Your Turnkey Bridge to Moving to Spain & Portugal
We reduce avoidable paperwork errors and delays by coordinating your US & Canadian documents before filing—FBI/RCMP checks, the correct US federal/state or Canadian federal/provincial apostilles, and destination-compliant translations—then handing your file to licensed immigration counsel in Spain or Portugal.
Choose Your Iberian Destination
Start with the country hub if you are still comparing routes, or go directly to the visa that matches your work and income profile.
Moving to Spain
Two primary residence routes for our U.S. and Canadian clients:
- Digital Nomad Visa: For qualifying remote employees, freelancers and founders working primarily for companies or clients outside Spain. The 2026 main-applicant income benchmark is €2,442/month.
- Non-Lucrative Visa: For retirees and financially self-supporting applicants who will reside in Spain without working. The 2026 main-applicant financial benchmark is €28,800/year.
Moving to Portugal
Two primary residence routes for our U.S. and Canadian clients:
- D8 Digital Nomad Visa: For qualifying remote employees and independent professionals working for entities outside Portugal. The 2026 professional-income threshold is €3,680/month, measured as a three-month average.
- D7 Residence Visa: For retirees and people living from qualifying own income. The 2026 first-adult 12-month means benchmark is €11,040, with filing evidence depending on the applicable consular procedure.
The Stateside Concierge Advantage
Many immigration practices focus primarily on legal strategy and filing. Our role is different: we coordinate the North American document work that can otherwise become fragmented across fingerprinting providers, apostille authorities, translators, couriers, and consular requirements.
❌ Traditional Agencies & Lawyers
- Fragmented North American Logistics: Applicants may receive a checklist but still have to coordinate fingerprinting, federal or state/provincial apostilles, couriers, and translations across multiple providers.
- Timing Risk: Criminal-record validity periods vary by visa type and consular jurisdiction. Delays can make otherwise valid documents too old for the filing authority.
- Translation Mismatch Risk: Translation requirements are not identical across every Spanish or Portuguese filing route, so using the wrong certification format can create avoidable delays.
- Multiple Vendor Handoffs: Separate providers can mean more tracking, duplicated communication, and less visibility over the complete file.
✅ DigitalNomadInSpain.org
- Coordinated Document Management: We organize fingerprinting, the correct US federal/state or Canadian federal/provincial apostille route, translation, and courier sequencing.
- Conservative Timing Protocol: We schedule time-sensitive records around the applicable consular or filing rule rather than assuming a single expiration period for every case.
- Destination-Compliant Translation Coordination: For Spain, we can coordinate official Spanish sworn translations where required; for Portugal, we follow the certification and language requirements applicable to the relevant filing route.
- Turnkey Professional Hand-Off: Organized files can be handed directly to licensed immigration counsel and, where requested, vetted real estate and insurance professionals in Spain or Portugal.
Which Visa Route Fits Your Income Profile?
The fastest way to narrow the choice is to ask one question first: do you plan to keep earning through active professional work, or will you primarily live from pension, passive or other own income?
I Plan to Keep Working Remotely
Start with the digital-nomad / remote-work routes. Employment, Social Security, client structure and company documentation can affect which route is workable.
For qualifying remote employees and independent professionals working mainly for foreign companies or clients. Spain also has an in-country UGE residence route for qualifying applicants legally present in Spain.
See Spain DNV requirements →For remote employees and independent professionals working for entities outside Portugal. The 2026 income test is based on a three-month professional-income average.
See Portugal D8 requirements →I Plan to Live From Pension or Own Income
Start with the financially self-supporting routes. Spain and Portugal are not identical: the qualifying income basis, post-residence work rights and consular evidence differ.
For retirees and self-funded applicants who will reside in Spain without working. The main financial test is tied to IPREM and private health-insurance rules also apply.
See Spain NLV requirements →For retirees and people supported by qualifying own income. D7 qualification is different from Spain’s NLV, and Portuguese residence generally carries broader work rights after residence is granted.
See Portugal D7 requirements →United States & Canadian Document Processing
Document rules can vary by destination, visa category, filing route, and consular jurisdiction. We route each US or Canadian document to the authority that can validly authenticate it for use in Spain or Portugal.
🇺🇸 United States Document Logistics
US documents do not all follow the same apostille route. Federal and state-issued records must be authenticated by the correct competent authority:
- FBI Identity History Summaries: Fingerprint-based FBI records used for Spanish applications generally require a federal Hague Apostille from the US Department of State. Current Spanish consular instructions commonly allow criminal records issued within the preceding 6 months, although the exact rule should always be checked for the filing office and visa type.
- Federal Hague Apostilles: Coordination with the US Department of State in Washington, D.C. for eligible federal documents.
- State Documents: Secretary of State apostilles for eligible state or local public records such as birth and marriage certificates, subject to the issuing state’s rules.
- W-2 Employment & Social Security: Employer-letter preparation and review of whether a US-Spain Certificate of Coverage may be available under the Totalization Agreement.
