Look inside
The plan for Spain, from the inside
These are all 29 steps of the Spain journey, exactly as they appear in your personal plan — with the lead time and the costs next to them. Not a brochure: this is the file that feeds the platform. Pick another country below if you're heading elsewhere.
For which country?
Every country has its own steps, its own order and its own clocks. Switch as often as you like.
- Steps
- 29
- Phases
- 5
- Official sources
- 41
- Only for your situation
- 9
Phase 1
6 steps
Orientation
There's no counter that stops you — and so nobody who tells you what to arrange either. This phase is that conversation.
- 1.1
Being allowed to stay is something else than being settled
- Lead time
- reading step
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 1.2
Know how you'll meet the income and healthcare requirement
- Lead time
- an evening of research; arranging it can take weeks
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 1.3
Choose your region
- Lead time
- weeks of research, preferably with a scouting trip
- Costs
- none — a scouting trip is a choice, not an obligation
2 official sources
- 1.4
Get a picture of what it's going to cost
- Lead time
- 1-2 hours with the calculator
- Costs
- none
- 1.5
The family conversation
- Lead time
- weeks, not hours
- Costs
- none
- 1.6
Choose your target date
- Lead time
- decision moment
- Costs
- none
Phase 2
9 steps
Closing the Netherlands
The biggest head start in this journey you take before departure: an NIE in your pocket, your evidence in order, and the Netherlands closed neatly.
- 2.1
Apply for your NIE at the Spanish consulate
- Lead time
- a few days to two weeks
- Costs
- fees — about ten euros per person
1 official source
- 2.2
Collect your basic documents
- Lead time
- 1-4 weeks
- Costs
- fees per extract, tens of euros in total
1 official source
- 2.3
Arrange healthcare cover that's valid in Spain
- Lead time
- researching and taking out, 1-3 weeks
- Costs
- premium depends on age and cover; with an S1 or Spanish work no extra policy needed
3 official sources
- 2.4
Know where you'll pay tax
- Lead time
- one good conversation with a tax adviser
- Costs
- advisory hours — depending on your situation
2 official sources
- 2.5
Deregister and close the Netherlands
- Lead time
- deregistering is possible from 5 days before departure; the whole takes 4-8 weeks
- Costs
- limited — cancellation costs per contract
2 official sources
- 2.6
Partner comes along without a job of their own
- Lead time
- an evening together, then a few things to arrange
- Costs
- none — the consequences are in the article
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.7
Living partly in the Netherlands: the eight-month rule
- Lead time
- one decision, before you commit to anything else
- Costs
- none
4 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.8
The house in the Netherlands: sell, rent out or keep
- Lead time
- one conversation with the mortgage lender and one with a tax adviser
- Costs
- advisory hours; when renting out possibly an interest surcharge from the bank
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.9
Children staying in the Netherlands: DUO, healthcare and the house
- Lead time
- an evening, and after that one report a year
- Costs
- none
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
Phase 3
5 steps
The move
Spain is reachable by road, so you have real choice — and this is the only part of the journey that's fully reversible until the lorry drives. Decide late.
- 3.1
Choose your form of move
- Lead time
- decision moment
- Costs
- none — the consequences of your choice are in the calculator
- 3.2
Request quotes and plan the transport
- Lead time
- quotes 2-3 weeks; the trip itself is days, not weeks
- Costs
- according to your moving choices
Only if this applies to you
- 3.3
Pet along: chip, rabies jab and the EU pet passport
- Lead time
- start at least three weeks before departure
- Costs
- per animal — chip, vaccination and passport at the vet
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
- 3.4
Decide about the car
- Lead time
- decision moment; the conversion itself comes after arrival
- Costs
- if you bring it — inspection and fees; the registration tax is often exempt on relocation
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 3.5
Arrange your first accommodation
- Lead time
- booking can be quick; do it before your departure
- Costs
- falls under "the first months" in your budget
Phase 4
4 steps
Registration in Spain
Every document here is the key to the next, and appointments are scarce. One missing paper means a new appointment — so come complete.
- 4.1
Find your home, and ask the registration question before you sign
- Lead time
- weeks to months, depending on region and season
- Costs
- deposit and first rent — see your budget
2 official sources
- 4.2
Empadronamiento: register with the municipality
- Lead time
- the appointment is the real work — days to weeks
- Costs
- free
2 official sources
- 4.3
Get your evidence ready and pay the fee
- Lead time
- a week of collecting
- Costs
- fees — about ten euros per person, to be paid in advance with modelo 790, code 012
2 official sources
- 4.4
Lodge EX-18: the registration certificate
- Lead time
- the appointment itself is short; the wait for it isn't — count on weeks
- Costs
- none — you paid the fee in the previous step
2 official sources
Phase 5
5 steps
Arrival
From settled to simply living. The registrations interlock — whoever knows the order is done in weeks where others take months.
- 5.1
The first weeks: bank and basics
- Lead time
- 1-2 weeks
- Costs
- limited — SIM card, possible bank charges
1 official source
- 5.2
Health card and GP
- Lead time
- a few weeks
- Costs
- none with access via work or S1; otherwise it runs via your own policy
2 official sources
- 5.3
School for the children
- Lead time
- enrolment runs per region; joining is possible all year
- Costs
- public education is free; materials, meals and trips aren't
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
- 5.4
Put the car on Spanish plates
- Lead time
- inspection and papers — count on weeks
- Costs
- technical inspection and fees; registration tax only if the exemption doesn't work out
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 5.5
Landed
- Lead time
- it's done
- Costs
- none
9 of these steps aren't always there. They appear only when your answers call them up — a pet, a car, children staying behind. That's the difference between a plan and a checklist in which you have to work out yourself what applies.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the Spain journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 4.3 of your plan
Get your evidence ready and pay the fee
- Lead time
- a week of collecting
- Costs
- fees — about ten euros per person, to be paid in advance with modelo 790, code 012
This is the step people skip, and skipping it costs an appointment. What you bring to the registration appointment depends on your situation from step 1.2:
- Working in Spain? Your employment contract, or your registration as an autónomo.
- Not working in Spain? Proof of sufficient means — a bank statement, not a screenshot of your balance — and your health policy that covers all risks in Spain.
- Retired? Your S1 form.
Also pay the fee in advance with form modelo 790, código 012 — the proof of payment goes into your file. Only once all of this is ready do you make the appointment. One missing paper means starting from the beginning, and appointments are scarce.
This is step 4.3 of 29. The other 28 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
And what you don't see here
This page shows the content. What a page can't show is the work the platform does for you afterwards:
- The clocks that start running the moment you begin, and a nudge at the moment something is asked of you — not earlier.
- Your documents in one place, with their expiry dates watched, so nothing lapses while you wait for something else.
- The ticking off, together with your partner on the same journey.
- The steps that drop out or appear based on your answers, so your plan holds only what really applies to you.
Ready to start on Spain?
All 29 steps, set to your situation and with the deadlines watched. € 199 once, no subscription.
The departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Spain: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that one question about where your plans stand, and beyond that only a short update when something in Spain really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Ready to begin?
Thirty-six journeys are fully ready — Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Canada, Panama, United States, Suriname, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.