What do you need to live and purchase property in Spain?
Get a NIE and a visa in Spain before you buy property and settle down in Spain

As an expat, you will need to make sure all your paperwork is in order before you can start the process of moving to Spain and buying a house in Spain as a resident. Some foreigners looking to purchase property in Spain and settle in the country try to begin without knowing the basic identity documents and permissions they will need.
The most important first step is to apply for a NIE in Spain. NIE stands for ‘Número de Identidad de Extranjero’ or Foreigners’ Identification Number, and it will act as your unique ID number in Spain. All paperwork and any official procedure you need to do will require you to have this number.
Many Americans and British people with great purchasing power are buying their properties in Spain. It is a country that remains cheaper than their home countries in most cases, and the sunny weather, good food and relaxed pace of life never fail to charm wannabe expats.
What’s more, we finally seem to be approaching the other side of Covid-19, or at least treating the virus as an endemic disease to be lived with, no worse than the common flu, rather than an especially dangerous pandemic. And with their newfound freedom, many Americans and Brits are choosing to follow their dreams that they made during the long months of lockdown and buy a place in the sun to really start enjoying their lives.
The other thing Brits and US citizens need when moving to Spain is a visa. Because both countries are outside the EU, a visa is required to reside in Spain for more than 90 days out of each 180. There are two main ways to get a visa in Spain:
- Apply for a Spain Golden Visa 2022. This option, also known as the Investor Visa, automatically allows foreigners to be granted a visa to live in Spain based on the amount of money they invest, which generally speaking means buying Spanish real estate worth more than 500,000 euros. The main benefits of getting a Golden Visa in Spain are that you are not required to stay a certain period of time in Spain each year in order to work a reside there legally, and you can bring your family with you as part of the visa deal.
- Apply for a Spain non-lucrative visa. Spain’s Non-Lucrative Residence Permit is one of the most sought-after visas because it allows foreigners to reside in Spain without having to make any capital investment, but it does require you to prove that you have enough funds to be able to sustain yourself for the length of your stay in Spain. The non-lucrative visa also entails the awarding of a NIE number, and must be applied for from the Spanish embassy in your own country.
Whichever option you choose, it’s vital that you know all the basic legal steps to take before moving to Spain, and which way is better for you.
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