Moving to Spain from Poland

More and more Poles settle in Spain to work, to work remotely for Polish clients or to retire by the sea. As an EU citizen you need no visa or permit, but you do need to register and sort out where you pay social security and tax, which is key if you keep invoicing through a sole proprietorship in Poland. Here are the steps and the points that raise the most questions.

Key facts

• Entry and work: with a dowód osobisty 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 Polish public documents need no apostille; to avoid a sworn translation use the multilingual standard form or the odpis wielojęzyczny.
• Driving: a Polish prawo jazdy is valid without exchange; as a resident you will renew it with Spain’s DGT.
• Citizenship: Spanish citizenship requires 10 years of legal residence, DELE A2, CCSE and a declaration of renunciation. Under Polish law, Polish citizenship is not lost by acquiring another; it can only be renounced with the consent of the President of the Republic.

How people usually move

• Employment. Contract and social security registration; then you apply for the registration certificate. EU registration certificate
• Remote work or your own business. You can register with your income or as self-employed in Spain. If you keep your business registered in Poland (JDG), check with an adviser where you must pay social security (A1 form from ZUS) and where you pay tax while living here.
• Retirees. You register with your resources and the S1 form from the NFZ, which you register with the INSS.
• Studies. Enrolment, health insurance and a declaration of resources.
• Non-EU family. A spouse, registered partner, children or dependent parents from outside the EU (for example Ukrainians or Belarusians) get the residence card for family members of an EU citizen. Family of EU citizens
• Spanish citizenship. After 10 years of legal, continuous residence. Spanish citizenship

Documents and apostille

• Dowód osobisty or passport, valid.
• Zaświadczenie z Krajowego Rejestru Karnego: not required for EU registration, but required for citizenship. You can get it online through e-KRK, at a KRK information point or by post with the form and proof of payment.
• Odpis aktu urodzenia and aktu małżeństwa, ideally the multilingual version or with the EU multilingual form. Documents and translations
• Social security forms: A1 from ZUS if you keep contributing in Poland, or S1 from the NFZ if you are a pensioner.
• Proof of the basis for registration: contract and social security registration, self-employment registration, enrolment, or resources and health insurance.

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 dowód osobisty or passport. It is issued on the spot.
• Common mistake: living in Spain while leaving your Polish business set-up unreviewed. With more than 183 days a year here you are tax resident in Spain; the Spain–Poland double taxation agreement decides which country taxes each type of income.
• Passports, ID cards, transcription of birth certificates of children born in Spain and powers of attorney are handled by the Polish Embassy in Madrid or the Polish consulate for your area.
• In Spain: padrón, social security registration or S1 registration with the INSS, and a health card.

Frequently asked questions

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