6-Tips-for-Making-Your-Move-to-Spain-in-2022
Tips on moving to Spain

Spain has a lot to offer British residents looking for better weather, beautiful scenery, and a change of scenery whether living, working, or even retiring in Spain. There are various bureaucratic hurdles you need to get over but with a little bit of proper planning its still very possible to be in line with new EU laws and regulations to make your way to your dream Spanish Villa.

1. Start Your NIE Process Early
Every transaction in Spain requires an NIE (Numero de Identificacion el Extranjero), which isn’t hard for an expat to get. This is a requirement for every transaction, and as stated it’s not hard or complicated to pick up however it does take time.

So start that NIE application process early so you’re not waiting weeks or months when you’re ready move

2. Open a Spanish Bank Account
You don’t need all your savings here – in fact that’s not advisable, but having a Spanish Bank account makes life much easier and makes everything easier from working in Spain to buying a home. Having an in-country bank and account just saves a lot of headaches and cuts out a lot of complications that you might otherwise run into.

3. Study the Culture
Attitudes towards time, closing for a few hours in the early afternoons (siestas are somewhat overstated – but many restaurants and businesses still shut down for a few hours in early afternoon), and the pace of life are very different than what you’re going to be used to coming out of London or other parts of Britain. These can be huge culture shocks and looking ahead of time at how the daily pace of life is different will help prepare you for the adjustments that will be inevitable when making the move to Spain.

4. Visit Expat Communities Before Moving
There are a lot of Brits who chose the expat life to Spain, and it’s worth visiting once or twice. Talk to other expats who have made the move. Ask them for advice, talk about the biggest challenges they had adjusting, and you’ll get relevant firsthand information that can help with the process.

This also lets you check out popular areas and decide whether you want to be part of an expat community, close by, or if an area just really isn’t your taste. This is always a better decision than a blind move.

5. Learn the National Holidays
Spain has a reputation for loving the days off whether national holidays, regional holidays, or Catholic holidays. There might be multiple days where the city shuts down that you’re not familiar with and you don’t want that to be grocery day or a day you were planning to visit a new care across town.

6. Start The Process ASAP
Parts of the process can be a bit complicated or convoluted and sometimes it’s easy but takes a lot of time. The sooner the overall process of opening bank accounts, getting an NIE, and starting the immigration paperwork starts, the sooner you will be able to make that move to sunny Spain.

The sooner you start, the sooner you get there.

Follow these steps, observe any changes in EU/Spain immigration laws, and you’ll have a much smoother transition. More about Removals to Spain