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Last updated: February 4, 2026
A guide for those moving to Spain - directly or via other EU countries. All information is based on personal experience and verified with specialists (immigration lawyers, realtors, insurance agents, mortgage brokers).
The document is actively updated. There are not many sections yet, but each one is thoroughly detailed: mortgages, contacts of trusted specialists, and other important topics. Over time, information on renting, legalization, healthcare, pregnancy and childbirth, obtaining citizenship, and much more will appear here.
The goal of this guide is to provide enough information so you can figure everything out on your own. If needed, you can contact trusted specialists from the list below.
In this section - a list of trusted professionals you can rely on.
Recommendations are based on real experience from subscribers of the Telegram channels Autónomo & SL and Spain Life Guide. The list is reviewed regularly.
Want to add a specialist you’re ready to recommend? Message me privately in the Telegram channel.
Specialists in this section:
Need help - DM me in the Telegram channel, I’ll help. It’s important for me to be confident that the specialists on the list provide you with quality service, and that any disputed situations are resolved successfully.
The specialists below are trusted immigration lawyers and experts who help with all types of Spanish residency permits and citizenship.
Why they can be trusted:
Specialists in this section:
Need help - DM me in the Telegram channel, I’ll help. It’s important for me to be confident that the specialists on the list provide you with quality service, and that any disputed situations are resolved successfully.
Free 15-minute consultation for clients coming through Spain Life Guide.
Katerina helps clients at all stages of the immigration process: from initial consultation and strategy development to document submission and obtaining a positive decision.
She works with all types of residence permits and citizenship processing. She has specialized legal education and has been handling immigration matters since 2022 — starting at a large consulting firm. Clients appreciate the responsiveness in communication: the team responds quickly to urgent questions, and during the process a shared chat is created for convenient communication. An important feature is honest assessment of chances at the start: if the probability of a positive decision is low, they will tell you right away.
An additional advantage is working as part of a team with gestor Lyudmila. This means you can receive comprehensive support: simultaneously addressing immigration issues (residence permit processing, residence renewal) and tax matters (autónomo or SL registration, accounting, tax consultations).
Work is conducted with clients both in Spain and those who are still abroad and only planning to relocate.
If you received a rejection of your residence permit, Katerina will help file an appeal, and for court proceedings the company collaborates with partner lawyers specializing in immigration law. There is successful experience in appealing rejections and resolving complex immigration cases in court.
Free 15-minute consultation before starting work.
All prices are stated without VAT.
Consultation fee (150 €) is credited towards residence permit or citizenship processing.
Irina has specialized exclusively in immigration matters since 2013. During this time, she has processed all existing types of residence permits and gained experience working with consulates of dozens of countries. The positive decision rate is 96%, with rejections occurring only in rare genuinely risky cases.
One of her strengths is working with complex cases after mistakes by other specialists. Irina knows the specifics of how particular extranjería offices work in different cities: their unique requirements, submission nuances, and typical reasons for rejections. This knowledge comes only from handling a large number of cases.
Clients receive full control over the process: tracking of all documents, transparency at every stage, no need to constantly ask about status. Works with clients both in Spain and abroad. For family and company relocation, there are separate programs, including processing for highly qualified specialists.
In case of rejection, Irina files appeals, and for court proceedings, she collaborates with immigration lawyers.
Consultation fee (150 €) is credited towards residence permit or citizenship processing.
All prices are stated without VAT.
Specialists below are trusted real estate agencies and agents who help with buying, selling and renting property in Spain.
Why you can trust them:
Specialists in this section:
Need help - DM me in the Telegram channel, I’ll help. It’s important for me to be confident that the specialists on the list provide you with quality service, and that any disputed situations are resolved successfully.
Free 30-minute consultation for new clients.
Anastasia and her partner run a real estate agency that helps with buying, selling and renting property in Valencia, Alicante and Castellon (on request). They work with all price segments - from budget options to large investment properties. In 2025, they closed several deals totaling ~2 million euros for one investor client.
