France and Spain share a border, families and a dual nationality treaty in force since 2022. Many French people have Spanish parents or grandparents, others cross the Pyrenees daily for work and others retire here. As an EU citizen you need no visa; this guide sums up registration, healthcare, documents and the route to Spanish citizenship without losing French nationality.
Key facts
- Entry and work: with a carte nationale d’identité or passport you live and work in Spain without a visa or permit.
- Registration: if you stay longer than three months, apply within that period for the EU registration certificate (certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE) at the Central Register of Foreign Nationals; it includes your NIE. After five years of continuous legal residence you can apply for permanent residence.
- Documents: under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, French civil status records and the casier judiciaire extract need no apostille; the multilingual standard form avoids translation.
- Driving: a French permis de conduire is valid without exchange; as a resident you will renew it with Spain’s DGT.
- Citizenship: the general period of 10 years of legal residence still applies, with DELE A2 and CCSE, but the Spain–France Nationality Convention (Montauban, 2021; in force since 1 April 2022) lets you keep French nationality.
How people usually move
- Work or business in Spain. Contract and social security registration, or registration as self-employed; then you register. EU registration certificate
- Living in Spain, working in France. Common in the Basque Country, Navarre and Catalonia. You keep contributing in France and your French fund issues the S1 form for Spanish healthcare; you register here as a resident.
- Retirees. You register with your resources and the S1 from your French pension scheme, which you register with the INSS.
- Remote work for France. You do not need the digital nomad visa; you register with your income and health insurance. Check the A1 form and tax with your employer.
- Spanish roots. If your father or mother was Spanish when you were born, you may already be Spanish by origin and only need to register at the consular Civil Registry; if they were Spanish by origin and born in Spain, you can opt with no time limit. The grandchildren route under the Democratic Memory Law closed on 22 October 2025. If your grandfather or grandmother was Spanish by origin, you can apply for citizenship after 1 year of legal residence in Spain (art. 22.2.f of the Civil Code). Spanish citizenship
- Non-EU family. A spouse, registered partner (for example a registered PACS), children or dependent parents from outside the EU get the residence card for family members of an EU citizen. Family of EU citizens
Documents and apostille
- Carte nationale d’identité or passport, valid.
- Extrait de casier judiciaire (bulletin n°3): not required for EU registration, but required for citizenship. It is free online from the Casier judiciaire national, including if you were born outside France.
- Birth and marriage certificates with the EU multilingual form (or the plurilingual extract) to avoid translation. Documents and translations
- S1 form from your French fund if you are a retiree or cross-border worker; if you work in Spain, your social security registration.
- Spanish certificates of your parents or grandparents, as full literal copies, if you rely on ancestry.
What to keep in mind
- The registration certificate is requested in person, by appointment, at the immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) of your province or at a National Police station: form EX-18, fee 790 code 012 and your ID card or passport. It is issued on the spot.
- A common mistake in border areas: living in Spain without registering or joining the padrón because “we are Europeans”. If you live here more than three months, registration is compulsory and is what proves your legal residence.
- Passports, ID cards and optional registration in the Registre des Français établis hors de France are handled by the French consulate for your area.
- Tax: with more than 183 days a year in Spain you are tax resident here. The France–Spain double taxation agreement allocates which country taxes salaries, pensions and other income; review it before moving.
Frequently asked questions
Can I become Spanish without losing French nationality?
Yes. Since 1 April 2022 the Spain–France Nationality Convention lets you acquire Spanish nationality while keeping French nationality. You still need 10 years of legal, continuous residence, DELE A2 and CCSE. People who had already acquired one of the two nationalities by renouncing the other can also benefit from the convention.
My grandfather was Spanish. Is there a route for me?
The specific grandchildren route under the Democratic Memory Law closed on 22 October 2025. Check whether your father or mother was Spanish when you were born: if so, you may be Spanish by origin. If not, but your grandfather or grandmother was Spanish by origin, 1 year of legal residence in Spain is enough (art. 22.2.f of the Civil Code); otherwise the general period is 10 years.
I live in Spain and work in France. Where do I contribute and get healthcare?
You contribute in France, where you work. Your French fund issues the S1 form, which you register with the INSS to get a Spanish health card. For tax, if you live here you are resident in Spain and the France–Spain treaty decides which country taxes your salary.
Official sources
- La Moncloa: entra en vigor el convenio de nacionalidad entre España y Francia
- BOE: Convenio de nacionalidad entre el Reino de España y la República Francesa (Montauban, 2021)
- Service-Public.fr: extrait de casier judiciaire (bulletin n°3)
- Policía Nacional: certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE
- Ministerio de Hacienda: convenios para evitar la doble imposición