🇨🇦 Canadian Document Logistics
Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2024, but the correct Canadian competent authority depends on who issued or notarized the document:
- RCMP Criminal Record Checks: Fingerprint-based certified criminal-record checks. For Spanish filings, some consulates specifically require the RCMP record to be apostilled by Global Affairs Canada.
- Federal vs. Provincial Apostilles: Global Affairs Canada handles federal documents and documents assigned to federal competence, while Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan issue apostilles for qualifying documents within their jurisdiction.
- Civil Status Records: Birth, marriage, divorce, and other provincial records are routed to the competent apostille authority based on the province and document type.
- Canadian Business Documents: We help organize corporate, tax, employment, and contractor records and determine whether notarization, apostille, or translation is required for the intended filing.
Our Service Tiers
Select the exact level of support you need for your move to Spain or Portugal.
Consulate-Ready Pack
DIY Filing • Full Paper Prep. Designed for applicants who plan to self-file or already have counsel but want their background checks, apostilles, translations, and financial-document package coordinated first.
- FBI / RCMP Background Check Retrieval
- US Federal/State & Canadian Federal/Provincial Apostille Coordination
- Spain Sworn-Translation / Portugal Translation Coordination
- Conservative Document-Timing Protocol
Turnkey Nomad Package
Document + Legal Coordination. Includes North American document preparation plus coordinated hand-off to independent licensed immigration counsel for the applicable Spain or Portugal legal process.
- Includes Everything in Consulate-Ready Pack
- W-2 Employment & Social Security Coverage Review
- Direct Hand-Off to Partner Immigration Lawyers
- Spain UGE/Consular or Portugal Consular/AIMA Process Coordination, as applicable
- Applicant Attendance Planning Where the Filing Authority Requires In-Person Submission
- No Separate Attorney Search Required
Executive VIP Bundle
White-Glove • Full Family Service. Designed for executives and families who want priority internal case handling, civil-record coordination, courier planning, and a dedicated case manager.
- Includes Everything in Turnkey Nomad Package
- Priority Internal Case Handling & Courier Coordination
- Country-Specific Post-Arrival Registration Support (for example, padrón/TIE in Spain or the AIMA residence stage in Portugal)
- Banking & Settlement Support / Introductions
- Health Insurance & Qualified Tax-Adviser Introductions, including Beckham Law eligibility review where relevant
Vetted Experts & Bespoke Relocation Solutions
We specialize in North American document coordination and work with licensed immigration attorneys in Spain and Portugal, plus vetted real estate and insurance professionals for clients who want broader relocation support. Need a specialized setup or family service not listed above? We can build a case-specific package around your destination, filing route, and timeline.
Get in Touch for a Bespoke PackageFrequently Asked Questions
Essential visa, document and relocation questions for U.S. and Canadian clients moving to Spain or Portugal. Requirements can change by filing office; core references were reviewed in September 2026.
Which visa should a remote worker consider for Spain or Portugal?
For Spain, qualifying remote employees and independent professionals generally assess the Digital Nomad Visa / international telework route. For Portugal, the comparable remote-work route is the D8 Digital Nomad Visa. The income tests, Social Security questions, filing procedures and post-arrival steps are different, so the two should not be treated as interchangeable.
Which route is more relevant for a retiree or someone living from their own income?
Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa is designed for applicants who can support themselves without working in Spain. Portugal’s D7 residence route is commonly used by retirees and people living from qualifying own income. D7 is not an exact equivalent of the Spanish NLV because Portuguese residence generally carries broader work rights after residence is granted.
How long are FBI or RCMP criminal records valid for Spain and Portugal?
There is no single validity period for every filing. Current Spanish consular instructions commonly use a six-month window for U.S. FBI records, while some Canadian Spanish posts publish different periods. For current U.S. Portugal national-visa filings, VFS uses a less-than-90-day requirement for the FBI police clearance. We schedule criminal records, apostilles and translations around the applicant’s actual visa and filing office rather than using one blanket rule.
Do U.S. and Canadian documents use the same apostille process?
No. In the United States, federal documents such as FBI Identity History Summaries and state-issued civil records use different competent authorities. Canada has used the Hague Apostille Convention since January 11, 2024, but Canadian federal and provincial documents can also follow different apostille routes. We identify the correct authority before processing each document.
Do I need to find my own immigration lawyer?
Not necessarily. Our Turnkey and Executive-level services can include coordinated hand-off to independent licensed immigration counsel for the relevant Spain or Portugal process. We manage the North American document workflow; legal advice and representation are provided by the licensed attorney. Where a filing authority requires the applicant to appear in person, such as the current Portugal VFS process in the United States, we coordinate the file and appointment planning rather than claiming the lawyer can replace the applicant’s required attendance.
Does a Spain DNV or Portugal D7/D8 automatically give me a special tax rate?
No. Immigration status and tax treatment are separate. Some qualifying Spain movers may separately qualify for the special impatriate regime often called the Beckham Law, while Portugal’s IFICI incentive has its own narrower eligibility rules. Visa approval alone does not establish eligibility for either tax regime.
Ready to Plan Your Move to Spain or Portugal?
Connect directly with our team to review your remote-income profile, employment setup, or document timeline before starting. You can also verify reviews from our established North American document-processing operation: