Spain Visa Types: Which Visa You Need to Visit, Study, Work, or Live in Spain

Spain visa types fall into two families: the Schengen visa, for stays of up to 90 days, and the national visa, for living here. The second family holds the routes that shape a move: study, work, remote work, retirement, or family. If you’re comparing the types of visas in Spain to plan a move, that’s the split that matters.

The detail with the biggest consequences comes next: a visa only gets you in. What lets you stay is the authorization attached to it and, once you’re in Spain, the card that proves it. And the route people still ask about most, the golden visa, no longer exists.

Below you’ll find which visa fits each case, how much money you need to show in 2026, how the process works, and the mistakes that sink applications.

What Is a Visa (and How It Differs From a Spain Residence Permit)

A visa is the authorization a Spanish consulate places in your passport so you can enter Spain for a specific purpose: visiting, studying, working, or residing. If you’ll stay longer than 90 days, you also need a stay or residence authorization and, once in Spain, the TIE (Foreigner Identity Card).

What it isn’t: a visa isn’t a Spain residence permit. The permit, which Spanish law calls an authorization, is what lets you live here, and the TIE is the card that proves it. It isn’t ETIAS either, the electronic travel authorization that visa-exempt travelers will need once it launches. We explain it with examples in our guide to the difference between a stay and residence.

For national visas, the consulate won’t issue the visa until the authorization has been granted. Authorization first, visa second.

Types of Visas in Spain: The Full Map

Apart from the airport transit visa, every Spanish visa fits into one of two groups: short-stay visas, for up to 90 days, and national visas, for living in Spain longer.

Organic Law 4/2000 lists them in Article 25 bis, and Royal Decree 1155/2024, Spain’s Immigration Regulation in force since May 20, 2025, sets out each route. This table sorts them by what matters to you: what each one is for and how much money you need to show.

Visa	What It’s For	Where to Apply	Minimum Funds (2026)
Airport transit (type A)	A layover in a Spanish airport without leaving the international zone	Consulate	Not applicable
Short-stay Schengen (type C)	Tourism, business, or visits, up to 90 days in 180, no work	Consulate or its outsourced visa center	€122 per day, with a €1,099 minimum
Student stay (type D)	Studies, training, internships, or volunteering longer than 90 days	Consulate, or the Immigration Office if you’re already in Spain legally	€600 a month
Non-lucrative residence (type D)	Living in Spain without working	Consulate	€2,400 a month, plus €600 per family member
Residence and work as an employee (type D)	Working under a contract with a company in Spain	The employer applies in Spain; you apply for the visa	Covered by the contract salary
Residence and work as a self-employed worker (type D)	Starting a business or freelancing	Consulate	Depends on the project
Family reunification (type D)	Joining a non-EU relative who already lives in Spain	Your relative applies in Spain; you apply for the visa	The sponsor: €900 a month for two, plus €300 per person
Entrepreneurs Act (type D)	Digital nomads, Highly Qualified Professionals, EU Blue Card, entrepreneurs, intra-company transfers	Consulate, or the UGE if you’re already in Spain legally	Digital nomad: about €2,849 a month
Seasonal work (type D)	Seasonal jobs of up to 9 months in any 12-month period	The employer, usually through recruitment in the country of origin	Covered by the contract

Put simply, before you look at requirements, answer two questions. How long will you stay? And why? The first tells you whether it’s a type C or type D visa; the second, which type D.

Schengen Visa Spain: Entering for Up to 90 Days

The Schengen visa (type C) lets you stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period in Spain and the rest of the Schengen Area.

It’s valid in all 29 Schengen countries, and the 90 days count across all of them at once. Since June 11, 2024, the fee has been €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 12, according to Spanish consulates. Children under 6 don’t pay. If you’re only changing planes without leaving the airport, some nationalities need an airport transit visa (type A).

One point worth knowing early: a Schengen visa doesn’t let you work or settle in Spain. Only a few specific cases allow you to apply for an authorization from inside Spain without going back home.

