Spain Immigration Lawyers for English-Speaking Expats

If you are looking for a Spain immigration lawyer free consultation, we should be straight with you: we do not offer one, and it is on purpose. A free call is a sales call: somebody spends fifteen minutes on your case and tells you what you want to hear, because the money is in getting you to sign.

Our first consultation is a paid legal review. A lawyer reads your actual documents and tells you whether your case works, what a consulate would question, and how much help you really need. You leave with an answer either way, including the times the answer is that your file is fine and you only need someone to check it before you send it.

If we think your case will be refused, we say so in that first review rather than after you have paid for an application.

The biggest change is the new Immigration Regulation, Royal Decree 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025. It replaced the 2011 regulation and, among other things, cut the time you must have lived in Spain for most arraigo permits from three years to two. Royal Decree 316/2026 amended it in April 2026 and opened a one-off regularisation for people already living in Spain. That window closed on 30 June 2026.

The Golden Visa is gone for new applicants. Organic Law 1/2025 abolished the investor residence route from 3 April 2025, and only people who already hold one can renew it. For most people moving now, the routes are the non-lucrative visa, which asks the main applicant to show €2,400 a month in 2026, and the digital nomad visa, at €2,850 a month gross from remote work.

It depends on the route and on how complicated the file is. A document check on a straightforward application is a fraction of full representation on a case with a previous refusal behind it. We read your situation first and quote for that, and if you only need the smaller service we will say so. The fee is fixed per procedure and agreed in writing before we start. We do not bill by the hour.

Yes. We offer online appointments wherever you are. To get started, book your Spain immigration lawyer consultation through our contact form or send us a WhatsApp, and we will find a time that suits you.

Income that does not clearly meet the threshold, or that comes from sources the consulate does not treat as stable. Health insurance that is not a Spanish compliant policy. Documents legalised or translated the wrong way. Gaps in a criminal record certificate. And timing: papers that expire between being issued and being read.

Spain has a legal aid system called justicia gratuita, but it is meant for court proceedings and applicants below an income threshold, not for visa or residence applications. For immigration paperwork you are paying privately, so it is worth knowing how much help you actually need before you commit to a full service.

Since Brexit, UK citizens are considered third-country nationals. Popular options include the Non-Lucrative Visa, Entrepreneur Visa, and Student Visa. A qualified immigration lawyer Spain expert is crucial for navigating post-Brexit rules.

Easier than most Americans expect, as long as you can show income. Neither the non-lucrative visa nor the digital nomad visa needs a job offer in Spain. What catches people out is rarely the visa itself. It is the paperwork around it: apostilles, sworn translations, insurance, and getting an appointment at the consulate that covers your state.

Yes. Our entire team is fluent in English and most of our clients are English-speaking expats from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand. Our firm is based in Barcelona and we represent clients across Spain online. We also work in Spanish, French and German.

The rules are not hard to understand. The difficulty is administrative. Every document has to be the right version, legalised the right way, and still valid on the day somebody reads it. Most refusals we see are not people who failed to qualify. They are people who qualified and filed badly.

Yes. We are a leading Spain Digital Nomad Visa lawyer firm, processing over 200 DNV files per year for remote workers and freelancers from the US, UK, Canada and Australia. We assess employer-of-record structures, advise on Beckham Law tax election (24% flat rate) and submit electronically before the UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas), reducing typical processing time to 20 working days.

An abogado, or abogada for a woman. To practise, a lawyer has to be registered with a Spanish bar association (colegio de abogados), and you can check the membership number in that bar's register. A gestor is a different profession. Gestores prepare and file paperwork, and many do it well, but they cannot take your case to court if the administration refuses it.

Yes, and timing matters. Most immigration decisions can be challenged with a request for reconsideration within one month of notification, or in court within two months. We read the refusal, tell you whether to appeal or to file a new application, and handle either one.

A law firm. Your case is handled by a practising lawyer registered with the Pamplona Bar, and our advice covers Spanish immigration law and the tax rules that come with residency.