Our experience as a first-time buyer in Spain

The Ultimate Guide to Moving to Spain: Essential Steps, Legal Requirements, and Insider Tips for a Smooth Transition

In one of my blogs last year, I described the procedure for bringing your car when emigrating. In this blog, I’ll guide you through all the essential steps required when moving to Spain. While there are plenty of websites with extensive information, over the past year, we’ve frequently been approached by people seeking assistance during this process. This just proves that yet another source of information on the internet is still helpful. The steps outlined here apply if you plan to purchase a property in Spain, but they can also be relevant if you intend to settle here temporarily or long-term.

We were lucky that everything we still needed to arrange last year was sorted within a month after our arrival. However, we’ve also heard different stories, especially when the entire process still needs to be completed from scratch.

1. Applying for an NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero)

If you want to deal with any governmental institution, bank, or other official entity in Spain, you need an NIE, which is essentially the Spanish equivalent of a social security number. You can arrange this yourself, and there are companies that facilitate this process from the Netherlands. However, our advice is to have a local law firm (gestor/gestoría) handle it. This saves a lot of hassle, including driving around and waiting at various offices. The cost is reasonable—around €70. If you are buying a house, this service is often included by the real estate agent or gestor. Expect the process to take about three weeks.

2. Opening a Bank Account

To get straight to the point: in most cases, your Dutch bank account will suffice. You can use it for card payments, and Spanish utility companies can withdraw direct debits from your foreign bank. However, certain government-related matters, such as taxes (IBI, the Spanish property tax, and road tax), require a Spanish account. Another minor downside is that withdrawing cash from an ATM usually incurs fees. And, as you might have guessed, to open a Spanish bank account, you need an NIE number.

3. Municipal Registration (Empadronamiento)

You need to register at the local town hall (ayuntamiento). For this, you will need standard identification documents (passport), your NIE number, and proof of address. This can be the title deed (escritura) if you own a property or a rental agreement (Contrato de Arrendamiento), along with a recent utility bill and an IBI payment statement. The town hall keeps track of its residents and population numbers. Once registered, you can request a Padron (Empadronamiento), which is required for many other procedures, including purchasing a vehicle.

4. Social Security Registration (Seguridad Social)

This was the only institution last year where we had to return home empty-handed on our first attempt. Not only did we not have an appointment (which was impossible to arrange over the phone), but we also didn’t have all the necessary documents, including the Padron.

Registering with Seguridad Social is mandatory if you are not covered by Dutch health insurance. This happens once you officially deregister from the Netherlands. If you work or run a business in Spain, you must also register and pay contributions yourself or through your employer.

If you receive pension income from the Netherlands, you will deal with CAK. Ideally, you should already have applied for the S1 form through CAK. This document is necessary for registration. Once registered, you receive your insurance number, which allows you to proceed to:

5. Centro de Salud (Health Center)

To register here, you first need to visit Seguridad Social. This is usually your local Centro de Salud, where you can go if you have health issues. The first time you visit (by appointment), you will be registered and receive your health card (Tarjeta Sanitaria). The process is generally quick—ours took just 10 minutes.

Emigrating is a significant and complex process. Give yourself plenty of time.

6. Residency Registration

Legally, as an EU citizen, you must register as a Spanish resident if you stay in the country for more than three months. However, you become a fiscal resident if you spend more than 183 days per year in Spain.

How did we handle it? Exactly how I would advise others: hire a gestor.

For around €120 per person, we provided the necessary documents, including:

• ID/passport

• Property deed (escritura) or rental contract

• Proof of paid IBI tax

• Utility bill (electricity/water)

• Proof of ownership of a Spanish bank account

• Bank statement with a balance of at least €3,000

• Proof of health insurance and S1 form (for retirees)

I honestly don’t know the cost or effort involved in handling this process yourself. However, I do know from experience that our gestor booked an appointment at an immigration office (Extranjería), albeit a bit further away. But this was intentional—the offices closer to us had much longer wait times. Additionally, a representative from the gestor was present at the office, had all our documents ready, and handled everything for us. The best part? Since this person processed identical applications twice a week, they personally knew the police commissioner handling our case. As a result, we skipped the queue (even at a less crowded office), verified our IDs, completed a few formalities, and walked out with our Spanish residency cards within 15 minutes.

7. Buying a Property

This step is complex enough to deserve its own article, and there is already a wealth of information online. Normally, a real estate agent guides you through the entire process—make sure they follow through on their promises! Other key players include a gestor and a notary. We’ve always used a gestor. Almost six years ago, we gave them power of attorney to handle matters on our behalf, including verifying the legal status of properties and checking for outstanding debts. They also facilitated payments. With power of attorney, we didn’t even have to be present at the property transfer.

8. Importing a Car

I covered this in detail in my August 8, 2024 blog. However, here’s an additional insight from a later experience:

Many service providers, often Dutch-speaking, offer car import services. While this can be convenient given the complexity of the process, make sure the provider operates in your region. Otherwise, you may face unnecessary frustration, from communication barriers to physically traveling for inspections (ITV), picking up license plates, or obtaining a digital signature (similar to DigiD).

We used a local gestor. We submitted all documents and paid a fraction of the fees I’ve seen online. We only had to visit the ITV station, and best of all, we had our Spanish plates within three weeks.

9. Mobile Phone

Getting a Spanish phone number is highly recommended if you stay abroad for more than four months. From January 2025, Dutch providers will charge €1.50 per GB for data usage outside the EU limits. Also, Spanish service providers often only contact Spanish numbers for deliveries and appointments. The cost is minimal—around €5 for a SIM-only plan with a small data bundle. Many phones now support dual SIMs.

10. Bonus Tip: Passport Renewal

A side note, but useful for our community: check your passport’s validity before leaving the Netherlands. If it’s close to expiring, consider renewing it before departure. A civil registrar once asked us why we wanted to renew ours early, but we went ahead. Now, we don’t have to worry about it for the next 10 years—and passport renewal is significantly more expensive in Spain. You’ll need to visit the Dutch Embassy in Madrid (great service but time-consuming) or a consulate in cities like Barcelona. The consular team also visits different locations for an additional fee, which is helpful for the elderly, families with young children, or those with mobility issues.

Sunny regards,

Carlo

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Key Takeaways:

• Live your dream: Take on the challenge.

• Break the process into manageable steps: This blog can help.

• Need help? Seek assistance, but choose wisely.