Apologies in advance for the lengthy post.

Some background. My husband and I have been living in the US for the past 10 years. He’s a Spanish citizen and I’m a US citizen. We are married. No kids at the moment, just two fur babies. We filed to have our married recognized in Spain. We are just waiting on the Spanish consulate. We are planning to move back to my husbands hometown, Almeria, in 2028. I’ve been numerous times to visit family so I’m familiar with the city. My Spanish is very broken. I can understand a lot, but as we all know speaking is another beast. I’m going to start classes again just unsure if 2 years is enough time to help me become fluent to find a job. I have several questions to help prepare so any information or first hand experience is appreciated.

If you relocated from the US to Spain, what shipping company did you use? What items did you move? What was the approximate cost when you did it?

Are you working? If so, how did you find your job? Do you speak Spanish? What would you say is the likelihood of finding a remote job that I only need to speak English? Pay amount I’m not picky just want to earn something.

To become a resident, has anyone tried to become a resident prior to moving or do I need to be in Spain before applying for residency?

As for making friends, what was your experience? If anyone is in Almeria let me know!

Any other useful tips you can provide for our move or to prepare is welcomed!

Soy argentino y hace tres años que vivo en Alcalá de Henares, soy informático y vine con mi familia, contratado por una multinacional. Hace tres meses me separé y hace unos días me mudé a una habitación. Mi hija tiene cinco años y está conmigo fin de semana por medio.

Esos fines de semana, con ella, se llenan solos. Lo que no esperaba es lo concreto que se vuelve estar solo el resto de la semana: el silencio ya no es un rato, es la tarde entera. Llego del trabajo, pongo música y a las nueve no tengo con quién comentar el día.

No soy de salir de fiesta. Me gusta la música electrónica, que escucho ordenada por años como quien lee un libro de historia, y el cine de Ghibli. Trabajo en informática, que tampoco ayuda mucho a conocer gente. Y cuando llegás de otro país pasados los 40, los amigos de siempre están a 10.000 km.

Mi pregunta es para quien haya empezado de cero pasados los 35, en Madrid o donde sea: ¿qué les funcionó de verdad? No lo de «apúntate a algo», sino qué hicieron la primera vez que se animaron.

Y si alguien de Madrid o Alcalá está en las mismas y le apetece charlar, tengo los mensajes abiertos.

Hello dears, I have applied on 20th July for the Spanish student visa but on 2rd September it appeared pendiente de resolución since then no update . Does anyone ever experience that?

Hi! I’m a newly arrived student in Barcelona and I’m currently at a BBVA branch trying to open a bank account.
The employee told me that I need to pay €250 for some sort of insurance/guarantee because the account supposedly needs to remain open for a minimum of 1 year. She said they’ve had people closing their accounts earlier, so BBVA now takes this €250 amount.
This was explained to me verbally, and I’m a bit confused because I wasn’t expecting to pay €250 just to open a basic bank account.
Has anyone else opened a BBVA account recently and been asked for this?
Is this actually a BBVA requirement?
What exactly is the €250 payment?
Is it refundable after keeping the account open for a year?
Is this something specific to opening an account in a branch, or is there another type of BBVA account that doesn’t require it?
I’m still at the branch right now, so any advice would be VERY appreciated 😭

Would you do it again?

👍 Yes — best decision of my life
😐 Yes but I'd do things differently
👎 Honestly… not sure

Drop your answer and tell us WHY 👇 No wrong answers here — this community is a safe space for honest expat experiences!

Hola. Me presenté el 4 de agosto con los papeles para la visa y mi programa de máster inicia el 8 de septiembre. El estado de mi solicitud sigue igual desde que la solicité y me preocupa muchísimo. No sé qué hacer y estoy muy triste. Cuánto creen que se pueda demorar ? Me demoré en solicitarla porque estaba en lista de espera para otro máster. No se que deba hacer la universidad me dio plazo hasta el 14 pero siento que se demorará más que eso. Alguien ha tenido alguna experiencia de agosto ?

For anyone who has received their TIE: does it show your residency start date being from when you entered the country, applied for the TIE, or the date you received it?

Hello everyone! 

We just want some general advice on anything you can think of about moving to Spain (four from the US and one of us from Latvia).

There will be five of us in total, but my little sibling isn't eighteen yet and therefore cannot move out without legal stuff involving my parents, so they will be moving later than us.

We DO plan on learning Spanish fluently.

We also plan on sharing an apartment for a while.

We know the job market isn't the best, so we are trying to figure that out as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I am considering getting a student visa, but the caveat that you can only work 30hrs a week is not ideal for me.

For work, I am considering potentially doing freelance photography, teaching English, and/or hospitality if I do not go the student visa route.

Still in the early research stages, and none of us have ever left our countries before. We just want to make sure we are as prepared as possible.

I am seriously considering moving to Spain! I am married with 3 kids aged 14, 12 and 8.

They study French (Lebanese/French curriculum) and they're fluent in both Arabic and English.

I want to enroll them in a concertado school that can ideally take them all (same campus)

Haven't decided on a specific city yet, but based on the research I have done so far, our monthly costs are close to 10K Euros

How realistic is this number?

Hi all, me and my boyfriend want to do pareja de hecho. I am British and he is spanish. We have more than 12 months empadronados. But now the consulate is saying I need a certificate of soltera notarised and then I also see that some places ask for a birth certificate too, whereas someone else said not!! Has anyone done this process and can help me?