For purchases, the company handles the full cycle: from property selection and organizing viewings to legal verification, negotiations, notary completion and utility contract transfers. They help with opening a bank account and provide assistance when funds origin legalization is needed - organizing document translation and accompanying clients to the bank.
They search for properties not only on Idealista and Fotocasa, but also among off-market offers through their partner network. If you need a mortgage - they work with brokers who secure approvals even after rejections from all banks. For renovations, they recommend a trusted team.
Besides purchases, the agency helps with rentals (medium-term - 11 months and long-term - from 12 months) - both finding a place and renting out. You can find a suitable option even before moving to Spain - viewings are done via video call, and the agency fully supports the process remotely.
Free 30-minute consultation for new clients.
The specialists below are verified professionals, with a large number of positive reviews from subscribers of the Telegram channels Autónomo & SL and Spain Life Guide, to whom I myself have repeatedly turned for work issues.
Click the “Message the gestor” button - the gestor will reply to you within a business day (rarely - the next day). Urgent? Write about it directly in the form.
The list of reliable gestors is a living mechanism. I regularly receive feedback from Telegram channels subscribers, and if the quality of a gestor’s service worsens, I remove them from the list. You can read here about one such case when a gestor had to be removed from the list.
Be sure to read the entire section about gestors.
Specialists in this section:
Need help - DM me in the Telegram channel, I’ll help. It’s important for me to be confident that the specialists on the list provide you with quality service, and that any disputed situations are resolved successfully.
60 € discount on autónomo registration with the promo code “Spain Life Guide”, annual tax declaration filing is free forever.
Denis’s consulting company, with a focus on tax optimization and advanced accounting, provides all the necessary services for Autonomo/SL and their employees. The company management service includes free access to an online solution for creating compliant invoices (VeriFactu mandatory starting January 1, 2027). In this program, clients can independently issue or upload invoices, check the list of accepted and rejected accounting documents, view results and taxes payable online, use the CRM system, mobile application, and much more.
Key staff members have financial education, many years of experience working in large companies in Spain, and daily interaction with real businesses, enabling them to provide expert consultations with practical advice. Additional services include assistance in obtaining licenses for most types of activities, managing e-commerce businesses (remote sales), import/export of goods, and more.
For client convenience, personal account, WhatsApp, email, and phone calls are used for communication and work.
Free 30-minute consultation before autónomo registration.
All prices are excluding IVA.
50 € dicsount on autónomo registration with the promo code “Spain Life Guide”, annual tax return filing free of charge.
Lyudmila is a managing partner of a company that provides accounting, tax, consulting, migration, and administrative services. The services include support for Autónomo/SL, covering everything from business registration to handling initial documentation and human resource management. It is very important for the company to provide fast and clear responses to clients and to stay in regular contact.
Lyudmila is an expert in tax legislation, economics, and finance. From 2015 to 2019, she headed the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine in Kyiv.
A team of gestors with 10 years of experience in Spain helps clients solve complex accounting and tax issues and find optimal business solutions in new conditions.
In addition to its office in Spain, the company has an office in Ukraine that assists clients with obtaining certificates, tax reporting, CFC documents, and interactions with government authorities.
An additional advantage is working as a team with immigration expert Katerina. This means you can receive comprehensive support: simultaneously handle tax matters and immigration issues (residence permit processing, residence renewal, transition from one type of residence permit to another, citizenship application).
Free 30-minute consultation before autónomo registration.
All prices are excluding IVA.
30 € discount on autónomo registration with promo code “Spain Life Guide”.
Nelia is a gestor with deep understanding of Spanish and Ukrainian tax systems. With 20 years of experience (13 years in Spain and 7 years in Ukraine), she specializes in comprehensive accounting support and managing the most diverse types of businesses.
In the team with Nelia works a partner-lawyer with 30 years of experience, who is an expert in fiscal cases against the tax office, family and labor law. Over the years of practice, the team has dozens of won cases against the tax office for large sums, including successful court proceedings with major Spanish banks and insurance companies.
