Yes. Spain places no restrictions on foreign nationals — EU or non-EU — owning property. The only essential is an NIE, the foreigner's tax number. But buying property does not, by itself, grant you the right to live in Spain. Here is what foreign buyers really need to know.
Foreign nationals can buy property in Spain freely. There is no nationality restriction on ownership: whether you are an EU citizen, a British buyer after Brexit, an American, a Canadian or from anywhere else, you have the same right to own a Spanish home as a Spaniard does. The one administrative essential is an NIE — the Número de Identidad de Extranjero — which you need to pay the taxes, sign the deed and register your ownership.
The crucial point that catches many buyers out is this: buying property does not give you the right to live in Spain. Ownership and residency are two entirely separate things. You can own a home outright and still only be allowed to spend limited time there if you are a non-EU citizen, because the right to stay is governed by immigration and visa rules, not by what you own. Nationality affects your tax position and your right to live in Spain — it does not affect your right to buy. The differences below are about those two things, not about whether you are allowed to own.
Your nationality does not change whether you can own a Spanish property. It changes how long you can stay, and how you are treated for tax.
EU and non-EU buyers have identical rights to buy, own, rent out and sell Spanish property. The purchase process, the contracts and the registration are the same regardless of where you are from.
EU citizens have freedom of movement and can live in Spain without a visa. Non-EU citizens are limited by the Schengen 90/180 rule unless they hold a residence visa. Owning a home does not change this for either group.
Non-resident owners pay the same core property taxes whether EU or not, but the rate on rental income and certain reliefs can differ between EU/EEA and non-EU non-residents. The detail depends on your tax residence and double-tax treaties.
Both EU and non-EU buyers can obtain a Spanish mortgage as non-residents, but lenders often offer non-residents a lower loan-to-value and may apply different conditions depending on nationality and income source.
The single legal requirement for a foreigner buying in Spain is the NIE. It is a tax and identification number issued to non-Spaniards, and without it you cannot complete a purchase: it is needed to pay your transfer tax, to sign the escritura before the notary, and to register your ownership at the Land Registry. It is not a residence permit and it does not give you any right to live in Spain — it is simply the number the Spanish system uses to identify you as a foreign taxpayer and owner.
You can apply for an NIE in Spain at a designated police station, or before you travel at a Spanish consulate in your home country. Timescales vary widely with location and season, which is why it is the step most worth arranging early. Many foreign buyers — particularly those purchasing remotely — have their NIE obtained on their behalf by a lawyer under a power of attorney, removing the need to attend in person at all. Our dedicated guide to the NIE for buying property in Spain walks through the process, and we routinely obtain it for clients as part of the conveyancing.
Once you own a Spanish property, the most important distinction for your tax and your obligations is not your nationality but whether you are tax-resident in Spain or not. A non-resident owner — someone whose main home and tax residence remain abroad — is taxed differently from a resident owner, and the two regimes diverge in ways that affect what you pay each year and when you sell.
Non-resident owners pay an annual non-resident income tax even on a property they do not rent out (an imputed tax on the deemed benefit of owning it), tax on any rental income, the annual IBI local property tax, and they face a special arrangement when they sell — the buyer must withhold a percentage of the price and pay it to the tax office on the non-resident seller's account. Resident owners are taxed within the ordinary Spanish income tax system instead. Whether you are resident or non-resident also interacts with the higher of the price or the valor de referencia for transfer tax, and with capital gains when you sell. Our guides to buying as a resident versus a non-resident and to non-resident property tax set out the practical differences.
For years, non-EU buyers had a route that linked a property purchase to residency: Spain's Golden Visa granted a residence permit to non-EU investors who bought property above a set value. That route is no longer available. The property-based Golden Visa was ended in 2025, removing the option of obtaining Spanish residency simply by buying a qualifying home. Buying property in Spain today gives you ownership and nothing more in immigration terms — it does not lead to a residence permit.
This matters because some buyers still arrive expecting a purchase to open a door to living in Spain. It does not. If residency is part of your plan, you must look at the immigration routes that exist on their own merits — and those are a separate exercise from the purchase. The purchase itself is straightforward and open to any foreigner; the right to live in Spain has to be pursued through the appropriate visa, independently of what you buy. Being clear about this from the outset avoids disappointment and helps you plan the two things — owning and staying — as the distinct matters they are.
Owning a Spanish property as a foreigner brings recurring obligations that are easy to overlook in the excitement of buying. Budgeting for them from the start — alongside the one-off cost of buying — is part of buying sensibly, and failing to keep up with them can create problems that surface only when you come to sell.
