Buying property in Spain after Brexit: what changed

Buying property in Spain after Brexit: the 90-day rule, EES and ETIAS, residence visas, non-resident tax, inheritance, driving and healthcare for UK buyers.

Last checked 17 October 2026

What you will learn

How the 90 days in 180 rule works with a home in Spain
Where EES and ETIAS stand in October 2026
How UK residents are taxed on a Spanish home

For British buyers, buying property in Spain after Brexit works much as it did before. You can still buy, own and sell a home here, with the same notary, land registry and purchase taxes as anyone else. What changed in 2021 is how long you can stay, how you are taxed as a non-resident and some of the paperwork of living here. This guide sets out the rules as they stand on 17 October 2026, with the official pages to check, and it is general information: confirm your own case with an independent lawyer and a tax adviser.

The 90-day rule

Without a visa or a Spanish residence permit, British citizens can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, which includes Spain. Days spent in other Schengen countries count towards the same 90, and owning a house here gives you no extra days. Your passport must have been issued less than ten years before the day you arrive and be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave, according to the FCDO entry requirements for Spain.

Overstaying can lead to a ban of up to three years. If you split your time between Spain and other Schengen countries, keep a simple record of the days you enter and leave.

EES and ETIAS at the border

EES. The EU's Entry/Exit System started on 12 October 2025. It replaces passport stamps with a digital record: on your first crossing your fingerprints and photo are taken at the border, and the record stays valid for three years. Registration is free, and children aged 11 or under do not give fingerprints. The details are on the UK government's EU Entry/Exit System page.

ETIAS. The European travel authorisation for visitors is not yet in operation. The same page, last updated on 10 April 2026, said the EU expected to start it in autumn 2026, that it would announce the date in advance and that it will cost 20 euros. Until it starts, any website selling ETIAS is a scam. Check the page again before you book.

Staying longer: residence visas

To spend more than 90 days in 180 in Spain you need a visa or residence permit, and you apply before you go. The investor visa for buying property, the golden visa, ended on 3 April 2025 under Ley Orgánica 1/2025, as the Spanish government's note on the end of the golden visa explains, so buying a home no longer leads to residence on its own. Our post on the end of the golden visa covers the routes that remain.

The route many retired buyers look at is the non-lucrative residence visa. The Spanish consulate in London asks for funds of at least 400% of the IPREM, a Spanish public reference income, for the applicant and 100% more for each family member, to cover the first year. It also asks for health insurance with an insurer authorised in Spain that covers the same risks as the public system, or a registered S1, plus a medical certificate and a criminal record certificate. The visa does not allow any paid work.

Applications in London are made in person at the consulate's visa centre, and you must live in its consular district. The visa is valid for one year, and after you arrive you have one month to apply for your foreigner's identity card (TIE). Requirements change, so read the London consulate's non-lucrative visa page before you start.

Tax as a non-resident

If you live in the UK, Spain taxes your Spanish income as a non-resident at the rate for people outside the EU and the EEA: 24%, against 19% for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, in the Agencia Tributaria rates for non-residents.

A home you do not let. You pay tax each year on an imputed income: 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value, depending on when the town's cadastral values were last revised, with no expenses deducted. The rule and the changes announced for 2027 are in our guide to non-resident property tax in Spain. It is declared on form 210 in the following calendar year.

A home you let. Residents of the EU and EEA can deduct expenses from their rental income. UK residents are taxed on the gross rent, without deductions.

A sale. Capital gains are taxed at 19% for all non-residents. The UK and Spain have a double taxation agreement, so the same income is not taxed twice. Our guide to non-resident property tax goes into the forms and deadlines.

Inheritance, driving and healthcare

Inheritance. When Spanish property passes on a death, heirs can apply the inheritance tax rules of the region where most of the Spanish assets are, also when the owner or the heirs live outside Spain, including in the UK, under the second additional provision of the Spanish inheritance and gift tax law. Wills and succession across two countries are a matter for a lawyer in each. Our guide to inheritance tax on Spanish property explains the Valencian rules.

Driving. You can drive in Spain on a UK licence for up to six months. Once you are resident, apply to exchange it before those six months are over, as the UK government guide to living in Spain explains. The same guide reminds new residents to register as resident and on the municipal register (padrón).

Healthcare. If you receive a UK State Pension and live in Spain, an S1 form registered with the Spanish social security gives you access to Spanish state healthcare. Residents who have been on the padrón for more than a year can join the public scheme for a monthly fee (convenio especial); before that, those without cover need private insurance, according to the UK government page on healthcare in Spain.

Plan your stays before you plan the purchase. Whether you will visit within the 90 days or apply to live here decides your visa, your tax and your healthcare, and it changes which house makes sense. Confirm your own position with an independent lawyer and a tax adviser in both countries, then look at the villas on the Costa Blanca North.

Homes for this guide

Across the coast

Written by Nicolas Strebel.