i am a u.s. citizen looking to expat myself to the costa del sol area.  what would it take to get a residency visa? or is it even possible?  also i work offshore in the oilfields of the world, and am gone seven months a year.  could anyone help me with the taxation laws pretaining to spain.  regards

Try this:

VISAS INFORMATION

LEGAL STATUS OF NON-EU CITIZENS IN SPAIN

http://extranjeros.mtas.es/es/general/Folletos_informativos.html

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Regarding tax - I think other American/Canadian posters on this site are more qualified to answer than me but I thought you guys always declared in the states as there is no double taxation treaty for USA:Spain…..........