The legal and tax guide
for foreign buyers in Spain.

The path is the same whether you arrive from London, Dublin, New York or Toronto. What differs is your residency, your tax position at home and, since Brexit, how long British buyers may stay without a visa.

Read it before the viewings, not after a terrace has already won you over. Then search by location, property type, floor area and budget, and tell us what you are looking for.

The buying process, step by step

Foreign buyers can own property in Spain on broadly the same terms as Spanish owners. The work lies in the sequence: identity, advice, checks, contract and completion. Each step protects the next.

Much of it can be done from home. A power of attorney, signed before a notary in your own country and legalised for use in Spain, lets your lawyer sign on your behalf if you cannot travel.

• An NIE number, the tax identification every foreign buyer needs, requested at a Spanish consulate or in Spain.
• A Spanish bank account for the purchase and for the bills that follow.
• An independent lawyer who works for you alone, never for the seller.
• Due diligence: clean title at the land registry, no debts or charges, valid licences, planning status and boundaries that match the official records.
• Usually a reservation agreement, then a private contract with a deposit that binds both sides.
• Completion before a notary, payment of the balance and registration of the deeds in your name.

Taxes and running costs

The taxes on a purchase depend on whether the home is new or resale. A resale home carries a transfer tax set by each region. A new build carries VAT and a stamp duty instead. Notary, registry and legal fees come on top.

Ownership brings its own costs: local property tax, community fees where there are shared grounds, and an annual non-resident tax that applies even when the house is simply yours to enjoy. Depending on the region and the size of your assets, a wealth tax may also apply.

Inheritance and gift tax differ from region to region, which matters when you decide whose name goes on the deeds. Rules change often, so a tax specialist should confirm your position before you sign.

After Brexit, and from Canada or the United States

Since Brexit, British buyers stand where Americans and Canadians always have: outside the European Union, free to buy, limited in how long they can stay without a visa. Owning a home in Spain does not lift that limit.

Non-resident tax also treats you as an owner from outside the EU, which can change what you pay each year. Spain has tax treaties with the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, among others, and your advisers on both sides should read yours together.

Expect careful identity and source-of-funds checks from banks and notaries, and plan the currency transfer early. A calm transfer is part of a calm completion.

Residency and citizenship: what a home can and cannot do

Buying a house in Spain does not grant residency or citizenship. Spain has ended the investor visa that was once linked to property, so a purchase alone opens no door to living here.

Residency rests on other grounds: a visa for people of independent means who will not work in Spain, a visa for remote workers, family ties or, for EU citizens, simple registration. Citizenship may follow only after a long period of legal residence, under its own rules. The Spain page of this guide looks at these routes more closely.

Whichever route suits you, the home comes first. Whether you are browsing luxury homes for sale in general or drawn to villas, mansions, penthouses and apartments or open land, the legal path above stays the same. The investment side has a guide of its own.