the official retirement age.
• Pension fund (pillar 2). When you emigrate to an EU or EFTA country, only the non-mandatory part of your pension fund can usually be taken as cash. The mandatory part may have to stay in a vested benefits account.
• Pillar 3a. You can usually have your 3a account paid out when you emigrate, but timing matters for tax. Swiss withholding tax still applies to withdrawals once you have left, and the order of your steps can change the bill. Get advice on the sequence.
• Health insurance. For most people, Swiss compulsory basic insurance ends when you move abroad. If you will draw only a Swiss pension, you may stay subject to Swiss insurance, but Spain is one of the countries where you can choose between Swiss and local cover. Check your own case with your insurer.
• Tax. Switzerland and Spain have a double taxation treaty. Cantons handle departure differently, so ask your cantonal tax office what applies to you.

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.