Just Landed in Spain? Your First 7 Days

Spain has some of the fastest, cheapest fibre broadband in Europe alongside strong 4G and expanding 5G coverage across cities and most towns. Prepaid SIMs are sold in phone shops, supermarkets and estancos and must be registered to your passport at purchase. Contract (contrato) plans are cheaper long-term but usually require a NIE and a Spanish bank account for direct debit.

Typical cost: A prepaid data SIM runs around 10-15 EUR/month; budget operator Digi offers unlimited-data deals from about 7-10 EUR. A fibre-plus-mobile home bundle from Movistar, Orange or Digi typically costs 30-50 EUR/month, with symmetric 300Mbps to 1Gbps fibre widely available.

Spain is firmly in the euro and card payments are accepted almost everywhere, including contactless and Apple/Google Pay, but keep small cash for neighbourhood bars, markets and tips. Contactless limits and instant Bizum transfers (a phone-number payment system linked to your bank) dominate everyday spending between locals.

Opening an account: BBVA, CaixaBank and Santander are the big traditional banks with branches everywhere; Sabadell and Bankinter are common alternatives. Newcomers without a NIE often start with N26, Revolut or Wise, which issue a Spanish or European IBAN in minutes. Full resident accounts usually require your NIE, a padrón certificate and proof of address, while non-resident accounts are possible but carry monthly maintenance fees of around 5-15 EUR.

Cash: Cards dominate in cities, but many small bars, panaderías, weekend markets and older taxis prefer or only accept cash. Keep 20-40 EUR on you. Bizum is nearly universal among residents for splitting bills, paying tradespeople and buying second-hand items, so set it up once your bank account is active.

Tipping: Tipping is modest and optional. Rounding up or leaving small change in a café is normal; 5-10 percent at a nicer restaurant is generous rather than expected. There is no obligatory tipping culture for taxis beyond rounding up, and service staff are paid a proper wage, so nobody depends on tips to get by.

Registration in Spain has two distinct legal layers. First, everyone who lives in a municipality must register their home address at the town hall (empadronamiento) to appear on the local padrón, regardless of nationality. Second, non-EU nationals must obtain a NIE and, for stays over six months, a physical TIE residence card, while EU/EEA nationals register on the Central Register of Foreigners and receive a green certificate. Empadronamiento is the foundation that underpins access to public healthcare, school enrolment, resident parking and most municipal services, and it is renewed periodically for non-EU residents.

Deadline: There is no fixed legal deadline for the padrón, but complete it as soon as you have an address because other paperwork depends on it. The TIE fingerprint (toma de huellas) appointment must be booked and attended within one month of your residence permit being approved.

Where: Empadronamiento at your local ayuntamiento (town hall), by prior appointment in larger cities; NIE and TIE at the Oficina de Extranjería or a designated National Police station, always by prior cita previa booked through sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es.

Big cities have excellent, cheap and clean metro, bus and cercanías commuter-rail networks; always buy a rechargeable contactless transport card rather than single tickets. Madrid's monthly Abono and Barcelona's integrated T-usual/T-casual cards cover metro, bus and local rail. Intercity travel is fast and often affordable by Renfe high-speed AVE trains, with budget competitors Ouigo and Iryo undercutting them on major routes.

From the airport: From Madrid-Barajas (MAD): Metro Line 8 or Cercanías line C-1 reaches the centre in about 30 minutes, or take the 24-hour Exprés Aeropuerto bus to Atocha; an official white taxi to the centre is a fixed 33 EUR flat fare. From Barcelona-El Prat (BCN): the Aerobús runs to Plaça Catalunya in roughly 35 minutes for about 7 EUR, Rodalies line R2 Nord connects to Sants and Passeig de Gràcia, and a metered taxi to the centre costs around 30-40 EUR. Cabify, Uber and FREENOW operate at both airports.

Most newcomers rent long-term through Idealista and Fotocasa, the two dominant portals, or start in a mid-term furnished flat via Spotahome or a room via Badi. Since the 2023 housing law, agencies (inmobiliarias) legally cannot charge the tenant the agency finding fee, which now falls on the landlord, so treat any demand for one as a warning sign. In high-demand cities you often need to view and commit within a day or two, so have your documents ready.

Typical rent: A one-bedroom flat runs roughly 900-1,300 EUR/month in central Madrid or Barcelona and 700-1,000 EUR just outside the centre, while smaller cities like Valencia, Seville or Málaga sit closer to 600-900 EUR. Prices have risen sharply in recent years, so filter listings by date and be sceptical of anything far below the local norm.

Deposit norm: The legal fianza deposit is one month's rent, usually lodged with a regional housing body, and landlords very often ask for one additional month as extra guarantee. Expect to prove income with payslips (nómina) or a work contract, and for tenants without local income, landlords may request a guarantor or several months paid upfront.

Spain's public health system (Sistema Nacional de Salud) is high quality and largely free at the point of use for residents who contribute to social security or are covered as dependents, though prescriptions carry a means-tested co-payment. It consistently ranks among the best in the world, but non-urgent specialist waiting lists can be long, which is why many residents also hold private cover.

How to access it: Once you are empadronado and enrolled in social security, register at your local health centre (centro de salud) to obtain a health card (tarjeta sanitaria) and an assigned GP (médico de cabecera), your first point of contact for referrals. In an emergency, go to any hospital urgencias department or call 112, where you will be treated regardless of paperwork. EU visitors can use an EHIC or UK GHIC card for necessary care.

Insurance: The non-lucrative visa and several other residence routes legally require full private health insurance with no co-payments and no waiting periods. Common providers are Sanitas, Adeslas, DKV and Asisa, costing roughly 50-150 EUR/month depending on your age and level of cover. Many residents keep private insurance even with public access, to skip specialist waiting lists and get English-speaking doctors.

• Greet with two cheek kisses (right cheek first) in social settings, or a handshake in formal and business contexts; between two men a handshake is more usual.
• Meals run late: lunch is the main meal around 14:00-15:00 and dinner rarely starts before 21:00, so restaurant kitchens often do not open for dinner until 20:30.
• Many shops and offices still close for a midday break, and Sunday trading is limited, so plan errands around opening hours rather than assuming everything runs all day.
• A relaxed pace is normal and being a few minutes late socially is fine, but arrive punctually for official appointments, doctors and job interviews.
• Learn a few Spanish phrases even in tourist areas; a simple 'hola', 'gracias', 'por favor' and 'buenos días' goes a long way and is genuinely expected.
• Socialising centres on long, unhurried meals and drinks; don't rush the bill, and expect the waiter to bring it only when you ask ('la cuenta, por favor').
• Noise, animated conversation and children out late are all normal, especially in summer, so match the sociable energy rather than reading it as rudeness.

• August is effectively a national holiday month: many small businesses, offices, restaurants and even some administrative services shut for two to four weeks.
• Bureaucracy is slow and appointment-driven (cita previa for almost everything); bring originals plus photocopies and expect multiple visits before anything is resolved.
• Regional identity matters: in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, acknowledge the local language and don't assume everyone identifies simply as 'Spanish'.
• Summer heat inland is serious; Madrid, Seville and Córdoba regularly hit 40C, so plan outdoor activity for morning or evening and take siesta hours literally.
• English is not widely spoken in government offices, older neighbourhoods and smaller towns, so line up translation help or a Spanish-speaking friend for key admin.