All questions and answers

What is Move Spain?

Move Spain is an online relocation paperwork service for people moving to Spain. You answer plain questions about your move, and we prepare the required paperwork, check your information and help coordinate the official process.

It is a private service, not a government office. We prepare and guide, the Spanish authorities decide.

Who is Move Spain for?

People and families with EU or EEA citizenship who are moving to Spain, or buying or renting a home there. If you are moving with a partner, children or parents, one household covers all of you.

We do not currently support non-EU routes such as visas or the TIE residence card, because those follow a different procedure.

What problem does it solve?

Spanish relocation administration is spread across different authorities and local requirements. Most people lose time finding out what applies to them.

Move Spain replaces that with one guided route: what applies to you, what to provide, what it costs, and what happens next.

Does Move Spain submit my application to the government?

No. We prepare the required paperwork, check your information and help arrange the appointment. You complete the official step yourself where the authority requires it. Government decisions and official registrations stay with the Spanish authorities.

What is an NIE?

Your Spanish Foreigner Identification Number (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is a personal number used for almost every administrative, financial and legal act in Spain: signing a rental or purchase contract, opening a bank account, starting work.

It is an identification number, not a residence permit or an automatic right to live or work in Spain.

Do I need an NIE to live in Spain?

In practice, yes. You need it as soon as you sign anything financial or legal in Spain, which for most people happens before or immediately after arriving.

If you are staying long term, the authorities also expect EU citizens to register as residents, which is a separate step with its own form.

What is the difference between the NIE and the TIE?

The NIE is a number. The TIE is a physical foreigner identity card issued to non-EU citizens.

As an EU or EEA citizen you receive a certificate carrying your NIE number rather than a TIE card. Move Spain supports the EU route.

What is the difference between the NIE, EU registration and the padrón?

The NIE is your Spanish identification number for foreigners. EU registration is your registration as an EU citizen living in Spain, and it produces the green certificate that carries your NIE. The padrón is your registration with the municipality where you actually live.

They are three different steps at three different bodies. Most people need the NIE first, the padrón for their address, and EU registration when they are staying longer than three months.

What is the Padrón?

The Padrón is your municipality's register of residents. Registering on it is called empadronamiento, and the proof you receive afterwards is the padrón certificate.

In plain terms, it is how you officially tell your Town Hall that you live at your address.

Why do I need to register with my municipality?

Your padrón registration proves where you actually live. Local services ask for it: schools, public health care, resident parking, resident discounts, and many later administrative steps.

It also determines which Town Hall handles you, which affects the documents you need.

Do I need an appointment?

Many official procedures require an appointment. Move Spain helps arrange the required appointment once your application is ready, but availability is decided by the authority rather than by us.

Can you guarantee a government appointment?

No. Government appointment availability is controlled by the relevant authority. We identify the relevant authority and help arrange the appointment once your file is ready.

If a slot cannot be found in the period you hoped for, we tell you honestly rather than promising a date we do not control.

Can I do some of this myself?

Yes. Some steps are straightforward if you speak Spanish, live nearby and have time, and sometimes the easiest option is to do it yourself. Where that is the case for your situation, we say so.

Our service is for people who want the route worked out, the paperwork prepared and the information checked before the official step.

Can my whole family be included?

Yes. Move Spain is built around a household rather than around a single application. Your shared information, such as your Spanish address, is entered once, while each person keeps their own identity, their own documents and their own procedures.

You pay one package price for the household plus a clear price per additional person, instead of buying a full package again for every family member.

Can I add my partner or children later?

Yes. You can add a household member after you start, and the platform recalculates only the difference. Anything you already provided that applies to the whole household is reused instead of being asked again.

Does everyone need their own documents?

Each person needs their own identity documents, because the authorities identify people individually. Household documents such as proof of address are uploaded once and reused for everyone who lives there.

What government fees do I have to pay?

Official government fees and charges imposed by the relevant Spanish authorities are separate from Move Spain's service fee and may be payable by the customer.

Are government fees included in the Move Spain price?

No, and no relocation service can include them, because they are paid to the authority in your name. Your Move Spain price covers preparation, checking, official form completion, coordination and tracking.

Official government fees are separate from the Move Spain service price.

Which package is right for me?

Move Start is for people who mainly need their NIE prepared, for example to buy property, open a bank account or sign a contract.

Move Essential is for people actually moving to Spain, who need the NIE plus registration at their Town Hall.

What does a partner or child cost?

Move Start: a partner is +€49 and each child under 18 is +€29, with a household maximum of €199. Move Essential: a partner is +€69 and each child under 18 is +€39, with a household maximum of €249. Each person is shown as a separate line before you pay.

The household maximum applies automatically: your total can never exceed €199 for Move Start or €249 for Move Essential, no matter how many household members you add.

What happens after I pay?

Your dashboard opens with the next steps for your household and anything we still need from you.

What documents do I need to move to Spain?

It depends on your procedures and your municipality, which is why we generate your list from your own answers rather than publishing one generic checklist. For almost everyone it starts with a clear copy of the passport or national ID you will use, and proof of your Spanish address.

We tell you what information is required after you start, based on your situation and municipality.

What happens after I submit my documents?

Every upload is checked: readable, complete, the right document, and still valid where an expiry date matters. If something is wrong you get a specific message saying what to change, not a generic error.

We use approved information to prepare and coordinate the official process.

How do I know where my application stands?

Your dashboard shows a live timeline per person and per procedure: what is done, what is waiting on you, what is waiting on an authority, and what is next. It updates as things move, so you never need to ask for a status.

What happens if I already have an NIE?

Then we skip it. The intake asks whether you already have one, and your route only contains the procedures you still need, with the price adjusted to match.

What happens if I already live in Spain?

Living here already usually shifts the focus to registration and follow-up steps rather than to first arrival. The intake asks where you live now, and builds the route from that answer.

Can I use Move Spain if I live outside Palma?

Yes. The NIE follows national rules regardless of your municipality. Town Hall registration is set per municipality, so where we hold verified local rules we apply them, and where we do not we confirm the exact document list with your Town Hall before your appointment rather than publishing an unverified list.

Does Move Spain work in Ibiza or on the mainland?

Move Spain serves Mallorca. The wider Move Spain platform is built to add destinations, and each destination only goes live once its local information has been verified. You can see which destinations are live on the destinations page.

Do I need to speak Spanish?

No. The platform uses plain language and does not assume knowledge of Spanish administration.