Service five · New
Residency and long-term settlement in Spain — for graduates ready to convert their student visa into a future, and for everyone else who wants to make Europe home without coming as a student. Profile-based routing, lawyer-coordinated paperwork, and the full path from your first NIE to long-term residency.
Two paths in
Visagrad's settlement service has two distinct audiences. Different starting points, same destination — a Spanish residency card and a future on European soil.
For students who studied with us (or anywhere else) in Spain, and want to stay. The first year after graduation is critical — Spain offers a 12-month "job-seeker" residence permit that converts to a work permit once you have an offer, then long-term residency at the 5-year mark.
Who this is for
For people who never wanted to be students — remote workers, freelancers, families with savings, entrepreneurs, retirees, those joining family already here. We profile your situation, identify which Spanish visa route actually fits, and coordinate the legal work.
Who this is for
Where we operate
We're starting where our roots are — Spain — with a vetted Spanish abogado network we've worked alongside for years. Other countries will join as we extend the lawyer network properly.
Spanish visa routes
There is no single "best" visa — only the one that fits your profile, your income, and your timeline. We match you to the right route in the first 30-min call.
Convert your student visa into a residence permit for job-seeking (12 months), then to a work permit once you have an offer.
For people with savings or passive income who want to live in Spain without working locally. Renewable; path to permanent residency at 5 years.
Introduced in 2023 for remote workers earning from non-Spanish companies. Includes Beckham Law tax benefits (24% flat rate for the first 6 years).
Employer-sponsored work permit. Requires a Spanish company willing to sponsor you for a role meeting the salary threshold and not on the shortage list.
Autónomo route — for freelancers and self-employed professionals setting up their own business in Spain. Requires a viable business plan.
For innovative business projects of "general interest" to Spain. Requires endorsement from ENISA or another approved body. Faster than the standard self-employed route.
For spouses, registered partners, dependent children, and (in qualifying cases) dependent parents of someone already legally resident in Spain.
After 5 years of continuous legal residency in Spain, you become eligible for permanent residency — renewable every 5 years, with most rights of Spanish citizens (except voting).
How we work
30-minute discovery call. We map your situation honestly — citizenship, income source and stability, family setup, savings, language, timeline, life goals. From this we know which 1–3 visa routes are realistic for your profile.
A short written analysis of the 1–3 viable routes — costs, timelines, success rates, post-arrival rights, path to permanent residency. You make an informed decision. We don't push the most expensive option; we push the right one.
We coordinate everything Visagrad-side — apostilles, certified translations, financial proofs in the right format, criminal record checks from your home country, medical certificates. The paperwork is where most applications fail; we won't let yours.
We assign your case to one of our vetted Spanish abogados — chosen for the specific case type (e.g., we use different specialists for Digital Nomad applications versus Family Reunification). The lawyer handles the legal submission, consular liaison, and any contentious matters.
We don't disappear once your visa is stamped. We walk you through TIE registration, padrón inscription, Spanish bank account opening, and the practical setup. And we're on call for renewals — most residency cards need renewing every 1–5 years.
The lawyer network
We are not a law firm. We are your strategist and project manager — handling profile assessment, route mapping, paperwork preparation, and project coordination. The legal submissions, official representations, and any contentious matters are handled by licensed Spanish abogados in our network.
Who handles what
How fees work
Two invoices, transparent before you commit. Visagrad charges its project fee. The abogado charges separately for legal services. Both numbers shared during the free assessment — no hidden costs at submission time.
Pricing philosophy
The 30-minute profile assessment costs nothing. After that, our project fee and the abogado's legal fee are both shared before you commit — in writing, with no surprises at signing. Pricing varies by visa route (Digital Nomad runs differently from Family Reunification) and on whether you bundle with our other services.
Settlement FAQ
Yes — that's our entire Track B. The Non-Lucrative, Digital Nomad, Self-Employed, Entrepreneur, Work, and Family Reunification visas don't require you to have ever been a student. Each has its own income/asset/eligibility criteria, and we match your profile to the right one.
From profile assessment to a visa stamp in your passport: 3–6 months on average. Document preparation takes 4–8 weeks. Consular review takes 4–12 weeks depending on the route and your nationality. Family Reunification can be longer. Digital Nomad applications submitted from inside Spain can be faster.
A visa is your entry permit, stamped at the consulate before you fly. Once in Spain, you get a residence permit (TIE card) — your physical proof of legal stay. After 5 years of continuous legal residency, you become eligible for permanent residency. After 10 years (2 years if you're a Latin American national, Filipino, or Sephardic Jew), you can apply for Spanish citizenship.
For most visa applications, no — though you'll be much more functional once you learn it. Spanish language proficiency does become a requirement for citizenship after 10 years (CCSE and DELE A2 exams). For day-to-day life, especially outside Madrid and Barcelona, B1-level Spanish makes a huge practical difference.
Most rejections can be appealed (recurso de reposición). Your assigned abogado handles the appeal as part of the engagement. Many successful rejections come from documentation issues — the appeal corrects what went wrong and resubmits. Visagrad doesn't charge a fresh project fee for appeals; lawyer fees for appeals are part of the original quote.
Yes. Most Spanish residence visas allow you to bring your spouse/partner and dependent children. Some routes (Digital Nomad, Non-Lucrative) allow simultaneous application; others (Work, Self-Employed) require Family Reunification after you've been resident for at least 12 months. Income/savings requirements scale up by family size.
No. Visagrad is a consultancy. We handle strategy, profile assessment, document coordination and project management. The legal submissions, court appearances, and binding legal advice are handled by licensed Spanish abogados in our partner network. You receive one invoice from us (project fee) and one from the lawyer (legal fees) — both transparent upfront.
Important — please read
Visagrad is a study and immigration consultancy, not a law firm. The information on this page is general guidance about Spanish residency pathways and is not legal advice for any specific case. Visa and residency decisions are at the sole discretion of Spanish consular and government authorities. For binding legal advice or representation in legal proceedings, you'll be working directly with licensed Spanish abogados from our partner network. Final fees, terms, and engagement letters with the abogado are between you and the law firm; Visagrad's role is coordination, not legal advice.
The complete pathway
8-university shortlist tiered reach / target / safety.
Avg €8,400 saved. Every option mapped.
IELTS, TOEFL, PTE. SOPs, LORs, transcripts.
Visa file, housing, 90-day WhatsApp support.
Free · 30 minutes · No commitment