Residence Permit vs. Tax Residence In Spain

Every year Spain issues thousands of residence permits to foreign citizens who come here to study, work, invest or simply have holidays at their second home.

Regardless of the type of authorisation, the same doubt usually arises: "having a residence permit in Spain implies becoming its tax resident?"

First and foremost, it must be clear that "a residence permit" and "tax residence" are two different concepts.

"Residence permit" means that a foreign citizen is authorised to live in Spain and, depending on the type of permit, to work as an employed or a self-employed worker.

In order to obtain such authorisation, it is necessary to follow a legally regulated administrative procedure before immigration authorities, whose requirements depend on a particular class of authorisation.