Moving a family to Spain
Madrid · 13 sources · Verified Aug 2026
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Does your household clear €28,800 a year?
Non-lucrative residence visa. The threshold rises for each person you bring, so it counts your children.
Threshold from Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington DC, checked 2026-08-26. It is the published test, not a decision on your case.
What year one costs
2 adults, 2 children · USD
Your children
Foreign children under 16 have both the right and the duty to be educated in Spain, including access to basic education that is free and compulsory, and under-18s also have the right to post-compulsory education. That right includes the resulting qualification and access to the public grants system on the same terms as Spanish nationals. Basic education runs from age 6 to age 16 and is free and compulsory for everyone.
International schooling runs €9,300 to €26,610 per child per year.
What goes wrong
Families who need one parent to keep earning while abroad. Spain's non-lucrative visa bans all paid work, including remote work for a US employer, so this route is the wrong one for you.
Who to call
We are paid hereKeep this current
The cost desk letter
When a number a family relies on changes
A short note when a visa fee, an income threshold or a school fee we track moves, plus each new edition of the Cost Index. No selling, unsubscribe anytime.
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Sources
Changed since? Tell us and we recheck it.
- Agencia Tributaria, convenios de doble imposicion firmados por Espana checked August 26, 2026
- Boletin Oficial del Estado, Ley 16/2003 article 3 checked August 26, 2026
- Boletin Oficial del Estado, Ley 29/1994 de Arrendamientos Urbanos article 36 checked August 26, 2026
- Boletin Oficial del Estado, Ley 35/2006 del IRPF article 9 checked August 26, 2026
- Boletin Oficial del Estado, Ley Organica 4/2000 article 9 and Ley Organica 2/2006 article 4 checked August 26, 2026
- Boletin Oficial del Estado, Real Decreto 576/2013 article 6 checked August 26, 2026
- Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington DC checked August 26, 2026
- Consular Section of the Embassy of Spain in Washington DC checked August 26, 2026
- Direccion General de la Policia, tasa modelo 790 codigo 012 checked August 26, 2026
- International College Spain and Runnymede College published fee schedules checked August 26, 2026
- Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentacion checked August 26, 2026
- Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana, Sistema Estatal de Referencia del Precio del Alquiler de Vivienda (SERPAVI 2026) checked August 26, 2026
- Runnymede College and International College Spain published fee schedules checked August 26, 2026