The real total cost of applying for Spanish residence

Terms used

• apostille — An apostille is an international stamp certifying that a foreign-issued document is genuine, so Spain accepts it.
• gestor — A gestor is a licensed administrative agent who handles official paperwork and tax procedures on your behalf.

Key rules

• Insurance: If your route requires private health insurance, it must have full cover, no co-payments and no waiting periods.
• Quotes: Ask for several written quotes from insurers, translators and gestors or lawyers, and check what each one includes.

Government fees are only part of the bill

Third-party costs often add up to more than the fees themselves. Which items apply to you depends on your route.

The three government fees

From abroad you pay the consular visa fee (80 euros), the 052 processing fee (73.78 euros) and the 012 TIE fee (16 euros): 169.78 euros in total. When each is paid is on the fees page.

Costs on top of the fees

Private health insurance. Price depends mostly on age and the insurer. It rises steeply for people over 50 to 60. A younger adult pays 50 to 100 euros a month, and a person over 60 pays 150 euros or more a month. Families pay a combined premium, and paying annually is often cheaper than paying monthly.

Sworn translation. Every foreign document not in Spanish needs a translation by a traductor jurado. Translators usually charge per page or per word. The rate depends on the language, the length and how urgent the job is. English, French and German usually cost less than rarer languages. A short certificate counts as one page, and a short civil certificate from a non-EU Hague country costs 30 to 60 euros per page. Extra copies and rush delivery cost more.

Apostille or legalisation. An apostille is issued by an office in the country that issued the document. It is often modest in price or free, and agents add service charges. A document issued in an EU state needs no apostille, and a multilingual standard form replaces the translation for the document types that have one. Countries outside the Hague Convention need full consular legalisation, which costs more and takes longer. The sworn translation is normally the bigger cost of the two.

Gestor or lawyer. Fees vary with the route, the city and the firm. A gestor usually charges less than an immigration lawyer. A gestor or lawyer charges 300 to 1,500 euros to prepare and file an application for one person, and more for complex routes, appeals or family members. Many firms quote a flat fee per application, and government fees, translations and apostilles are billed separately.

Small items. Add medical and criminal record certificates (from your home country and any other country where you have lived), passport photos, courier or postage, and travel to the consulate or office.

Family members of an EU citizen. Budget the certificate that proves the relationship (marriage, partnership register or birth certificate) with the apostille or legalisation that matches the country that issued it, and a sworn translation if it is not in Spanish. The rule and proof for each relationship are on the forms page.

How to build your budget

Total the three fees first. Then price each document with its apostille and translation, since each foreign document can need both. Add insurance and any gestor or lawyer fee. Example for one adult applying from abroad: fees 169.78 euros, plus three one-page sworn translations at 30 to 60 euros each (90 to 180 euros), plus a gestor at 300 to 1,500 euros, makes 559.78 to 1,849.78 euros before insurance.

If you file on your own, you skip the gestor or lawyer fee but keep every other cost. Each person in a family pays their own fees, translations and insurance, so multiply the totals by the number of applicants.

If you are already living in Spain

If you apply from inside Spain without a visa, you skip the consular visa fee and pay only the processing fee and the TIE fee, 89.78 euros in total.

Documents you need

• Criminal record certificate from your home country, and from any other country where you have lived, with an apostille or legalisation.

• Birth or marriage certificate, if your application uses them, with an apostille or legalisation.

• Sworn translation into Spanish of every foreign document not already in Spanish, made by a traductor jurado (a translator appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

• Medical certificate, if your route asks for one.

• Private health insurance policy with full cover, no co-payments and no waiting periods, from an insurer authorised in Spain, if your route requires it (for example non-lucrative or digital nomad).

• Bank-certified proof of funds or a rental contract, if your route asks for it.

Checklist

• Price the apostille for each foreign document with the authority that issued it, and note every country that needs full legalisation.