Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

Hi all,

appreciate you must of answered questions like these a million times, if you could humour me though I'd appreciate it!

Myself and my wife are both 34, with 2 children aged 7 and 5 really considering moving to spain, (Alicante area) and are just looking for the basics in terms of requirments/process before we delve further, and just getting an idea of if it's actually possible or just a pipe dream.

My wife is a primary school teacher, middle management and would be looking to continue that when moved. I'm currently in a dead end job and would be happy doing anything providing it gives us an income. Once we have sold our house it would leave us with around 130,000 cash equity/savings to move on with. We wouldn't be looking at moving any of our items with us, we've never really had much in terms of any value so I'm assuming the cost of moving them would be higher than just buying them again. We have 2 cars, but again, would it be simpler to sell them and purchase a car over there?

My wife's parents recently retired in the Alicante area so have housing we could stay in weather it be short term or slightly longer.

I guess I'm just asking, given the above information if this a realistic thing to happen? I've no idea about Visa's, houses etc over there. I've no idea in terms of schools for our kids. Appreciate im being very vauge but this is the first time i will of asked about the subject to anyone. Any advice would be much appreciated.

thank you!!

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

First up… what passport do you and your wife hold?

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

sorry! All British

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

First thing is to see whether or how you can get a visa to move there, it's not that easy now after Brexit, second, how much Spanish do you speak, even moving to an area where there are a lot of Brits you will still need it for the inevitable bureaucracy, and there is a lot! I was fortunate to move in 2004 where all we had to do was to buy a house, simple, sell in the UK, pack bags, book movers and move, out Estate agents gave us assistance in the early stages of getting set up as Spanish residents but all that will be gone now, but you will need visas.

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

No Spanish, although I would of thought you would be able to get help with regards to the legal things even if you do pay a little extra? In terms of visas if anyone could shed some light on it? I think it's a bit of a bonus with the wife being a teacher, I know in most places they are sought after so could help.

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

Spanish isn’t a prerequisite for day to day, but for employment probably a necessity. There are plenty of people companies to help with residency side.

Unfortunately the post Brexit reality means a visa will be required for someone without EU passport. Any Irish grandparents as this can be a route to EU passport. But even with this then you’ll need to find employment to survive and that will likely need Spanish language skills (and this isn’t easy unless you’re someone who picks it up easily - I’m not).



There are different visa options including:

Non lucrative visa - probably what your in laws have used - but really a retirement option as work isn’t allowed for five years.

Digital Nomad Visa for remote workers and unlikely for your wife and yourself as current employment doesn’t sound ideal.

Work visa - possibly but requires offer of employment and technically the job can’t be fulfilled by an EU resident. Anecdotal feedback online suggests teachers aren’t that well paid over here either.

Self employment visa - another possibility but not easy.



Forget the logistics of possessions and cars. Look further into how to get here then worry about the details. There are plenty of online resources including many Facebook groups if you’re a user and YouTube channels another research avenue. It’s not impossible but it’s simply not as easy to get here as it once was.

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

I would first and foremost look for ancestors in Ireland or any other EU country, just in case there are inroads there to a possible passport.

Otherwise it is not going to be easy. From your wife's side I think her best bet is to look for job positions at British schools in the area and apply from the UK. EU nationals are prioritised but since she has experience in the British educational system and is a native speaker it will be easier than for other occupations that come to mind. Wages aren't great here but maybe some Sherpa-online lessons can give that a proper boost?

Not sure about housing and how fat 130k goes in the area, especially since you need a financial safety cushion as well rather than go "all-in." Maybe someone local can pitch in on the current state of the housing market?

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

If you want to live permanently and work full time in Spain you will need to apply for and gain permanent contracted work positions. Your prospective employer will then need to apply for work visas on your behalf. Any available work position in Spain must be offered to an EU citizen first before being offered to a non EU citizen. The link below will help you decide on which visa you can best apply for and what is required.

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/londres/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/inicio.aspx


Steve

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

As said above, unless you can buy and investment visa (mucho money), then you need work visas BEFORE you move.

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

I suggest you research here

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

Thank you for the replies, they are appreciated. No Irish in either of us unfortunately. It's true that combined we would be generating less income. We are on good money here but are both unhappy ATM. I had no idea job opportunities had to be offered to some before others. My wife would be aiming at working at an international as opposed to state school so I suppose being a native English speaker might help there.

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

Of course the UK government might help, they really need to get the 'freedom of movement' back, even if we don't fully rejoin, but that should be a priority, especially as it now looks as though Starmer's dayd may well be numbered.

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

Unfortunately, not going to happen for very long time.
Labor red lines:
- no custom union
- no single market
- no free movements

Mirrors cons red lines. Labor seams to be trying cons cherry picking idea, never going to work.

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

To OP, unfortunately its just a pipe dream. Sorry.

Re: Inital advice needed with family of 4 relocating to spain
 

what makes you say that? Granted I know next to nothing about the process but I'm sure thousands of people have made a success of it post brexit ?

Thanks