Do I Need a Visa for Spain?

It depends on your nationality, not on where you’re traveling from: the list is set by Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. According to the list published by Spanish consulates, citizens of the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Venezuela, among others, don’t need a visa for short stays. Citizens of Bolivia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Morocco, and India, for example, do.

Watch out for one detail: being visa-exempt doesn’t mean entering with no requirements. Your passport must remain valid for three months after your planned departure and must have been issued within the last 10 years. You also need to show the purpose of your trip and your funds.

On top of that, the Entry/Exit System (EES) logs every entry and exit of non-EU travelers on short stays at the border. It was rolled out in October 2025 and has been fully operational since April 10, 2026.

How Much Money Do You Need to Enter Spain?

In 2026, €122 per person per day of your stay and, in total, never less than €1,099, according to Spanish consulates. You can prove it with cash, traveler’s checks, a credit card with a statement, or an updated bank passbook. A tip that saves headaches: some consulates, such as the one in Washington, D.C., don’t accept bank letters or online statements.

Spain Long Stay Visa (Type D): The Visas for Living in Spain

The Spain visa type D, or national visa, is the one you need to spend more than 90 days in Spain, and it’s always tied to a purpose.

There are more specialized routes, such as research or job-search visas for certain profiles. But almost every move to Spain goes through one of these six.

1. Spain Student Visa: The Student Stay

It covers higher education, training, unpaid internships, or volunteering for more than 90 days. Spanish rules treat it as a student stay, not residence, and for higher education it lasts as long as your studies. According to Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, you must show 100% of the IPREM (Spain’s public income benchmark), or €600 a month, with special rules if your housing is already paid for. You can work up to 30 hours a week if the job fits around your studies.

2. Non-Lucrative Visa: Living Without Working

It’s designed for retirees and people living off pensions, savings, or investments. The Spanish consulate in Mexico City spells it out: €2,400 a month for the main applicant (400% of the IPREM, or €28,800 a year), plus €600 for each family member. The initial authorization lasts one year from entry and can then be renewed. Watch out for remote work: non-lucrative residence doesn’t allow any work, including remote work for a foreign company.

3. Spain Work Visa: Employees

Here, the employer takes the first step. It applies for the residence and work authorization in Spain and, with some exceptions, must show that Spain’s national employment situation allows it to hire from abroad. The simplest case is a job on Spain’s list of hard-to-fill occupations. Once the authorization is granted, you have one month to apply for the visa, and the consulate has another month to decide. In Spain, your employer registers you with Social Security within three months, and you apply for your TIE within one month of that registration.

4. Residence and Work as a Self-Employed Worker

This route is for starting a business or freelancing. You apply at the consulate with a project that has to convince the authorities: the activity, the planned investment, your qualifications and, where needed, licenses. If your project is innovative, look at the entrepreneur route in point 6 first.

5. Family Reunification

It lets you bring your spouse, your children, or, with additional requirements, your parents once you’re living in Spain as a non-EU resident. According to the Ministry of Inclusion, the sponsor must have one year of residence and have applied to renew for at least another year. They must also show 150% of the IPREM for a family of two (€900 a month) and €300 for each additional person. Your relative files in Spain; you then have two months to apply for the visa. Family members of Spanish citizens follow a different set of rules.

6. Digital Nomad Visa Spain and Other Entrepreneurs Act Routes

Law 14/2013, known as the Entrepreneurs Act, groups the routes Spain uses to attract talent and investment, handled by the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE). The most searched-for route is international remote work. According to the UGE’s official FAQ, it requires income of 200% of the minimum wage. With the 2026 minimum wage (€17,094 a year, set by Royal Decree 126/2026), that’s about €2,849 a month, plus 75% of the minimum wage for the first family member and 25% for each additional one.

You also need a degree or three years of experience and, if you’re an employee, three months with the company. The visa lasts up to one year; if you apply for the authorization from inside Spain, it can last up to three. We cover it in detail on our digital nomad visa page.