I understand that socialising is difficult to impossible without local language knowledge, but I'm curious about other aspects. Things like healthcare, bureaucracy, work, access to information, access to news, public services, shopping etc.

Hi everyone, my NLV has valid date from 3 June 2026 until 2 June 2027, and i will enter spain for the first time with this visa on 1st of September. I have stated during the visa application process that my relocation would be 3rd of June, however, i’m only entering almost 3 months later, would i face any issues?
Also, do you know the 1 year residency starts from the visa date (since it clearly indicates a 1 year validity) or from date of entry?

Another question, once i have a rental contract, is it easy to register empadronamiento? Cause i’m paying for an agency to help with TIE and they told me that they can help with empadronamiento for 70€, should i save myself from the headache or is it a direct process? Thank you.

Any advice on how I can get my NIE faster or any advice related to the process? It all seems super complicated 😅

Hi everyone,

My wife is applying for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) from within Spain, and our minor daughter and I will apply as dependants. Due to my job in the UAE, I may need to leave Spain after 7–10 days, before the applications are decided.

If I leave Spain and my Schengen visa is single-entry, can I obtain an EXT/return visa or another visa from the Spanish Embassy in Abu Dhabi after my dependent application has been approved in Spain, so that I can return and complete my TIE?

Or would I need to apply for another Schengen short-stay visa while my dependent residence application is already approved in Spain?

Has anyone experienced this specifically as a DNV dependent, particularly through the Spanish Embassy in Abu Dhabi?

Hi everyone, I am bilingual in Spanish and English with dual citizenship, having lived and studied in the UK my whole life, whilst spending periods of the the year in Spain with part of my family.

I hate living in the UK, although I do know the benefits in comparison to living in Spain. Everytime I have to leave Spain I feel so down, and I desperately want to move here. My question is, how would be best to do it? I have a masters degree but don’t have experience in that sector, only in customer service while I studied. I have been offered a UK graduate scheme, where I would finish in 2029 in something not related to my masters, where I would become chartered completing finance exams.

Would it be best to start looking now and not get stuck in a graduate scheme, or best to get the experience and complete the exams, then look to come over? Any advice?

Choosing a Spanish language school in Granada for a full year — which would you choose?

I'm an Australian, 27M, and I'm planning to move to Granada for around a year specifically to learn Spanish.

I'm currently around A2 level and my main goal is to get to a genuinely high level of Spanish (ideally B2/C1) rather than just do a short course and have a holiday. I will require a Student Visa and hence need to pay for a full year of classes upfront in order to qualify for the Student Visa for that period.

For me, the things that matter most are:

• Quality of teaching. I'd ideally like a place that is to a higher standard and conducts exams
• Student demographics — I would much prefer a place where most are in their 20s
• Social atmosphere — I'd like to make friends and have an active social life rather than just attend class and go home

If you were 27, moving to Granada alone for a year and wanted to become fluent while also having a good social/student experience, which school would you choose and why?

And if you think I'm overlooking a school, I'm very open to other suggestions. I just listed all of the schools I could see on the Cervantes Accredited list.

I'd especially love to hear from people who have actually attended these schools, rather than just general recommendations based on their websites/reviews.

Also, if you know of any other subreddits that may be useful to post in, please do let me know.

Thank you all for your input!

Cheers :)

Hey ya'll,

Spanish immigration lawyer for howtobeadigitalnomad.com here, I wanted to make a quick post to talk about an important update for freelancers applying for the Spain Digital Nomad Visa, since we've received a LOT of questions about this.

As of July 2026, autonomo/freelance applicants are required to show proof of a freelance registration. Having said that, in countries where this is not possible (such as in the US), you can provide a combination of documents in lieu of this.

These will depend on your situation, but can be:

1. EIN Verification Letter (147c)
2. Certificate of Good Status of an LLC
3. Certificate of Formation/Articles of Organization in states that show the owner
4. Chamber of Commerce registration (local, state, etc)
5. A business license related to professional activity
6. 1099 tax records and/or payment of such records

Again, for applicants that cannot offer a freelance registration, a combination of these is needed. One will not be accepted, and the best ones for you will depend on your business profile.

For any questions, feel free to drop a comment or send me a DM. I also offer official consultations for a fee for those that are interested.

Thank you!

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Student visa 180 days+, been 2months and 9 days now and this is what i received today. What does this even mean "administrative silence". Is it likely my visa will now be rejected?

Dear Sir,

 

Unfortunately, the visa has now been refused due to 'administrative silence', as shown on our system.

 

In this situation, we will have to wait for instructions from the Spanish office in case they reverse the decision in the coming days. If we receive no response, we can only issue an official resolution and send it to you. You can then appeal against this decision by writing a letter addressed to the Spanish office, as the decision comes from them.

 

The consulate will wait until Monday to receive instructions, and if none are received, the resolution will be issued during the coming week.

 

We apologise for this situation; however, the Consulate cannot intervene on your behalf and we must follow the procedure according to the regulations.

 

Kind regards.

(NOTE - I SUPPLIED ALL THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION THEY ASKED FOR AND SPENT A BUNCH OF MONEY TO ENSURE EVERYTHING WAS CORRECT AND UP TO A HIGH STANDARD)