EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
You know which free-movement category you fall under, what you must be able to show, and where the rules are lighter or stricter than for visa routes.
If you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country, or of Switzerland, you do not need a visa to live in Spain. That does not mean there are no conditions. Beyond the first three months, your right to stay depends on what you are doing in Spain: working, running a business, studying, or supporting…
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What EU citizens must do to live in Spain legally
Explains what an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen must do to live in Spain legally: the free first stay, when you must register, which categories qualify and what the registration involves in practice.
Working, self-employed or studying in Spain as an EU citizen
As an EU citizen, you keep your right to live in Spain if you work, run your own business, study, or look for work with a real chance of finding it. Each category has its own proof. If you lose your job, you can keep your worker status for a time under set conditions.
Retired or not working, funds and health cover for EU citizens
If you are an EU citizen who is retired or not working and stay in Spain more than three months, you must meet two conditions: enough money to support yourself, and full health cover.
Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic and Liechtenstein citizens in Spain
Norwegian, Icelandic, Liechtenstein and Swiss citizens can live in Spain without a visa, and stay over three months by registering.
When can Spain refuse or end an EU citizen's right to stay?
Spain can refuse or end an EU citizen's right to stay only on limited grounds, and only through a formal procedure with safeguards.
About this topic
Registration itself is in Registering as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, the family card in The EU family residence card for non-EU relatives, who counts as family in Who counts as family of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, and UK citizens with Withdrawal Agreement rights in Are you covered by the UK Withdrawal Agreement?.
Key rules
- Registration deadline: If you plan to stay longer, you must apply to register in person within three months of arriving in Spain.
- Funds level: The yardstick is the IPREM: €600 a month in 2025 (100% of the IPREM) for the main applicant, plus €300 a month for each family member who lives with you.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: the whole process, step by step
- Arrive on a valid passport or ID card: up to three months, with no conditions and no registration
- Pick your category: worker, self-employed, student, job-seeker, self-sufficient or family member, before the first three months end
- Not working? Line up funds and health cover: before you apply
- Apply for the registration certificate: within 3 months of arriving, in Registering as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen
- Collect your certificate: after the appointment; it carries your NIE. Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic and Liechtenstein citizens get the same one; relatives from outside the EU get a family card
- Job-hunting: register with the public employment service and show a real chance of work for 6 months from your arrival, then money and health cover
- Lost your job? Register as unemployed at once to keep worker status for at least six months, or longer after more than a year of work
- UK citizen: if you lived in Spain before 1 January 2021 you hold a Withdrawal Agreement residence document; if not, you need a visa or residence permit, except family of a beneficiary
- After five years of legal residence: you hold permanent residence, with an optional certificate
- Refused, or right to stay ended? After a written decision, reconsideration within 1 month or court within 2 months; after silence, reconsideration at any time or court within 6 months
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Always verify important information with the relevant official authority or a qualified adviser before acting. This website uses large language models together with various public data sources, official government documents and other established sources. Due to the amount of data on this website, some information might be wrong. Information may also be incomplete or outdated.