Spain Long-Stay Routes: Relocation Checklist
A step-by-step checklist for Canadians moving to Spain via the digital nomad visa, the non-lucrative visa, or a work permit, with documents and what to verify officially.
This route fits you if you want a long stay in Spain. The three main options are the digital nomad visa for remote income, the non-lucrative visa for living on savings or passive income without local work, and work-based permits tied to a job.
Before You Start
Pick your route honestly, because they are not interchangeable. The non-lucrative visa does not permit you to work, which makes it suited to retirees or the passively funded rather than remote workers. If you earn from a job or clients, the digital nomad visa is the one to look at.
Documents To Gather
- Valid passport.
- Proof of income or funds appropriate to your route: remote-work income for the digital nomad visa, or passive income and savings for the non-lucrative visa.
- Private health insurance with full coverage in Spain, no co-payments, from an authorised insurer.
- A criminal record certificate, apostilled and officially translated.
- For the digital nomad visa, proof that your company or clients sit outside Spain and that the working relationship predates your application by the required period.
Steps In Order
- Choose the route that matches how you will actually earn or fund your life in Spain.
- Assemble your income or funds proof and a compliant health insurance policy.
- Get certificates apostilled and translated into Spanish by a sworn translator.
- Apply at the Spanish consulate for your region. For the digital nomad visa, check whether you qualify to apply through the large-companies unit (UGE) from within Spain.
- After arrival, complete your residence card (TIE) and registration steps.
What To Verify With Official Sources
- Current income and funds thresholds for each route, on the Spanish consulate site.
- Whether the digital nomad route through the UGE is open to your situation.
- The insurance requirements, which are strict and reject many ordinary travel policies.
Common Traps
- Treating the non-lucrative visa as a remote-work visa. Working on it is the classic cause of refusal or renewal problems.
- Travel-style insurance with co-payments or coverage gaps. Spain rejects these.
- Skipping the apostille or sworn translation. Both are usually required.
Want the background first? The Spain: the routes Canadians actually use covers how this route works and what Canadians tend to underestimate.