The team manages a wide range of businesses: from cosmetic factories and raw material import companies to major IT companies and investment companies. This diverse experience allows providing expert consultations on the most complex taxation issues and business process optimization.
30 € discount on autónomo registration.
All prices are excluding IVA.
Discount of 100 € for autónomo registration with the promo code “Spain Life Guide”.
Tatiana handles accounting and tax services for autónomos and SLs across all industries: from IT freelancers to beauty salons, from interior designers to tourism and real estate rental companies. Her experience in finance and banking dates back to 2011, including work with large corporate businesses.
Her approach is proactive. Tatiana analyzes each case and suggests ways to optimize the tax base rather than simply waiting for client requests. The autónomo service fee includes consultations and processing of up to 50 invoices per quarter. All clients sign a contract outlining the details of cooperation.
Beyond accounting, the company handles legal matters: advising on local laws, reviewing and drafting contracts, and representing clients before authorities. Tatiana works in a team with immigration lawyer José - this allows solving complex tasks in one place. For clients with residence permits, there’s an additional benefit: before registering as autónomo or SL, immigration documents are reviewed because the residence permit application may specify a particular type of activity or business structure.
The gestor personally answers calls, not a manager. Communication is available via WhatsApp, Telegram, email, and phone - questions are answered promptly. Additional services include: obtaining citas at any government institution through professional access (usually within a week), assistance with bank accounts, license processing, notary accompaniment, sworn translations through partners, and registered office address.
All prices are excluding IVA.
In November 2024, my wife and I got a mortgage in Valencia for 80% (2.95% annual rate). Despite being autónomo for less than 8 months and not having an annual tax return (renta). The whole process took less than a month and a half - from our first visit to the bank to getting the keys.
Who this article is for: residents of Spain - employees, autónomos, Digital Nomad Visa holders, those on Ley Beckham, refugees, and people under temporary protection.
What’s inside:
If you’re planning to work in Spain as a freelancer, consultant, or start your own business - you need to understand autónomo (self-employment) or SL (similar to LLC). This is a big topic: registration, tax payments, reporting, optimization, choosing a gestor, bank accounts, and much more.
On this topic, I’ve created a separate comprehensive guide - over 70 pages of detailed information based on personal experience and verified with gestors. It covers all stages: from preparation for registration to tax optimization and dealing with Hacienda.
Guide on autónomo and SL: IT Autonomos Spain
There’s also a Telegram channel with updates and a chat where you can ask questions and get help from the community:
Deposit Limits
About Account Blocks
Unfortunately, at many banks, managers may try to push additional services, such as medical insurance. Sometimes managers refuse to open an account without purchasing insurance from the bank.
This happens because the manager receives a percentage commission for selling banking services.
Don’t rush to purchase insurance at the bank - there can be many nuances that the manager may not be aware of. You might end up with insurance that doesn’t suit your needs or won’t cover damages as you expected. It’s better to consult with insurance specialists.
If you want to improve your relationship with the manager or if the additional service will provide you with some discounts, then you can get it. If you don’t need additional services and the manager insists on them, don’t hesitate to contact the bank’s support with a complaint.
For example, I had to get life insurance and a security system when I obtained a mortgage at the bank. By law, it’s not mandatory, but before taking out the mortgage, the manager insisted on it, and I had no other options because I wanted to get the mortgage :)
Here I describe non-obvious fraud schemes that I personally find unusual. Some of them happened to me, some to people I know, and some I heard about and decided to share because they seemed unconventional.
How I got scammed out of 1050 euros while selling a MacBook in Valencia
Read until the end, this scheme is new and rare for Spain.
I decided to sell some old Apple tech and posted it all on wallapop. At first nothing was selling, so I ordered an ad for 20 euros, after which potential buyers started writing to me.
Yesterday afternoon a man wrote to me, asking me to come over soon to buy it. I arrived quickly, within 20 minutes. Finally, I thought to myself, now the MacBook will be more useful than it has been lying in my closet for the last six months.
