From Dubai to Valencia in 74 days — a family of five

A UAE-based executive, his spouse and three children — ages 6, 9 and 14 — moved from Dubai to Valencia in 74 days from signed engagement to keys in hand. The timeline worked because nothing waited for anything else to finish first.

Week 1–3: Legal and housing run at the same time

The Non-Lucrative Residency application (passive income route, given the family's investment income structure) went in during week one. In parallel, housing search started immediately rather than after visa approval — a common bottleneck, since most families wait to search until the visa is confirmed, losing weeks they don't need to lose.

Week 4–8: School placement was the tightest constraint

Valencia's international and bilingual schools have limited mid-year capacity. Applications for the 9- and 14-year-old went in with provisional enrollment before the visa was finalized, using the family's booked property as the address requirement. The 6-year-old's public school placement moved faster once the padrón registration was complete.

Week 9–11: Arrival and settling

Visa collection, padrón registration, TSI healthcare card and bank account opening were sequenced across the final two weeks, with the family physically in Valencia for the last stretch rather than managing it remotely. They were fully settled — keys, schools, healthcare — inside 11 weeks.