Many Filipinos dream of moving to another country with higher pay, better government benefits, better education, better transportation infrastructure, and a cheaper cost of living. For some Filipinos, they don’t want to leave the Philippines but simply want an option to reside in another country, an option they want not only for them but mostly for their children. Regardless of the reason or motivation on why you arrived at this page, the Spanish law is the same for all Filipinos who want to move to Spain. It depends, however, on your unique circumstances on which method would be the most appropriate for your case.

After two years of living in Madrid, I have met many Filipinos from all walks of life. Their ways of coming here, however, are varied. In particular, Filipinos have come to Spain using the golden visa, family visa, non-lucrative visa, student visa, job search visa, autonomo visa, and the most recent, the digital nomad visa. There are also a handful of Filipinos who have come here because of a natural-born Spanish grandparent or parent.

Although there are many types of golden visas (otherwise known as an investor’s visa), the golden visa that is most popular among the Filipinos is the visa that allows a Filipino to reside in Spain after investing an amount not lower than €500,000 in cash to buy a house or apartment in Spain. This amounts to around P30,000,000, which is basically the amount of a 3-bedroom apartment in Rockwell or BGC. With this visa, you can bring your children or persons classified as economically dependent on you.

The “family visa” allows an EU citizen in Spain to petition his family members to reside in Spain. Family members may be immediate or extended. The immediate family members refer to the spouse or registered live-in partner and minor children below 21 years old. For extended family members such as the parents, siblings and children above 21 years old, the EU citizen must prove economic dependence.

Another very popular method for Filipinos to move to Spain is the non-lucrative visa. This is actually a retiree’s visa because you have to show proof of passive income of around €2400 plus an additional €540 per dependent. Although the non-lucrative visa requires passive income, such as income from pension, dividends, or rent, I have seen some Filipinos get this visa by showing proof of income from their business, remote working, or their spouse’s professional income. This is a one-year visa subject to a yearly renewal.

Although this visa is generally given to Filipinos who study in Spain, I have also seen this visa used by English language assistants who have been employed by Spanish schools. For English language assistants, it is a yearly visa that can be renewed up to a maximum of two (2) years. Some Filipinos have used this as a stepping stone to get employed as English teachers in Spain. A student visa is not counted as legal residency for purposes of citizenship.

The job search visa has been used by Filipinos who graduated from Spanish universities to look for a job. It is not technically a visa because the student must already be in Spain at the time of application. It simply allows the student to extend the legal residence for one year after graduating from a Spanish university in order to find a job.

The autonomo visa or self-employed visa is an entrepreneurial type of visa that allows Filipinos to stay in Madrid. Some establish a corporation that allows them to stay in Madrid. Some show that they have at least one client in Madrid that allows them to stay under an autonomo visa. This is an expensive visa because of the requirement to pay a minimum amount for Social Security. Although the initial payments are small at €60 per month for the first year, it is a progressive schedule that will be raised at a minimum of €275 per month on the third year.

This is the newest type of visa offered by the Spanish government in 2022 to entice remote workers to stay and work in Spain. Although the law was passed in 2022, the implementing rules and regulations were only issued in March 2023. The Spanish consulates abroad only began receiving applications from April 2023 onwards. Under the rules, you must prove income double the Spanish minimum wage, which as of September 2023 should be at least €2600 per month plus an additional €810 for the spouse and another additional amount of €540 per child. Income received from Spanish companies should not be more than 20% of the digital nomad’s total income.

When a Filipino has a natural-born Spanish ascendant up to the grandparent level, the child or grandchild could apply for citizenship. Usually, the consulate will just need a copy of your grandparent’s birth certificate. However, when the birth certificate is not available, you can still show proof of your ascendant’s Spanish birth through other means. The law allowing acquisition of citizenship through this method expires on October 20, 2024.

The most beautiful thing for Filipinos about choosing Spain as a second home is that Filipinos only need to legally reside here for two years (and not the usual ten years) in order to apply for citizenship. This is because the Philippines is a former Spanish colony, and this 2-year residency requirement for citizenship is granted to citizens of former Spanish colonies. Spain also has great food, a lower cost of living (compared to Manila), a great educational system, and a great transportation infrastructure.

The con about living here is that finding a job for professionals is a little bit more difficult if you’re not fluent in the Spanish language, not an IT professional, or if you don’t have a specific area of expertise. A lot of Filipinos, however, can easily find work in the restaurant and domestic industry as a cocinero or a domestic helper/cleaner (externa or interna).

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