Whether you're billing clients as an autónomo or running a sociedad limitada changes almost every number in this guide, from your monthly Social Security cuota to the tax rate on company profit. Updated for 2026, with the filing calendar that comes with either choice.
Spain splits school into público, concertado and privado tracks, each with its own real cost and its own admissions rules, and knowing which one your family lands in decides almost everything else about your child's next school year.
One of the unexpectedly important yet seemingly trivial tasks for expats is tracking your presence both in Spain and elsewhere as a means to determine tax obligations and meet residency requirements. Learn how to count your days, confirm the requirements for your residency situation, and review the technologies available to help you.
Spain's economy grew 2.8% in 2025 and forming a company got cheaper and faster under a 2022 law. Here's what running a business as an expat actually looks like going into 2026: the real numbers, the kinds of businesses expats run, and the bureaucracy that hasn't caught up.
Spain's investigador permit routes non-EU academics, postdocs, and R&D staff through a fast-track unit at the labor ministry instead of the general immigration queue. Here's how the two legal routes actually work, what the money test looks like heading into the second half of 2026, and where predocs, postdocs, and corporate researchers really run into friction.
Spain Expat's helpful list of embassies and consulates for your home country and Spain. Includes American, Canadian, British, Irish, Australian, and Dutch embassies in Spain.
Our guides cover visas and residency, tax, healthcare, housing, work and everyday life here.
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