Strategic relocation advisory and management for individuals, families and founders moving to Spain.
Moving countries affects far more than immigration. We help you make the right decisions, in the right order, and manage the move from strategy through settlement.
Your move is bigger than your visa.
An agency files the visa. A lawyer answers the question you ask. An adviser sees your tax return. An agent finds a flat. Each does their part well, and no one looks at how the parts collide.
They do collide. The visa route sets the arrival date. The arrival date sets tax residence. Tax residence decides whether Beckham Law is still open to you, and where your company should sit. And all of it decides when your children start school.
One strategy first. Then the paperwork.
A visa gets you in. It doesn't choose your home, settle your tax position, place your children in school or keep your business running. Immigration is one part of the move, not the plan itself.
Claudia saw this from the other side of the desk, as a civil servant at extranjería, Spain's immigration office. Most of the time the visa wasn't the problem. A decision made too early, or too late, somewhere else in the move was.
Immigration is where that expertise began. Relocation is where it now operates. The Expat Suite is the strategic lead for the move, and whenever a case needs a lawyer's signature or representation, a qualified lawyer takes it.
Read Claudia's storyThere is no standard relocation. It depends on what you're bringing with you, and what you're building here.
Remote, transferred or hired in Spain: the route follows the job, and the job keeps going through the move.
Personal and company decisions made as one strategy: where it's registered, how you're paid, when you arrive.
Two careers, children, schools and a home to leave. Every person needs a status, on the same timeline.
Retiring, or pausing on savings. The Non-Lucrative route done carefully, with the life around it.
A move to Spain is five decisions pretending to be one:
where you'll live, how you'll work, how your money is taxed, how your family settles, and how you'll build a life.
The Expat Suite brings them into one strategy.
Legal
Immigration as one dimension of the move. The right strategy supports the life you are actually trying to build, not just the fastest approval.
Home
A home and a practical foundation that support the move, rather than becoming another source of uncertainty.
Business
A business transition considered alongside your personal move, your timing and your wider objectives, with vetted tax partners where it needs them.
Life
The practical and human foundations that turn arrival into an actual life here: language, people, routine.
Family
A relocation that works for the household, not just the principal applicant. Schools, healthcare and pets, on one timeline.
Five dimensions.One move.
You don't need every Suite. We build the right combination around your move.
Tell us about your situation and we'll work out which dimensions matter.
Strategic relocation advisory and management, for the situation you're actually in.
For people who need clarity before making important decisions.
A good relocation starts before the first application, property search or flight. We help you understand the decisions that will shape your move, and the consequences of making them in the wrong order.
For people who have decided to move and need a coherent roadmap.
A relocation rarely becomes difficult because one decision is impossible. It becomes difficult when connected decisions are made in the wrong order.
For moves complex enough that you don't want to manage every moving part yourself.
Your relocation may involve immigration, housing, tax, business, family and dozens of smaller decisions. The challenge isn't finding people who can handle each task. It's making sure the whole move works together.
For entrepreneurs whose personal move and business decisions are connected.
Moving countries shouldn't mean putting the business on hold while you solve everything else.
For households where the move depends on more than one person.
A family relocation succeeds when the whole household can build a functioning life in Spain.
For people whose immigration is resolved and who now need to establish their life in Spain.
The first months in a new country can disappear into administration, decisions and small problems. A good soft landing gives that time back.
You don't need to know which service fits. That's our job.
Focused services, for one specific piece of work.
Private Strategy Session
Clarity before commitment.
Sixty minutes, one to one with Claudia: your situation, the decisions ahead and the most sensible next step, with a short written summary afterwards. Better decisions before you commit time, money or momentum.
Route Memo
Know your route before you build around it. A written assessment of your circumstances, your possible routes and the recommended direction.
Route MemoOfficer's File Review
Review the file before the file reviews you. A detailed review of your immigration application before it's submitted.
Officer's File ReviewNot sure yet? Let's have a coffee.
Fifteen minutes, free, to see whether we're the right fit. No advice, no pitch. You don't need one before booking a Strategy Session.
Every client gets a private workspace: documents, decisions, dates and messages in one place, not scattered across an inbox.
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“I didn't plan to fall in love with immigration law. It found me.”
Claudia trained to become a civil servant while finishing her law degree. She passed the exam, but there was no permanent post, so she was sent to extranjería, Spain's immigration office. That's where she met immigration law, and the people on the other side of the desk trying to build a life somewhere new.
Today she works as an immigration paralegal and runs The Expat Suite, a young practice she keeps small so she can lead every move herself. Immigration is where her expertise began. Relocation is where it now operates.
I asked Claudia for help with a complex immigration matter. Her guidance was essential to understand the process, the steps and the timing. A true professional — responsible and committed.
Blanca Borro Escribano, Banco de España
Ten questions, three minutes. See where your move is clear and where it still needs a decision, across legal, tax, home, business and life.
Five dimensions. One move.
Your plan doesn't start with the visa form. It starts with your passport: it decides your route, your paperwork, and how your home country keeps taxing you.
