I plan to move to Spain for a year. What do I need to do to obtain a visa that would allow me. I would like to live in Barcelona. Any suggestions?

Sure! First thing is to visit the Spanish consulate website for your US Region - http://www.maec.es/consulados/nuevayork/es/home . But prepare yourself for a long, slow, hard road ahead.

You'll find lots of previous discussions on this very topic here in this forum category. 1-year is longer than the (maximum) 6 months allowable for a tourist visa. Anything more than 6-months is difficult unless you're on a Student's Visa - and you'll have to prove you're a registered student. Getting a 1-year work visa will be really tough - if not impossible. Few - if any - companies will hire you knowing this and you'll have to be fluent in Spanish too. Hope you are. Teaching English is a good possibility but you'll have to first get your Teachers Certificate to teach a foreign language.

Best of luck!

Saludos, MadridMan

Thank you for your help. Maybe I should try and see what happens. Thanks again

I'm planning on moving somewhere in Europe and I've been leaning more and more towards Madrid. I dont plan on returning to the US so what are the chances of me surviving there without a visa and without knowing anyone. I'm not a criminal, just a guy with his dog who want to live life the way its meant to be. And if this is illegal and you cant respond, I understand. Just let me know what percent of the population are illegal aliens.

Hi juanfoot151! Welcome to our ALL SPAIN Message Board!

You won't have any problems just "surviving" in Madrid/Spain without a visa - but you won't be able to "live". You'll likely be like many illegals here whom roam from low-paid job to another, living with 10 roommates, and quickly becoming very depressed with your prospects and soon doubt your decision to move to Spain.

And if you're taking your dog, that's another problem. You won't be able to take him/her without a lengthy bureaucratic process and tests. Having a dog in Madrid is much different and much more problematic/difficult than having a dog in the USA.

No one knows the percentage of illegals in Madrid but I'm sure they can estimate. Many are moving back to their home countries lately because the construction boom has gone bust and there are fewer jobs to be found.

If you speak Spanish, all's the better. If not, well, prepare for a long-lasting stinging slap of reality.

My advice to you is to put in your time before leaving, make contacts, work on your Spanish and your knowledge of XYC City in Spain, make yourself virtually Spanish before arriving and you'll be better prepared. Also, save your money now while you can make it in the USA.

If you're hoping to pick up next month and move to Spain you can be near certain of disaster, heartbreak, and walking along the fringe of the law for the foreseeable future. I can't imagine living like that anywhere in the world, constantly stressed, high anxiety, hungry, worried about how to pay the bills or find your next day-job. Must be terrible.

Saludos, MadridMan