The same group includes Highly Qualified Professionals, the EU Blue Card (its 2026 salary threshold is set by Order PJC/44/2026), entrepreneurs with a favorable report from ENISA (Spain’s public innovation lender), and transfers within a corporate group. A note for companies: if you’re moving a non-EU employee, these routes go through the UGE, not the general system. It’s the first thing we plan in every employee relocation to Spain.

Golden Visa Spain: Why It’s No Longer an Option

The golden visa no longer exists: Organic Law 1/2025 abolished investor residence on April 3, 2025.

The change went beyond buying a €500,000 home. According to the UGE, it struck out Articles 63 to 67 of Law 14/2013, which governed the investor visa as a whole. Applications filed before that date are decided under the old rules. Authorizations already granted remain valid and are renewed under the rules of their original grant.

We checked while preparing this guide in October 2026: Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT were still listing it as an option in some answers. If you want to invest and live in Spain, the alternatives are the entrepreneur route or, if you’ll live off your income, non-lucrative residence.

How to Get Residency in Spain With a Visa: Step by Step

If you’re wondering how to get residency in Spain from abroad, the order is almost always the same: route, paperwork, consulate, and, after you arrive, the TIE.

1. Choose the route that matches your real purpose, not the one that looks easiest. A route that doesn’t fit your case usually ends in a denial.
2. Gather the documents for your visa: national visa application form, photo, valid passport, proof of funds, health insurance and, depending on the route, a criminal record certificate that’s legalized or apostilled and translated.
3. Pay the fees: the visa fee, which may vary by nationality, and on some routes the authorization fee (Form 790, code 052).
4. File your application in person at the consulate that covers you or its outsourced visa center.
5. Pick up your visa within one month of being notified and enter Spain while it’s valid.
6. Apply for your TIE within one month of arrival, or of your Social Security registration if you’re coming to work as an employee.

Where Do I Apply for a Spain Visa?

At the Spanish consulate that covers the place where you legally live, or at the outsourced center it has designated (BLS International in the United States, for example). Some exceptions change the plan: the student stay and the Entrepreneurs Act routes, such as the digital nomad visa, can be requested from inside Spain if you’re here legally. And plan around the calendar: on most routes, the consulate has one month to decide, and if it doesn’t answer, the application is considered denied.

Spain Residency Visa Requirements: Mistakes That Sink Applications

Denials usually come from the file, not from the law: numbers that don’t add up, documents that don’t qualify, or a route that doesn’t fit.

• Using the non-lucrative visa to work remotely: it doesn’t allow any work or professional activity. If you work remotely, your route is the digital nomad visa.
• Using outdated figures: some sites still quote €27,000. In 2026, non-lucrative residence requires €28,800 a year, plus €7,200 per family member.
• Health insurance that falls short: it must come from an insurer authorized in Spain and cover the same risks as Spain’s public health system.
• Documents that aren’t legalized, translated, or current: each consulate sets how recent they must be. Check before you order your certificates.
• Missing deadlines: one month to pick up your visa and another for your TIE. Missing one can send you back to square one.

Here’s an example with numbers: a retired American couple with a minor child who want to live in Spain without working need €3,600 a month (€2,400 + €600 + €600), or €43,200 a year. With €30,000 in the bank, the application falls short. For the exact documents for each route, check the Ministry of Inclusion information sheets.

Knowing which visas exist is the easy part. The other half is picking the route that fits your case and filing an application with no gaps, because a wrong start can cost you months.

At ILLAY Legal, we review your situation, choose the right route with you, prepare your documents, and stay with you until you have your TIE, including when you’re a company relocating your team. We do it through our immigration services in Spain, 100% online and in your language. Tell us your nationality, why you want to come to Spain, and for how long, and we’ll tell you which visa fits and what to prepare.

Frequently Asked Questions About Spain Visa Types