The man looked intelligent, spoke good English, was tall and large, with a beard. Polite, definitely not a scammer. He looked at the MacBook, asked if I had the box and charger (I threw away the box many years ago, I bought the MacBook in Ukraine). He clarified that the MacBook was removed from iCloud, and asked me to wipe all the data - which I did. But he didn’t bother checking the memory, battery condition, and other characteristics (it’s normal after all, one gentleman trusts another gentleman)…
I expected the buyer to pay with cash, but he asked to do a bank transfer. “Can you withdraw from an ATM?” - “Unfortunately I didn’t bring my card with me.” Okay, I gave him the IBAN of my Spanish Santander account (I didn’t want a bank transfer so I wouldn’t have to show the money to the tax authorities again).
He opened the bank app on his phone, and entered my IBAN in front of me, and asked me to enter my name and surname. Then he entered the amount in pounds (he had a British bank), and I saw that after conversion I would receive approximately 1054 euros. Next - a screen with a message about successful transfer (with my data), and a comment that the SEPA transfer would take 1 to 24 hours, and that this transaction could not be canceled (which is absolutely normal for a SEPA transfer).
He sent me a screenshot of the transfer on WhatsApp, we said goodbye and wished each other a good day, and I happily went into the elevator. While riding in the elevator, I thought “what would stop him from waibcoding a similar bank app in half an hour with a few prompts, which would show a screen with a successful transfer?” And then I thought that it’s better not to voice such a thought to anyone, otherwise I would be considered a paranoid person.
His WhatsApp had a business account, a British phone number, and his avatar had praying hands and something written about God.
I got home, happy to have gotten rid of the MacBook, told my wife (as it turned out later, she was alarmed but didn’t tell me right away). I described the whole situation to ChatGPT - he professionally reassured me, said that there have been no cases of fraud with fake bank apps in Spain, and that I’m overthinking things and I should just wait and the money will arrive.
Later, I saw on wallapop that the buyer’s account was blocked, and the next day on WhatsApp I saw that he had deleted the screenshot of the bank transfer.
The money never arrived, I wrote to him on WhatsApp - the message was not delivered (one check mark), I called - no answer. Everything became finally clear, all that’s left is to hope that my old MacBook will now be more useful to someone than it was to me lying in a closet.
I decided to dig deeper, and it turned out that absolutely the same fraud scheme has been detected in the UK and in the Netherlands, but not yet in Spain. It turned out to be high-tech, a good example of how using AI neural networks you can become more effective in almost any field, even in fraud.
1050 euros - unpleasant, but not fatal. Many of us (including me), are very smart in hindsight, but in reality in the moment you can’t always figure things out when you’re dealing with a polite intelligent person, and on top of that with a beard.
If you know someone who plans to sell or is selling valuable things - share this post. I hope it helps you not fall for this scheme.
P.S. And by the way, I still have another MacBook (cheaper, 400 euros) and two AirPods Pro headphones. So if you’re not scammers, write to me in DMs, I’ll sell. You can even do a bank transfer :D
Fraud with Invoices and Policía Nacional
From personal experience, I hope this saves someone from falling victim to fraud.
Recently, I received a call and they said “Hello, this is Policía Nacional. Can you tell me, did you buy an iPhone 16 Pro in October of last year?”.
Right away, I should mention that I don’t speak Spanish and only understand a few phrases. I answered “yes” to their question, and then they asked me to send an invoice from the store where I bought the iPhone.
At the time of the call, I was very busy (we were choosing paint colors for the walls in our apartment). Yes, that moment when you need to pick white from dozens of different shades of white. When the word “police” came up at that moment, something felt off.
My conversation partner didn’t speak English, and I don’t speak Spanish, and honestly, that partly saved me. They didn’t want to write via WhatsApp and asked me to send the invoice to an email. But their email was too complicated and I couldn’t write it down, and I couldn’t dictate mine either. In the end, I asked them to call me back the next day (Saturday), but they said they would call back on Monday.