Will I be taxed twice if I live in Spain?
Not necessarily. The US–Spain Double Taxation Treaty prevents double taxation, but you're still required to file in both countries every year — filing doesn't always mean paying twice.
What is FBAR and does it affect me?
If you hold foreign bank accounts that exceed a certain threshold at any point in the year, you must report them to the US Treasury — a separate filing from your income tax return, with steep penalties if missed.
Can I keep my US accountant?
Yes, and we recommend it. We coordinate your Spanish tax structure with your existing US advisor so both filings stay consistent.
When do I stop being a tax resident at home?
It depends on your country's residence rules (the UK's Statutory Residence Test, for example). It's not automatic — day counts and ties to your home country determine it case by case.
When do I start paying taxes in Spain?
Generally once you exceed 183 days in Spanish territory in a calendar year. The timing of your move can significantly change your first tax year.
Does the treaty protect me automatically?
It exists, but doesn't apply itself — you need to file correctly in both countries and, in some cases, actively claim the exemption. Not doing this is the most common reason people overpay.
When can I apply for Spanish citizenship?
For many Latin American nationals the wait is two years of legal residence, not ten. Which permit you hold, and whether your residence is continuous, decides if that clock starts.
Which permit should I choose?
Digital Nomad, Non-Lucrative, Highly Qualified or Self-Employed: it depends on where your income comes from and whether you'll work. The route also decides whether you apply from your consulate or from inside Spain.
What happens to my documents?
They need apostilles and, where they aren't in Spanish, sworn translations. Some expire, so the order you collect them in matters. Y podemos hablarlo en español.
Why do I suddenly owe taxes?
Because your tax residence follows your physical residence. There's no personal income tax in the UAE; in Spain, once you exceed 183 days, there is.
Can I structure my income before moving?
In many cases yes — but only if it's planned before you shift your tax residence. Once the move is done, your options shrink fast.
Does my UAE company stay valid if I live in Spain?
It can keep existing, but if you're based in Spain and running it from here, Spanish authorities may treat it as having Spanish tax activity. Review this case by case before you relocate.
What does my passport decide?
Your route, how your documents must be legalised, and where you apply. Your home country decides how you're taxed after you leave.
Apostille or consular legalisation?
It depends on where your documents were issued. Documents from some countries need consular legalisation, not an apostille, which takes longer. Allow extra time.
Where do I apply?
Some routes are filed at the Spanish consulate in your home country. Others can be filed from inside Spain through the UGE, which is usually faster.
The Club is a small, live group for people already living in Spain: the part that starts once the boxes are unpacked.
For the adjustment coaching that comes after the move — the human side of building a life here — see Miralles Berna.
Immigration, 8 min read
What changed in the DNV criteria this year, and how to keep a remote-employment file from getting flagged.
Not sure where your own move stands?
Take the Spain Move ScoreClaudia on the Spainfully Honest podcast, answering questions about Spanish bureaucracy from her time inside the immigration office.
Most full relocations take 3 to 9 months from the first session to settling in. The visa itself depends on the route. A complete Digital Nomad Visa application filed from inside Spain through the UGE is usually resolved in about 20 working days. Consular routes and the Non-Lucrative Visa take longer. Most of the time goes into what comes before filing: documents, translations and the decisions around them. The Strategy Session gives you a realistic timeline for your case.
Often, yes. The Digital Nomad Visa is built for remote employees of foreign companies and freelancers with mostly foreign clients (Spanish clients can't be more than 20% of your work). If you're moving a company, where it's registered and how you're paid need planning before you file.
Generally, when you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, or when your main business or economic interests are here. You can also be presumed resident if your spouse and minor children live here. The date matters for Beckham Law, which is why we plan it.
Yes. On the Digital Nomad Visa, family members can apply with you, and the income requirement rises for each person. On other routes they may join through family reunification. We time each person's status so the family arrives together.
Often a bit of both, and that's the gap we fill. The Expat Suite is the strategic lead for your move: we make sure the right decisions and the right professional work happen in the right order. Claudia is an immigration paralegal, not a lawyer. Whenever your case needs legal representation or tax advice, a qualified immigration lawyer or tax adviser does that work, and where appropriate they contract and invoice you directly.
Because no two moves need the same support. Your proposal is built around your circumstances and the level of support required. Tell us about your move and you'll receive a tailored proposal within 24 hours.
Professionals, founders and families from anywhere outside the EU. We know the US, UK, Latin American and Gulf starting points best, and we work in English and Spanish.
No. You can book a Strategy Session directly.
You work with Claudia directly. Questions go through your private workspace or email, and get a written answer within 24-48 hours, Monday to Friday, 09:00-18:00 CET, so you always have the answer on record. Calls are booked through a Calendly link, with an agenda.
1. Assessment
You tell us about your move: who's moving, from where, and what you need.
2. Review
Claudia reviews your situation and the decisions it involves.
3. Proposal
A tailored proposal within 24 hours, built around your circumstances.
4. Project
We lead the move, with one strategy and the right specialists.
Receive a tailored proposal within 24 hours.