Spain Residency Requirements 2026: Every Route for Non-EU Citizens

A US citizen, or anyone else outside the EU, has no single “Spanish residency” application. Spain offers several permits, each tied to a reason for living there: living off savings, remote work, a job, study, a family member or a business. The right one depends on whether you want to work in Spain and how you will prove you can support yourself.

All of them sit under the Immigration Regulation, Real Decreto 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025, and under Ley 14/2013 for the digital nomad and entrepreneur permits. “Temporary residence” means a permit for more than 90 days and less than five years (RD 1155/2024, art. 60).

The routes side by side

Route	Who it is for	Money test	Can you work in Spain?	First permit	Renewal
Non-lucrative	Retirees, people living on savings	400% of the IPREM: €28,800 a year in 2026, +€7,200 per family member	No	1 year	2 years, 183+ days a year in Spain
Digital nomad	Remote workers for non-Spanish companies	€2,442 a month single (Washington consulate figure)	Remote work only; Spanish clients up to 20% if self-employed	Up to 3 years	2 years
Employee	People with a Spanish job offer	No savings test; job and employer requirements	Yes, in one region and occupation at first	Up to 1 year	4 years
Self-employed	Freelancers and small business owners	Viable project and enough investment (art. 84)	Yes, in one region and sector at first	1 year	4 years
Entrepreneur	Founders of innovative businesses	Business plan with a favorable ENISA report	Yes, own business	3 years	2 years
Student	Full-time students	100% of the IPREM: €600 a month	Higher education: up to 30 hours a week	Tied to the program (a stay, not a residence permit)	Up to two extensions of 1 year each for degree programs
Family reunification	Relatives of a legal resident	The resident shows 150% of the IPREM	Yes, any job or self-employment	Same end date as the sponsor’s permit	Follows the sponsor

The IPREM is the public income index, frozen at €600 a month since 2023. Sources for each cell are in the sections below.

Routes where you do not work in Spain

Non-lucrative. You live in Spain “without carrying out work or professional activities” (art. 61.1). The 2026 income test is 400% of the IPREM for you and 100% for each family member (art. 62). The first permit lasts one year, renewals two years, and you must spend more than 183 days a year in Spain to renew (arts. 61.4, 64.7 and 64.2.f). The full rules are in our non-lucrative visa guide.

Student. A study stay is not a residence permit in the regulation’s terms, but time on it counts toward long-term residence at 50% (art. 176). Higher education students may work, up to 30 hours a week, under the rules in our student visa guide.

Routes where you can work

Digital nomad. Ley 14/2013 (arts. 74 bis to 76) covers people who work remotely for companies outside Spain, with a degree or three years of professional experience. The Washington DC consulate states the 2026 income test as 200% of the monthly minimum wage: €2,442 a month for one person, +€916 for the first family member. Advisers who spread the minimum wage over 12 months use €2,849, which is the safer target. The residence permit can run up to three years and renews for two (arts. 74 quinquies, 76.3). See the digital nomad visa guide, or compare it with the non-lucrative visa.

Employee. A Spanish employer applies for you. The initial permit is limited to one region and one occupation, lasts as long as the job with a maximum of one year, and you must register with Social Security within three months of entering Spain (art. 73). Renewal is for four years and lets you work for any employer anywhere in Spain, as an employee or self-employed (art. 81.1).

Self-employed. You show that you meet the legal requirements to run the business, hold any required qualification, and that the investment is enough (art. 84). The initial permit lasts one year, limited to a region and a sector (art. 83). Renewal is for four years (art. 87.1).

Entrepreneur. The activity must be innovative or of special economic interest and get a favorable report from ENISA, the state innovation agency (Ley 14/2013, art. 70). The permit lasts three years, renews for two, and permanent residence is possible at five years (art. 69). The investor “golden visa” no longer exists, as explained in what replaced it.

Family reunification

A legal resident can bring a spouse or registered partner, or a stable partner with at least 12 continuous months living together, plus minor children (art. 66). The sponsor must have lived in Spain at least one year and hold a permit for at least one more (art. 68.1). The income test is 150% of the IPREM for the sponsor plus one family member, and 50% of the IPREM for each extra member (art. 67): at €600, that is €900 a month and €300 for each additional person.

A reunified spouse, partner or child can work in any job without a separate procedure (art. 65.2). After one year on the permit a spouse or partner can apply for an independent permit (art. 69.1).

From temporary to long-term residence

After five years of legal, continuous residence you can apply for long-term residence, which lasts indefinitely with the same rights as Spaniards in work matters (arts. 182–183). Absences of up to six consecutive months do not break continuity if they add up to no more than ten months in the five years, with a wider allowance of 18 months for work-related absences (art. 183.2).

The EU long-term resident status in art. 176 has the same five-year test. Time you spent on a study stay counts at 50%. Because the non-lucrative permit asks for more than 183 days a year in Spain, a retiree who renews on time normally meets the five years without extra effort.

Nationality: 10 years, or 2 for some countries

Residence is not citizenship. Under art. 22 of the Código Civil, nationality by residence requires 10 years of legal, continuous residence immediately before you apply. The period is shortened to:

Group	Years
Refugees	5
Nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal, and Sephardic Jews	2
Married to a Spanish citizen for one year, not separated	1

US and UK citizens are in the general 10-year group. You must also show “good civic conduct” and a sufficient degree of integration into Spanish society (art. 22.4).

Residency is not tax residency

A permit and a tax status are different things. Spending more than 183 days in a calendar year makes you a Spanish tax resident regardless of your visa, and moves your worldwide income under Spanish tax. Read Spanish tax residency and the overview of taxes for expats before you choose a route.