VAMOS
VAMOS | Spain Legal Services
Guides
Spain Legal Guides
Free, plain-English answers to the paperwork questions every expat hits. Written and verified by our legal team. Last verified: August 2026.
Document checklists
Exactly what goes in the file, before you book anything.
- Student visa document checklist
- Digital nomad visa document checklist
- Work visa document checklist
- Non-lucrative visa document checklist
- Family reunification document checklist
- NIE application document checklist
- TIE appointment document checklist
- Empadronamiento document checklist
- Arraigo social file checklist
- Citizenship application file checklist
- Marriage registration document checklist
- Pareja de hecho document checklist
- Bank account document checklist
- Property purchase document checklist
- Apostille document checklist
- Driving licence exchange checklist
Choosing between options
Two routes, one honest comparison.
Timelines and costs
How long it really takes, and what actually causes delays.
- NIE: timeline and cost
- TIE: approval to card in hand
- Arraigo: first day to residence card
- Spanish citizenship: the real timeline
- Family reunification: timeline and fees
- Visa refused: appeal deadlines
- Forming an SL: timeline and costs
- Degree homologation: timeline expectations
- Empadronamiento: how fast you can register
- Apostille turnaround times by country
Step-by-step walkthroughs
The forms and appointments, in order, with the classic mistakes flagged.
Plain-English explainers
The concepts behind the paperwork, demystified.
- NIE, DNI, NIF, CIF: the number alphabet
- NIE, TIE, residencia, padron explained
- Spain visa types explained
- The nota simple: how to read it
- What a gestor administrativo actually is
- IPREM: the number behind income requirements
- Silencio administrativo explained
- Reposicion, alzada, contencioso: the appeal ladder
- Empadronamiento myths that cost money
- Why files get archived
- Why procedures differ by province
- The convenio especial: buying into public healthcare
- Spain immigration glossary
Living in Spain
The bigger-picture guides for planning the move.
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