Last updated on: Apr 11, 2020
Summary: An overview of how to move to Spain and immigration options for non-EU citizens. Covers different long-term visa options.
Many people have an ultimate goal to move from their homeland to another country, being reasons for migrating quite diverse but always having to do with poor economy, close-minded nations, political issues or some others that can be a lot more complex.
Be that as it may, millions emigrate from their countries of origin to other ones searching for an opportunity to have a better quality of life in general, and while there are many nations to go to, some offer better or worse conditions to emigrate, in terms of documentation and legalization requirements.
That is without mentioning aspects of culture, language and places that usually are quite relevant at the moment of considering moving to another country.
It seems that Spain is a nation that actually meets with all of these characteristics for being considered an immigration country. And that is a fact, with thousands of visitors arriving in Spain every year from all over the world.
But, what is it that Spain has that thousands want to live there? We will be answering that question, along with a few steps on how to immigrate the
Hispanic country if you are a first mover.
Spain is a transcontinental country located in the Iberian Peninsula, and that already means a location of privilege with no doubt, with the country surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and basically entries from every side. And such position in the world also means other thing: 8.000 kilometers of beaches with crystalline and turquoise waters.
Apart from that, Spain is a country that is ideal for immigrants and expats on other many ways, with great reasons on why moving and make a new living there. Here are a few of those reasons:
Spain is a beautiful country, with amazing architecture and places to go to: from bars to restaurants, square plazas and beaches. Gastronomy is outstanding with the paella and other delicious dishes.
However, the aspect that really shines about Spain in terms of culture and tourism that everyone wants to visit is the amazing number of cities, which with ease are of the most desired to live and know by people from the world with no doubt. Madrid and Barcelona, two of the greatest Spanish metropolis have millions of visitors per year, even more than the city of Paris, France.
Tolerance is an important matter for those that want to immigrate and arrive from countries with ruptured freedom. Spain is a nation that really stands out in terms of tolerance, and to prove that there are laws like the same-sex marriage that was introduced in 2005.
According to diverse surveys, Spanish people consider themselves as "open-minded" at least in 80 percent of the sample that was queried. This is ideal for people that feel pursued in their countries of origin when they belong to the LGBT community. This open-minded characteristic has to do with culture diversity, which is the next point.
Spain is a country built from the very beginning from diverse groups, and in the last hundred years becoming an immigration land, that has as a result a variety of cultures and people from virtually anywhere in the world. From Latinos and Afro Americans to Indians and Muslims, different ethnic groups can be found in every Spanish city.
This translates into outstanding ease for immigrants and expats to integrate into the Spanish society, even if they do not speak the language that well.
Being an immigration country, in all over Spain you will be able to find expat communities, very organized and supportive for new people arriving the different cities and helping to find "piso", along with recommendations and documents that are required to start putting together residency and other aspects.
Not only that, since there is nothing like home immigrant communities can make feel expats like they are in their own countries, in terms of traditions and celebrations, food and culture and even way of being.
Moving to another country may seem intimidating at first, due to all requirements it may involve. Nevertheless, with the right advice and recommendations it can be a lot easier to go to Spain and even get residency.
In order to move to Spain, you will need to follow the following steps:
The previous steps can be considered a little too easy or simple, and they are. In order to know a bit better what you will need, you can read the next advice and tips to get a visa that is valid to live in Spain.
Wrapping Up…
Following these recommendations, the process can get a little bit easier and save time, and most importantly to avoid setbacks that usually occur when requiring a visa to go to Spain, but due to the ignorance about details or important things. At the end, sacrifice and work will worth it to find a better life in a beautiful country like Spain.
Carla Gonzalez is the Content Manager for MySpanishResidency, a small blog for expats looking for information on moving to Spain. She started this blog when she moved from Brasil to Spain, with the objective of clarifying all the legal procedures when coming to the country. Now she's partnered up with some law boutiques to offer more and better information for readers.
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Updated On: Apr 11, 2020
First Published: Apr 11, 2020
Get a quote for expat health insurance in Spain from our partner, Cigna Global Health.
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