For a foreigner, the legal right to buy in Spain is the easy part — the value of good advice lies in everything around it: getting the NIE, understanding the tax and residency position honestly, structuring the ownership sensibly, and making sure the property itself is sound before you commit. We act for English-speaking buyers of every nationality, EU and non-EU alike, and we explain the whole picture in plain English so you know exactly where you stand on ownership, on staying, and on tax.
On the purchase itself we obtain your NIE, run the full due diligence, handle the contracts and completion, and register your ownership. Around it we advise on the resident-versus-non-resident question, the ongoing taxes you will face, how to hold the property, and the case for a Spanish will. We act only for the buyer — never the seller, agent or developer — and we quote our fees clearly and upfront before any work begins. Where matters such as a company structure, succession planning or a residence application fall outside the conveyancing, we tell you what is involved and quote for it. Extras may apply depending on the complexity of your circumstances.
Yes. Spain places no restrictions on foreign nationals owning property — EU or non-EU buyers have the same right to buy as Spaniards. The only legal essential is an NIE, the foreigner's tax number, which you need to pay the taxes, sign the deed and register your ownership.
No. Buying a property does not, by itself, give you the right to live in Spain. Ownership and residency are separate. The property-route Golden Visa, which previously linked investment to a residence permit, ended in 2025, so there is now no purchase that on its own grants residency.
For ownership, there is no difference — both can buy, own, rent out and sell freely. The difference is in the right to stay and in tax. EU citizens have freedom of movement; non-EU citizens are limited by the Schengen 90/180 rule unless they hold a residence visa. Some tax rates and reliefs also differ between EU/EEA and non-EU non-residents.
Yes. The NIE is the one legal requirement for a foreign buyer. You need it to pay your transfer tax, sign the escritura before the notary and register your ownership. It is an identification and tax number, not a residence permit, and grants no right to live in Spain. It can be obtained in person or by a lawyer under a power of attorney.
Non-EU citizens without a Spanish residence permit can normally stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period as visitors. Owning a property does not extend this. To live in Spain for longer, a non-EU owner needs an appropriate residence visa, which is a separate immigration matter.
Yes. British nationals can buy property in Spain exactly as before — Brexit did not change the right to own. What changed is that UK buyers are now treated as non-EU citizens for the right to stay, so they are subject to the 90/180 rule unless they hold a residence visa, and some non-resident tax treatment differs from EU buyers.
It turns on whether you are tax-resident in Spain. Non-resident owners pay an annual non-resident income tax even without renting the property, tax on any rental income, and face a withholding when they sell. Resident owners are taxed within the ordinary Spanish income tax system. The distinction shapes your annual bill and your position on sale.
Yes. Both EU and non-EU foreigners can obtain a Spanish mortgage as non-residents. Lenders typically offer non-residents a lower loan-to-value than residents and may apply different conditions depending on nationality and income source, so the terms vary. Allow extra time, as financing lengthens the purchase timeline.
No. The property-based Golden Visa, which granted residency to non-EU investors buying a qualifying property, ended in 2025. Buying a Spanish home today gives you ownership only and no residency. If residency is part of your plan, you must pursue it through a separate immigration route on its own merits.
Rarely for a simple holiday home. Holding through a company, Spanish or foreign, can carry significant tax and reporting consequences and is usually not the right answer for individual buyers. Most foreigners buy in their own names. A company structure needs specific advice on your circumstances before you commit.
Foreign owners pay the annual IBI local property tax, and non-resident owners also pay an annual non-resident income tax even without renting out the property, plus tax on any rental income. There are community of owners fees where applicable, municipal charges, and a withholding when a non-resident sells. High-value holdings can attract wealth tax in some regions.
Yes. We act for English-speaking buyers of every nationality, EU and non-EU. We obtain your NIE, run full due diligence, handle the contracts and completion, register your ownership, and advise on the tax, residency and ownership-structure questions in plain English. We act only for the buyer and quote our fees clearly upfront. Extras may apply depending on complexity.
We help foreign buyers of every nationality understand ownership, staying and tax before they commit — then handle the NIE, the due diligence and completion. In plain English, acting only for you.
The information on this page is general guidance only and does not constitute legal, tax or immigration advice. The rules on residency, the Schengen 90/180 limit, non-resident taxation, ownership structures and visa routes change over time and depend on your nationality and circumstances. Always obtain advice on your specific situation before acting. Platinum Legal Spain is an independent English-speaking legal practice — a team of bar-registered solicitors and legal specialists — serving clients across Spain, and we quote our fees clearly before any work begins.