How to compare countries fairly

It is for anyone considering, planning or carrying out a move to Spain. You do not need to have chosen Spain yet.

Start with "Build your own weighted Spain comparison instead of trusting a ranking". It shows you how to turn vague preferences into weighted criteria and a score you can repeat. The other pages build on it. They cover how to pick two or three real rivals, how your passport changes the answer, which data to trust, and how to read rankings, influencers, residents and people who left.

This Topic does not give country-versus-country verdicts, help you shortlist regions, test whether you are ready to move, or explain residency routes. Those have their own pages.

Key rules

• Weights total: Criterion weights must add up to 100%, whichever method you use to set them.
• Citizenship wait: Citizenship generally takes 10 years of legal residence, but only 2 years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal.
• Final rivals: Keep two to four countries in the final head-to-head, with three the usual best choice.
• Deal-breakers: Treat must-haves as pass/fail tests and remove any failing country before you weigh anything.
• EU, EEA and Swiss: You register within three months of arrival and need no visa.
• UK citizens: Arriving before 1 January 2021 gives protected status; later arrivals need a visa for stays over 90 days.

How to compare countries fairly: the whole process, step by step

• Start with your passport: check whether a legal route to live in Spain exists for your nationality (read: How your passport changes whether Spain is the right choice): before you compare anything else

• Apply the hard filters to your long list of countries: legal route, income or savings, work, language, family, then health and climate. Drop any country that fails (read: Choosing the real alternatives to compare with Spain): after you know your passport position, before you score

• If you are a non-EU citizen, check the income needed for the route you would use, such as non-lucrative or digital nomad residence: before you shortlist Spain and its rivals

• Choose your trustworthy data and read rankings and influencer content critically (read: Which data can you trust when comparing Spain with other countries?, How much should you trust expat rankings that feature Spain? and How to filter influencer and sales hype about moving to Spain): while you gather facts on the remaining countries

• Talk to residents and returnees, and read accounts of people who left, to test what the data tells you (read: How to get honest accounts from residents and returnees and How to read accounts of people who left Spain as evidence): before you finalise your scores

• Set your weights and score the final two to four countries (read: Build your own weighted Spain comparison instead of trusting a ranking): last step, once your shortlist and facts are ready

• If Spain wins and you are an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, register as a resident: within three months of arrival

• If Spain wins and you are not an EU citizen, apply for the visa or residence authorisation for your route: before you move; without a visa you can stay only 90 days in any 180

Documents you may need

• A valid passport or national ID card — How your passport changes whether Spain is the right choice

• The green A-format certificate or the biometric TIE-WA card — How your passport changes whether Spain is the right choice

• The foreigner identity card — How your passport changes whether Spain is the right choice

• The residence card for family of an EU citizen — How your passport changes whether Spain is the right choice

• The registration certificate for EU citizens — How your passport changes whether Spain is the right choice

How to compare countries fairly: questions that cross several articles

Does an EU passport make other EU countries as easy as Spain?

Yes, an EU/EEA passport lets you live in any other EU country, but after three months you must be working, or have enough money and health insurance, or be a student. Each country also has its own local registration rules. Read Choosing the real alternatives to compare with Spain and How your passport changes whether Spain is the right choice.

Do UK citizens still have EU-style rights in Spain?

Only if you were legally resident in Spain before 1 January 2021, when the Withdrawal Agreement protects your rights. Anyone arriving later is treated as a non-EU national: 90 days in any 180 without a visa, and a visa and residence permit for longer.

How much income do I need to rule Spain in or out as a non-EU citizen?

For the non-lucrative visa you need passive income or savings of 400% of the IPREM (a yearly public reference amount) per year, plus 100% for each dependant. See Choosing the real alternatives to compare with Spain.

Which filters should I apply first when narrowing countries?

Apply passport and visa access first, then income, work, language, family, and health and climate needs. Treat each as yes or no and drop any country that fails. Read Choosing the real alternatives to compare with Spain, then Build your own weighted Spain comparison instead of trusting a ranking.

Do descent or family links give me a special route to Spain?

Yes, family of EU citizens or of Spaniards get favourable residence routes, and nationals of Ibero-American countries and a few others need only 2 years for citizenship. The Sephardic and Democratic Memory nationality windows have closed.