Immigration Lawyer in Spain - Visas and Residence Permits

An immigration lawyer in Spain is one that has a complex understanding of the immigration law and deals with matters concerning immigration applications, types of visas, resolving different residence permit application issues as well as various disputes that may arise during an individual’s attempt to obtain a residence permit for the purpose of moving to Spain.

Compared to other types of attorneys, immigration lawyers in Spain will not generally spend as much time handling litigation. Their work will involve counseling their clients and assisting them every step of the way during the application process for obtaining an adequate residence permit.

The legal aid offered by a specialized lawyer can be important in those cases involving the golden visa in Spain. This was the type of residence permit (abolished for new applicants from 3 April 2025) issued to those who were willing to make a substantial investment in real estate in the country. Their residency rights could commence after the investment has been made and approved as compliant with the regulations. A lawyer can provide the much-needed legal advice for existing golden visa holders, for example on renewals.

An immigration lawyer or a legal adviser needs to be a member of the Spanish Bar as well as comply with the requirements for practicing this profession.

We present the main qualifications for an immigration lawyer in Spain as well as the main types of services offered by these legal professionals.

Lawyers specialized in immigration in Spain

A lawyer in Spain has the role to represent his clients as well as defend the party in every type of legal proceeding. The four main requirements for an individual to be able to practice as a lawyer are the following:

Nationality: he must be a Spanish national or a national of an EU Member State that is included in the Agreement on the European Economic Area.
Qualification: the lawyer must have a Spanish law degree or an equivalent foreign degree that has been officially approved, plus the professional aptitude qualification (master's in legal practice and state exam).
Bar member: the lawyer needs to be a member of the Bar Association of the area where his professional domicile is located.
Other conditions: he must be at least 18 years of age and must not have been subject to a disqualification for practicing as a lawyer.

All of our lawyers specialized in immigration have the necessary qualifications. Nevertheless, when choosing to work with a local Spanish lawyer, it is important to perform a simple verification in order to make sure that he or she is accredited by the Spanish Bar. Interested individuals should verify that the lawyer has a professional title of lawyer and is affiliated to a professional lawyer’s association in the country. Some examples of Spanish Bar Associations are the following: Ilustre Colegio de la Abogacía de Madrid (ICAM) or Il·lustre Col·legi de l’Advocacia de Barcelona (ICAB).

Attorneys in Spain can further specialize in selected fields of law. In particular, immigration lawyers in Spain will be versed in the immigration law, the latest legislative changes, EU compliance requirements as well as any other relevant matters for immigrants that are coming to Spain. They are able to assist foreign nationals who are interested in moving to the country regardless of the applicant’s country of origin. In some cases, lawyers may choose to specialize in assisting foreign nationals from particular countries, such as those from EU or non-EU countries. However, in most situations, an immigration lawyer in Spain assists his clients not depending on the country of origin but on the particularities of the immigration case. Some lawyers will choose to specialize in particular issues such as family reunification. Given the current global relocations, and the fact that Spain is an attractive country for many immigrants, a highly specialized lawyer, one who is aware of all the applicable laws, both Spanish and European and human rights laws, can provide much-needed counseling and advice to families who find themselves in various, possibly complex, relocation scenarios.
Irrespective of the reasons why foreign nationals may be interested in relocating to Spain, it is advisable to seek the services offered by a local lawyer, an immigration lawyer in Spain. He will be the one who will be able to provide specific information, and not only general ones as the applicant would obtain from a simple inquiry in his country of origin. By talking to a local specialist, visa applicants can make sure that the information and guidance they receive is accurate and in complete accord with the current regulations and laws. We can also assist holders of existing golden visas with renewals.

We can also assist if you want to apply for Spanish citizenship. In order to become a citizen of Spain, you must pass two tests. The first one is a language test that verifies your proficiency in Spanish. The exam of cultural aptitude is the second. Once you have passed them, you need to file the necessary documents to obtain your passport.

Types of immigration services in Spain

Some of the general immigration services include the following:

assistance for applying for the right residence permit: a lawyer can assist the applicant from the earliest stages of the application process.
assistance for post-arrival obligations: immigrants are required to obtain a special foreigner’s number once they arrive in Spain; a lawyer can facilitate communication with the Spanish authorities.
expat services: services for handling different administrative matters once foreign nationals are in the country.
obtaining citizenship: this is possible once a foreign national has been lawfully living in Spain and a lawyer can assist individuals when the time comes to submit this application.

An immigration lawyer in Spain from our team is able to assist foreign nationals with all of these general services. Moreover, we can also assist applicants with corporate immigration services, the ones needed for intra-corporate transfers. For this purpose, a lawyer from our team will discuss directly with the company representatives during the process, in order to make sure that the company also submits the documents it is required to in order to hire foreign employees or for the transfer between corporate branches.
Another special type of visa for which our specialists provide assistance, apart from renewals of existing Golden Visas for real estate investors, is the non-lucrative visa. This is destined for individuals, in most cases retired foreign nationals, who are interested in emigrating to Spain without taking up remunerated work. This means that they can prove they have sufficient means to sustain themselves. Our lawyers can help applicants understand the current minimum monetary requirements (for the applicant and for each of the dependents).
Moreover, our specialists can provide dedicated services to individuals or to students. For students, we can help with the initial authorizations needed for the student visa as well as the situation in which the applicant and visa holder also wishes to engage in remunerated work during the study period. We can also assist with the needed extensions of stay for study or research purposes.

Reasons to request the services of an immigration lawyer in Spain

Immigration matters can seem somewhat complex for individuals who have never dealt before with the Spanish laws as well as for those who are trying to understand the exact requirements for making their applications for working or studying in Spain. Of course, in non-litigation matters, requesting the specialized aid of an immigration lawyer is optional. Nevertheless, choosing to work with a professional can save time and allow the applicant to sort through the different requirements in a more efficient manner. For some clients, requesting specialized services can be of great help when they are pressed by time and need to submit all of the needed documents as fast as possible and with no mistakes so that the Spanish authorities would not reject the application.

Emigrating to Spain is an important life choice and a lawyer can assist individuals who are making this significant change. Working with a lawyer can be helpful both to EU nationals looking to move to Spain as well as for those who are interested in immigrating from other non-EU countries such as the United States, Mexico, Argentina or Brazil but also South Africa or China.

Spain remains an attractive country for immigrants, as highlighted by the following statistics:

the resident population of the country reached a record 49,801,559 on 1 July 2026, with 7,437,543 foreign nationals and 10.29 million people born abroad.
the year-on-year growth was 444,205 people (1 July 2025 to 1 July 2026).
population growth is driven by people born abroad, as the number of people born in Spain is falling.
as far as the age of the population is concerned, in 2017 the 10-24 age group increased, as well as the 40-79 age group and the over 85 age group.
according to nationality, Morocco remains the largest foreign community, while Latin American nationalities (Colombian, Venezuelan) lead current immigration flows.

Source: National Statistics Institute (INE), Continuous Population Statistics, provisional data at 1 July 2026 (published 6 August 2026). The age breakdown refers to 2017.

An immigration lawyer in Spain from our team is able to assist you if you are in need of information or assistance for application. It is important to note that you are required to apply for the right type of visa with the Spanish Embassy or Consulate in your country of origin. Please note that the visa application will also include a non-refundable fee. This is another reason why it is recommended to work with one of our lawyers in order to avoid any losses.

You can contact our immigration lawyers in Spain for more details about the services we provide to immigrants from different countries.