Residence shortcuts that don't exist, myths to check before you pay anyone

Key rules

• Visitor limit: Visa-free entry allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area, with no work and no residence rights.
• Border runs: Leaving and re-entering does not reset your days, and repeated trips can get you refused entry.
• Remote work: Working remotely on a visitor stay is not allowed; use a residence route such as the digital nomad visa.
• Gibraltar: A Gibraltar address or crossing gives you no residence advantage in Spain.

Buying property does not give you residence

Buying a home in Spain gives you no right to residence. The property investment route (the golden visa) ended for new applications on 3 April 2025. It used to require a real estate investment of at least 500,000 euros.

If you applied before that date, your application continues under the old rules. Anyone who sells you a "property for residence" package today is selling something that no longer exists.

If you already own a home and are not an EU citizen, you can stay only as a visitor: 90 days in any 180-day period, unless you hold another permit such as a non-lucrative visa.

Other routes exist, but none gives residence just for buying property. They include the entrepreneur visa, the highly qualified professional route, the self-employed route and the digital nomad visa. Each has its own requirements.

Tourist stays do not turn into residence

Staying longer, or stacking short visits, never builds up into residence. Plan a proper residence route before you travel. You apply for a residence visa at the Spanish consulate with jurisdiction over your place of residence, before you travel to Spain; the UGE routes, such as the digital nomad visa, can also be filed from inside Spain while your stay is legal.

If you stay beyond 90 days in any 180 days, you are in irregular status and can be fined, ordered to leave and banned from re-entering the Schengen area.

Border runs do not reset your days

Leaving Spain and coming back does not give you a fresh 90 days. Your days are counted back over a rolling 180 days from each day you are in Spain, across all Schengen countries together. Repeated border runs can also lead to you being refused entry.

Remote work on a visitor stay is not allowed

A visitor stay gives you no right to work in Spain, even for foreign clients. You risk fines and refusal of later permits. Remote work is lawful only through a residence route, mainly the digital nomad visa or the residence permit for startup founders and remote workers.

This does not apply to EU and EEA citizens, who can live and work freely.

Also keep tax in mind. You can become tax resident once you pass 183 days in Spain, whatever your immigration status.

A Gibraltar address does not help

Gibraltar is outside the Schengen area. Time spent there, or an address there, does not count as Spanish residence. If you live in Spain and work in Gibraltar, you still need ordinary Spanish status. A 2025 political agreement on border checks creates no residence rights for individuals.

Quick test before you pay

• Does the promise skip the normal application at a consulate or immigration office? Then it is a myth.
• Does it depend on counting days in a way that resets? Then it is a myth.
• Ask for the name of the permit. If the seller cannot name one, walk away.