Deciding how and when to leave

It is for anyone considering, planning or carrying out a move to Spain, including people who are already there and wondering whether to stay. You will know which exit route fits your situation, the best time to go, what it will cost and what to keep so a return stays possible.

Start with "Going home, moving on or staying: which exit fits you?". The route you choose decides which Spanish ties you need to cut and which can stay. Once you have a route, the other pages cover the best departure date, the cost of leaving, trial returns and split years, keeping the door open, and moving back to Spain later.

Leaving Spanish tax residency, absence limits for residence permits and stay-or-leave reassessments are covered elsewhere.

Key rules

• Tax residence: You are a Spanish tax resident for the whole calendar year if you spend more than 183 days in Spain or your main centre of economic interests is there, and the year cannot be split.
• Absence limit: A temporary residence authorisation can lapse if you are outside Spain for more than 6 months in a year.
• Notice period: After the first six months of a lease, you can end it by giving the landlord 30 days' written notice.
• Order: Choose your route first, then cancel or deregister things.
• Tax residency: You lose Spanish tax residency only if you spend fewer than 183 days here and have no centre of economic interests in Spain.
• Tax year: Leaving even a few days too late can make you a Spanish tax resident for the whole calendar year.

Deciding how and when to leave: the whole process, step by step

From deciding to leave to settling in

• Choose your route: going home, moving on, moving within Spain or splitting time (Going home, moving on or staying: which exit fits you?): First, before you book anything

• Pick a departure date that fits the tax year, school year, lease end and card expiry (When is the best time to leave Spain?): Several months before you leave

• Decide what to do with a residence card that is close to expiry: renew it only if you may come back (Leaving Spain while keeping the option to come back): Renewal can be asked for from 60 days before expiry up to 90 days after

• Give written notice to your landlord and check any early-exit penalty in your contract (What does leaving Spain really cost?): At least 30 days before you hand over the keys, once the first six months of the lease have passed

• Cancel phone, internet and utility contracts and check for a minimum commitment charge (What does leaving Spain really cost?): Usually 15 to 30 days before you leave

• Withdraw children from school and ask for their records and certificates (When is the best time to leave Spain?): Best at the end of a term or in June, when the school year ends

• Decide which Spanish ties to keep, such as your NIE, a bank account, a Spanish address for notices and your social security contributions (Leaving Spain while keeping the option to come back): Before you leave

• Leave Spain, deregister from the padrón and, if you are not coming back, from social security and healthcare: Around your departure date

• Collect your deposit back from the landlord: Within one month of handing over the keys

• File your Spanish tax return for the year you left, as a resident or non-resident depending on your days in Spain: The spring after you leave, with the campaign running roughly April to 30 June

• If you try life abroad first, watch your days and absences (Trying life back home before you cut ties with Spain): All year, because absences over 6 months can end a temporary permit

• If you return later, restart your status, padrón, social security, health card and tax registration, in that order (Moving back to Spain later: what has to restart?): Within the first weeks after you arrive back

Documents you may need

Identity and residence

• Your residence card
• Your padrón registration — Going home, moving on or staying: which exit fits you?, Leaving Spain while keeping the option to come back
• Your NIE number — Leaving Spain while keeping the option to come back, Moving back to Spain later: what has to restart?
• Certificate of enrolment from your child's school — When is the best time to leave Spain?
• Your passport or national ID — Moving back to Spain later: what has to restart?
• Proof of address for the padrón — Moving back to Spain later: what has to restart?

Income and work

• The tax address change form — Going home, moving on or staying: which exit fits you?

The home and the lease

• Written lease notice sent in a form you can prove — When is the best time to leave Spain?
• Your signed lease contract — What does leaving Spain really cost?

Other documents

• Your current health card — Going home, moving on or staying: which exit fits you?
• A written notice to your landlord — What does leaving Spain really cost?
• Your phone — What does leaving Spain really cost?

Each article lists the other documents it asks for, where you need them.

Deciding how and when to leave: questions that cross several articles

Does it matter for Spanish tax whether I go home or move to a third country?

No, Spanish tax residency ends in the same way whichever country you move to. What changes is which country taxes your pension and other income under tax treaties, and the exit tax can apply to large shareholdings wherever you go. Read "Going home, moving on or staying: which exit fits you?" and "What does leaving Spain really cost?".

What happens to my Spanish public healthcare when I leave?

Your public healthcare ends when you stop living in Spain, so you need cover in your new country or private insurance. Pensioners moving within the EU may be able to use an S1 form, and workers can use the EHIC on temporary stays. See "Going home, moving on or staying: which exit fits you?" and "Trying life back home before you cut ties with Spain".

Do I keep my Spanish property if I leave?

Yes, you keep ownership, but you are taxed as a non-resident and still owe the yearly IBI (municipal property tax). Rental income and sales are taxed under non-resident rules. Read "What does leaving Spain really cost?" and "Leaving Spain while keeping the option to come back".

Does my NIE stop working when I leave Spain?

No, your NIE is a permanent number and does not expire when you leave. The card or certificate that comes with it can expire or lapse after long absences.

If I leave in the middle of the year, am I a Spanish tax resident for part of it?

No, the tax year cannot be split, so you are resident for the whole year or not at all, depending on your days in Spain and where your main interests are. Your leaving date therefore matters. Read "When is the best time to leave Spain?" and "Trying life back home before you cut ties with Spain".