Moving to Spain from China

For Chinese nationals, Spain offers a rare combination: a large, well-established Chinese community, a mild climate, a comparatively affordable cost of living, and residence routes that are genuinely accessible to non-EU citizens. Whether you are a student heading to a Spanish university, a remote worker who can live anywhere, a family with savings and passive income, or a professional with a job offer, there is usually a route that fits. But the process for a Chinese national is not identical to that for an EU citizen, and several points — documents, nationality and tax — deserve early attention. This page sets out the landscape in plain terms.

"Since China joined the Apostille Convention the paperwork is simpler — but the nationality and tax decisions still need planning from the very first day."

The main residence routes for Chinese nationals

As a non-EU country, China is subject to the same general immigration framework as any other third country. That means a Chinese national who wishes to live in Spain will normally need a visa and a residence authorisation matched to their circumstances. The most relevant routes in practice are the student visa, the digital nomad visa, the non-lucrative visa, the highly qualified professional route, and — for founders and high earners — the special Beckham tax regime. Each carries its own income thresholds, documentary requirements and processing steps, and choosing the wrong one can cost months. The right starting point is to match your real situation — income, work, study plans and family — to the route designed for it.

The student route — very popular

The student visa is one of the most popular routes for Chinese nationals, and for good reason. Spain hosts a large and growing community of Chinese students at its public and private universities, business schools and language academies, and the student authorisation is comparatively straightforward to obtain where a genuine enrolment exists. It also allows limited work under the current rules, and time spent as a student can, in many cases, later count toward residence, giving families a structured way to establish a foothold in Spain while a son or daughter studies.

For many Chinese families the student route is also a first step in a longer plan: a young person studies in Madrid or Barcelona, the family visits, and over time the household considers a more permanent move. The key is a real, verifiable course of study and correctly prepared documents. Our dedicated page on the student visa walks through eligibility, funds, health cover and the application steps in detail.

The digital nomad route

The digital nomad visa, introduced by Spain's Startup Act, is aimed at remote workers and freelancers who can perform their work from Spain for clients or an employer located outside the country. For Chinese professionals in technology, consulting, e-commerce, design or online business, this route can be an excellent fit: it lets you keep your existing income while relocating your life to Spain, and it can bring family members. Applicants generally need to show a stable remote income above a set threshold, a genuine work relationship of some minimum duration, and appropriate qualifications or experience.

The digital nomad route also interacts with the special tax regime, which can be attractive for higher earners. See our dedicated page on the digital nomad visa for the income requirements, the documentation, and how it combines with the tax rules.

The non-lucrative route

The non-lucrative visa suits Chinese nationals who have sufficient passive income or savings to support themselves in Spain without working locally. It is a common choice for retirees, for investors living off returns, and for families who wish to relocate without an immediate need to earn income in Spain. Applicants must demonstrate stable financial means above the required threshold, private health insurance and a clean record. Because it does not authorise local work, the non-lucrative route is best understood as a residence-and-lifestyle option rather than an employment route. Our dedicated page on the non-lucrative (retirement) visa explains the income levels and the process.

Highly qualified professionals and the Beckham Regime

Chinese professionals with a job offer from a Spanish company, or those transferring within a multinational, may qualify under the highly qualified professional route, which is designed to attract skilled talent and can be faster than the general work-permit path. Separately, founders, entrepreneurs and high-earning individuals relocating to Spain often look at the Beckham Regime, a special tax regime that taxes qualifying income at a flat rate up to a high threshold for a period of years. The Beckham Regime is a tax election rather than a visa, and it is typically paired with an underlying residence route — but for the right profile it can make a Spanish move markedly more attractive. Which combination works depends on your income mix and structure, and should be modelled before you commit.

Documents: the Apostille Convention change

One of the most important recent developments for Chinese applicants concerns documents. For years, Chinese public documents destined for use in Spain had to go through consular legalisation — a slow, multi-step chain ending at a Spanish consulate. That has changed. China joined the Hague Apostille Convention, which entered into force for China in November 2023. As a result, public documents issued in mainland China — birth certificates, marriage certificates, criminal-record certificates, academic diplomas and similar — are now apostilled by the competent Chinese authority rather than consular-legalised as before.

