Moving to Spain from Ireland: no visa, and a short list first.

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. The Irish passport is the whole of your immigration plan. The planning is in pensions, tax and healthcare.

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 Ireland

Before you leave Ireland.

• State Pension (Contributory). It is payable in Spain. If you receive it, you can ask the Department of Social Protection for an S1, which lets Ireland fund your healthcare in Spain. The non-contributory pension is means-tested and usually ends when you move, so check with the Department before you go.
• Occupational pensions. You can ask Revenue for a PAYE Exclusion Order so that no Irish tax is deducted from a private-sector pension once you are resident in Spain. Public service pensions are different and stay taxable in Ireland under the treaty.
• Tax residency. Ireland and Spain have a double taxation agreement (1994). Becoming non-resident in Ireland does not happen overnight, so there can be a period where both countries have a claim on you. Plan the dates of your move with an adviser.
• Irish property and rental income. Rent from an Irish property is generally taxed in Ireland and declared in Spain, with a credit to avoid paying twice.
• Health cover in the first weeks. Keep your EHIC valid. If you will not be working or receiving a pension, expect to show private health insurance and proof of means when you register.

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.