The call ended and I didn’t understand what had just happened. I checked with ChatGPT and did some research, and confirmed that this was definitely fraud. The goal of the scam is to get the invoice, which contains all your personal data (NIE, name, address, etc.). With this information, there’s a risk that someone could open a credit line in your name or do something else unwanted.
Be careful, everything described above sounds banal and obvious when you’re observing such a situation from the outside. But when you’re caught off guard at an uncomfortable moment (especially when you’re choosing paint colors), the risk of falling for it increases significantly.
A digital certificate in Spain (Certificado Digital) is your electronic identifier that verifies your identity online. Essentially, it’s one of the most reliable and universal methods of identification - it works practically everywhere.
With a digital certificate, you can:
Overall, a digital certificate significantly simplifies life in Spain - most issues can be resolved online. The certificate is valid for 4 years, and you can renew it online 60 days before expiration.
If you are autónomo, you almost certainly need a digital certificate in practice. But even if you’re not autónomo - I strongly recommend getting one in advance, before you actually need it. When you need the certificate urgently, getting it in a rush will be more difficult. This way - you can calmly obtain it for free or for a small fee (depending on the method).
There are many ways to obtain a digital certificate. Regardless of the method you choose - the certificate will have the same legal validity. Below are several methods.
Method #1
Obtain it through a gestor. Some gestors are accredited to issue personal digital certificates (remotely). This allows you to get the certificate without leaving your home.
This is one of the fastest methods (if you need it urgently and are willing to pay). If you submit the documents in the morning, there is a chance to receive the certificate on the same day (if later, the certificate will be ready the next day). If you don’t have a gestor or if your gestor doesn’t provide this service, you can contact a gestor from the reliable gestors section.
Method #2
Previously, it was possible to do it for free on this website. But now, only paid options remain. However, if you don’t want to travel and are willing to pay, this is a suitable option. You will need to upload documents on the website, after which you wait for the certificate to be issued.
Method #3
Obtain the certificate at the Ayuntamiento, for free.
Method #4
Get the certificate through FNMT (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre), for free.
Method #5
Obtain a certificate through ACCV (Agència de Tecnologia i Certificació Electrònica de la Comunitat Valenciana), online and free of charge (currently, conditions may change).
You will need: TIE (or Spanish driver’s license), a Spanish phone number, and an email address.
DEHú is the official portal of the Spanish government for receiving electronic notifications from all government agencies in one place.
Personally, this portal has been useful to me many times, for example when notifications arrived about:
Through DEHú, practically all types of official notifications from Spanish government agencies are delivered: tax office, immigration service (Extranjería), Seguridad Social, DGT, police, and others. These can be requests for additional documents, decisions on applications, fine notifications, and much more.
This service is useful not only for autónomos and companies, but also for individuals in Spain. It is completely free, and there is also a convenient mobile application.
How to set up notifications
Important: according to the law, if the recipient does not read their electronic notification within 10 days of its delivery, it is considered delivered automatically (even without your confirmation).
Subscribe to the Telegram channel Spain Life Guide to stay updated on important document updates and get useful information about life in Spain.
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Thank you for checking out this section. I’m glad the document turned out to be useful for you. I put a lot of effort into creating it and constantly update the information to keep it relevant and helpful.
Let me briefly tell you how this document came to be.
For the last few years, I’ve had a habit of documenting all the complex bureaucratic processes I encounter in my personal knowledge base. This helps me save time when I have to deal with the same task again in the future. One of the hardest things for me was everything related to autónomo. Before I registered it, I gathered a lot of information from my friends, chats, and webinars. Later, I thought that my notes might be useful to others as well. That’s how this document became publicly available.
A little about myself. I’m a Java Developer and Java Team Lead, with over 10 years in the IT field. Some notable achievements include winning the Malta Blockchain Summit Hackathon in 2018 (we took first place with our team). I love reading books and would gladly chat about this topic in person. Also, I love cycling.
If you’d like to thank me for the work I’ve done:
Thank you for your support! ❤️
The first version of the Spain Life Guide document. The document contains practical information for immigrants in Spain.
Main sections
This is the first version of the document.