This is generally simpler and faster than the old procedure, but two points still matter. First, once a Chinese document carries its apostille, it will normally need to be sworn-translated into Spanish from Mandarin by a translator recognised for official purposes, so that Spanish authorities can read and accept it. Second, transitional and practical questions can arise — which body issues the apostille for a given document, how recent a criminal-record certificate must be, and how Hong Kong and Macau documents are handled, as those were already within the Convention beforehand. Getting the document chain right at the start avoids rejections later.

Nationality — China does not allow dual citizenship

A point that Chinese nationals must weigh carefully, and often much earlier than they expect, is nationality. China does not generally permit dual nationality. Under Chinese law, a Chinese citizen who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality can lose their Chinese nationality. In practice this means that acquiring Spanish nationality generally requires renouncing Chinese nationality — you cannot simply hold both as citizens of some other countries can.

This has real consequences. Spanish citizenship brings an EU passport, full free movement and political rights, but at the cost of the Chinese passport and the rights attached to it, including certain property, residence and family considerations in China. For many, long-term Spanish residence — which can be renewed and can lead to permanent residence — meets their goals without touching nationality at all. The choice between staying a Chinese citizen with Spanish residence, and becoming a Spanish citizen, is a significant personal decision that should be made deliberately, ideally with advice on both sides.

The path to Spanish citizenship

For those who do decide to pursue Spanish nationality, the timeline is a defining feature. Spain generally requires ten years of legal, continuous residence before an ordinary application for citizenship by residence. Certain categories — for example refugees, or nationals of particular countries with historic ties to Spain — benefit from shorter periods, but China is not among the reduced-timeline countries, so Chinese nationals should plan around the full ten-year path. Alongside the residence requirement, applicants must typically show integration, which in practice includes language and civic-knowledge examinations, and a clean record.

The ten-year horizon, combined with the dual-nationality point above, is why nationality planning belongs at the start of the journey, not the end. A Chinese national who understands from day one that the road to a Spanish passport is a decade of continuous residence — and that reaching it means giving up the Chinese passport — can structure their residence, absences and family plans accordingly, rather than discovering the constraints years in.

Tax and the China–Spain treaty

Tax is the other area where early planning pays. Once a person becomes tax-resident in Spain — broadly, by spending more than 183 days in a calendar year in the country, or by centring their economic interests there — they are generally taxed on worldwide income under Spanish rules. For a Chinese national with income, assets or a business back in China, that raises the obvious question of double taxation.

Here the China–Spain double tax treaty is central. The treaty allocates taxing rights between the two countries and provides relief mechanisms so that the same income is not fully taxed twice, covering categories such as employment income, business profits, dividends, interest and royalties. It does not make tax disappear, but it is the framework that prevents the worst double-taxation outcomes and that determines, item by item, how a given stream of income is treated once you live in Spain. Anyone moving with meaningful Chinese-source income, a Chinese company, or investment assets should map their income against the treaty before relocating, and — for higher earners — consider whether the Beckham Regime improves the outcome. Getting this right at the outset is far easier than unwinding a problem after the move.

Community and where people settle

Chinese nationals moving to Spain do not arrive in a vacuum. Spain has a large, long-established Chinese community, together with a substantial student population and a notable investor presence, which means established networks, services, schools and businesses that make settling in considerably easier. The most popular destinations are Madrid and Barcelona, which combine major universities, business opportunities and mature Chinese communities, though families also settle along the coast and in other cities depending on work, study and lifestyle. This existing community is one of the practical reasons Spain is so frequently chosen over other European options.

Planning your move

Everything above points to the same conclusion: a move from China to Spain rewards early, joined-up planning across three fronts — the right residence route, correctly prepared and translated documents, and a clear view of nationality and tax. A sensible sequence usually covers:

• Matching your circumstances — study, remote work, passive income or a job offer — to the correct route, rather than assuming one visa fits all.
• Assembling and apostilling Chinese public documents under the post-2023 procedure, then arranging sworn Spanish translations from Mandarin.
• Deciding, deliberately, whether your goal is long-term Spanish residence or eventual citizenship — and understanding that citizenship means renouncing Chinese nationality after the ten-year path.
• Mapping your income and assets against the China–Spain tax treaty, and assessing whether the Beckham Regime helps.
• Sequencing the timing of the move, family members and any Chinese business interests so nothing is left to chance.

Done well, this turns a daunting international move into a clear set of steps. If you would like the routes, documents and tax treated together for your own situation, our lawyers can review it with you before you commit — get in touch.

General information, not legal advice. Immigration, nationality and tax rules change and depend on your individual circumstances and the year of application; they must be confirmed for your case before you rely on them.