Moving to Spain with a Non-EU Partner: Visa Routes and Timelines

Updated: 7 October 2026

Moving to Spain with a non-EU partner starts with choosing the right immigration route. Your nationality, residence status, relationship and current location determine which options are available.

This guide compares four routes, explains their legal timelines and helps you decide what to check before planning your move. It focuses on partners who are not EU, EEA or Swiss citizens.

Which Route Applies to Your Partner?

Nationality alone does not settle every case. A non-EU resident may hold a permit with its own family procedure, while a Spanish citizen returning after exercising EU free movement rights may need a separate assessment.

If Your Partner Is Joining a Spanish Citizen

The residence route for family members of Spanish citizens covers qualifying spouses, registered partners and duly proven stable unmarried partners.

Where both partners are already in Spain, an application from Spain is available for these qualifying relationships. If one or both partners are abroad, the procedure changes and may involve a Spanish consulate.

This route generally grants residence for five years, or for the Spanish citizen’s intended residence period if shorter, and permits employment and self-employment.

Check the application location before arranging travel. Being able to apply in Spain does not remove any entry requirements that apply to your partner.

For the full requirements and procedure, read our guide to residence for family members of Spanish citizens.

If Your Partner Is Joining an EU, EEA or Swiss Citizen

A qualifying non-EU spouse, registered partner or duly proven stable partner may use the EU family member residence card route when accompanying or joining the citizen in Spain.

The EU, EEA or Swiss citizen must meet the applicable residence conditions. These depend on whether they are employed, self-employed, studying or living from sufficient resources with health coverage.

For a stay exceeding three months, the non-EU family member must apply for the card within three months of entering Spain. Check whether an entry visa is required before travelling; the residence card application is a separate step.

Read our EU family member residence card guide for the eligibility rules and application documents.

If One Partner Already Holds a General Residence Permit

Ordinary family reunification may apply when a non-EU resident sponsors a qualifying spouse or partner under the general immigration regime.

In the general case, the sponsor can submit the application after at least one year of residence and after applying for authorisation to reside for at least another year. Filing can therefore be possible while the renewal is pending, but reunification cannot be granted until the required renewal has been approved.

The sponsor must also satisfy requirements covering financial resources, suitable housing and health coverage. The usual procedure involves residence authorisation in Spain, followed by the partner’s consular visa application and entry.

This waiting requirement matters if you are planning to move together for the first time. Check whether your intended permit has a different family procedure before relying on ordinary reunification.

Our family reunification guide explains the detailed requirements and steps.

If You Can Apply Together Under Law 14/2013

Some international mobility routes allow a qualifying spouse or partner to apply jointly with the main applicant or join them later. Examples include international teleworking, commonly called the digital nomad route, and certain highly qualified professional or research permits.

You must qualify for the main permit, prove the relationship and meet the applicable family requirements. A partner’s application does not replace the main applicant’s eligibility checks.

For an in-country international telework application, the applicants must be in Spain legally. A consular visa application is a different procedure.

This option deserves consideration when both partners are non-EU nationals and want to relocate together. Our digital nomad visa service explains that route and its family requirements.

Which Route Is Fastest?

The statutory periods below cover specific administrative stages. They are not estimates of the total time needed to move to Spain.

For Spanish citizen family applications initiated while both relatives are abroad, the two-month residence decision period runs from the immigration office’s receipt of the consulate’s communication.

Requests for further documents and other legally permitted suspensions or extensions can affect the relevant period. A deadline passing also has different legal consequences under different procedures.

A short decision period is useful only if you qualify and can submit a complete application. Compare the full sequence: becoming eligible, preparing documents, filing, obtaining any visa and completing the residence card process.

Do You Need to Be Married?

Marriage is one option. Depending on the route, a registered partnership or a duly proven stable unmarried relationship may also qualify.

For the Spanish citizen family route and ordinary reunification, twelve months of continuous cohabitation is an express way to establish a stable unmarried partnership. That prior period is not required where the couple has a child together and the relationship continues.

Under the EU rules, one continuous year of marital-type cohabitation establishes a durable relationship. Where there is a child together, evidence of a duly proven stable cohabiting relationship is still required.

Do not automatically apply these rules to every permit. Law 14/2013 family applications have their own relationship evidence requirements.

Dating, engagement or plans to live together do not by themselves establish eligibility. Not every partnership registration qualifies under every route. Check your evidence before choosing the route.

If you are considering formalising your relationship, our comparison of civil partnership and marriage in Spainexplains the wider differences.

How to Prepare Your Move

1. Identify the applicable route. Confirm both partners’ nationalities, the exact residence permit held or sought, and where each person currently lives.
2. Check relationship evidence. Review marriage or partnership certificates, previous divorces and any cohabitation records needed for your case.
3. Confirm the application sequence. Establish who applies, where the application is filed and whether an authorisation must be obtained before a visa.
4. Prepare foreign documents. Check translation requirements and whether an apostille, diplomatic legalisation or an exemption applies.
5. Plan around your actual position. Check entry requirements, lawful stay, work rights and appointments before committing to a relocation date.

Keep a shared document list with the issuing country, translation status and any procedure-specific validity requirement. For a stable partnership, organise cohabitation evidence chronologically and explain any gaps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we move to Spain together if we are both non-EU citizens?

Potentially. Some permits allow accompanying family applications. If you are relying on ordinary family reunification, the sponsor’s prior residence requirement may prevent an immediate joint move.

Can my non-EU partner work in Spain?

Qualifying partner residence under the Spanish citizen family route, the EU family regime and ordinary reunification includes work rights. Family residence under the international telework route also permits work. When those rights start depends on the procedure; submitting any immigration application does not automatically authorise employment.

Can my partner apply after entering as a visitor?

Some routes permit an in-country application when their conditions are met. International telework applicants must be in Spain legally, while ordinary family reunification generally follows an authorisation and consular visa procedure. Check the applicable route and deadlines before travelling.

Is there a guaranteed fastest partner visa?

No. Eligibility, relationship evidence, application location and the remaining administrative stages determine the practical timeline. The shortest statutory decision period does not guarantee the earliest move.

Legal review: Francisco Javier Theuer Carmona, immigration lawyer and member of the Granada Bar Association (ICAGR 7984). 

Last reviewed: 7 October 2026

Plan Your Application with Nodisea

Nodisea can assess the route available to your couple, review relationship documents and help coordinate the residence and visa stages.

Book a free immigration consultation to discuss your nationalities, current residence status and planned move.

Official Sources

• Royal Decree 1155/2024: ordinary family reunification and residence for family members of Spanish citizens.
• Ministry guidance: residence for family members of Spanish citizens.
• Ministry guidance: ordinary family reunification.
• Royal Decree 240/2007: EU family residence rules.
• Ministry guidance: EU family member residence card.
• Law 14/2013: international mobility, accompanying family members and processing periods.
• UGE: international telework FAQs, including family applications and work rights.
• Ministry guidance: document legalisation and translation.