Has anyone moved from the US to Spain?

Question

All politics aside, my husband and I are sick of the decline of the US. We recently visited Spain and would like to move there. Has anyone moved from the US to Spain and what are the requirements for residency? What steps do we take and how long is the process?

Answer 1

My wife and I bought an apartment in Spain (my wife is dual cit) and we also shipped our household good from USA to Spain; there were some minor problems we encountered, most of them due to our negligence; but overall it was a faily decent experience.

I cannot tell you how to do it because I'm currently in Africa and don't have the documentation available; if you want send me an e-mail and will send you whatever info I have.

Basically, you must contact the Spanish Embassy and they'll give you the requirements depending on your status (returning citizen, military, or working visa); Biggest problem is the move, because if you are not registered in the ayuntamiento where you plan to live, you'll be charged duties on the value of your household good; another big factor is dealing with the bureocracy of the spanish embassy; it took us over a year to finalize everything; we used to live in Northern Virginia and were at the consulate weekly making a nuisance of ourselves.

Keep in mind that Spain is not longer what it used to be, and they have the same problems as we do in the States (crimes, pollution, illegal immigration etc.) I found that it is more enjoyable to visit for few months at a time than actually living there.  (I lworked and lived in Madrid for 8 yrs)

Best of luck

Answer 2

Yes, we did and it was a disaster.

We bought a house and it was taken over by the government without any notice.  They said it was to build a highway. But no highway was ever built and it was then sold to private developers.

Property rights in Spain are a MAJOR problem. Look it up.

Plus, people really hate you for being Americans. Even when you say you are a Democrat.  Many told us we deserved 9/11, we couldn't believe how intolerant they were.

Plus, Islamic immigrants from Africa are causing major problems. Nice place to visit but the country is in major decline. Sad.

Suggestion, move to Costa Rica.  Check out cities of Tamarindo and Jaco.  The Pacific Coast!!

Answer 3

Let me tell you that the first thing you need to know is that technically, as an American Citizen you are only allowed to stay here for three months. But before let me tell you that regardless you are planning to stay longer than that go and register at the "Ayuntamiento" of the place you are going to live at and make an "empadronamiento" You have a few options:

1. Look for a job before coming to Spain and have them give you a contract and make the arrangements for a work permit, and then you can stay for as long as your contract allows you to.

2. Apply for school of any kind, (Spanish language for foreigners is a good idea), you'll have to demonstrate that you can support yourself while here, and you will be able to get like a part-time work permit.

3. Come and just travel outside of the EU every three months. As I said before, get the "empadronamiento"

4. After two years of being "empadronado", registered at the "Ayuntamiento" and with a job contract, you'll be able to fix your migrating status.

I've been doing the third one and it's good because you get to know a lot of Europe.

Living in Madrid is great and I encourage you to come...There's a lot of work as English Teacher and in the meantime you can get a company to Sponsor you, for me hasn't worked yet though. I think coming to Madrid is the best I've done in life. I love it here.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to contact me through yahoo. I'd be happy to help.

Good Luck



P.S. I can give you much more information, but if you want, contact me through my email  or send me a message through my yahoo 360 page.

Answer 4

I'm from Canada, been here for over a year, and... let's be frank... I would rather not leave.

It's always beautiful out, people are rather open, unlike the French, Spaniards are not pretentious, the country is booming economically, and you can still get a decent deal on real estate, but they are getting harder and harder to come by.

A few warnings, though: people in Europe are generally anti-American these days and many don't really see the difference between Dems and Bush. They're also a bit oblivious to what exists beyond Spain's borders. There's a bit of racism (more out of ignorance that hatred), and, most importantly, MAKE SURE YOUR PAPERWORK IS OK. Otherwise you're in for a BIG headache.

Also, this country is pretty diverse, so you should know what you're looking for. Living in Barcelona has nothing to do with living in Basque country or in Madrid or in Andalusia or in Galicia...