In short: Spain is easier and cheaper for remote workers, Portugal is easier for employees on a modest salary. Both are slow with documents: in Portugal the AIMA agency is overloaded, in Spain fingerprint appointments take months. Citizenship now takes 10 years in both, but Portugal lets you keep your previous one. In our ranking Spain is 32nd of 97 and Portugal 47th.
If you work remotely or have clients abroad and earn at least €2,849 a month: that is below Portugal's €3,680 D8 threshold, the permit is issued for three years at once, the Beckham regime taxes you at 24%, and fees over five years come to about €460 for a family of three. The price is time and security: 5-8.5 months of waiting in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, audits of remote workers after the permit is issued, and no grace period if your clients disappear.
If you are moving for a local employer or work freelance: the D1 visa is open on a minimum-wage salary, €920 a month, and freelancers have the D2. Losing a job does not by itself end your status, and dual citizenship is allowed. But AIMA misses its deadlines: the full path takes 6-9 months or longer, some people get a decision only through the courts, and fees for a family of three are about €2,400 over five years.
Spain is stronger in 4 of 7 areas, Portugal in 1, tied in 2.
Entry is open: the work route threshold equals the minimum wage, the freelance and remote-work routes are alive, there are no mandatory integration requirements, and a spouse on a family permit can work at once. Delivery is what breaks: about 130,000 cases are stalled and 124,000 lawsuits have been filed against the agency. Rules also change for people already there: since May 2026 citizenship takes 10 years instead of 5, and family reunification is possible only after the sponsor has held a permit for two years. We found no campaigns against legally resident foreigners.
The state wants newcomers: residence and work applications rose by almost half after the reform, an extraordinary regularisation of about half a million people runs in 2026, and there are no integration courses. Bureaucracy gets in the way: fingerprint appointments in big cities take 3-6 months, and since 2026 remote-work permits are audited after issue and ended without social security registration.
For a remote worker, Spain: the threshold is €2,849 a month against €3,680 for Portugal's D8 visa, and the permit runs three years from the start. With a local employer, Portugal: the D1 visa only asks for at least the minimum wage, €920 a month.
Usually Spain, although in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia the process still takes 5-8.5 months. Portugal's law promises 90 days, but in practice the full path takes 6-9 months or longer, and some people get a decision only through the courts.
Spain: about €153 per person and €460 for a family of three over five years. Portugal costs about €857 per applicant and €2,400 for a family of three, one of the highest rates in the EU.
Ten years in both: Portugal doubled the wait on 19 May 2026, including for people already living there, and counts time from the card being issued. But Portugal allows dual citizenship, while Spain requires you to give up your previous one; Latin Americans and a few other nationalities need only two years there.
Portugal: losing a job does not by itself cancel the permit, though at renewal you must show means through a new contract or benefits. Spain has no grace period: you must notify the agency within 30 days and the permit may be ended.
It depends on your situation. Spain is cheaper, faster and stronger on family rights, but keeps remote workers under audit. Portugal is open to employees on modest salaries and gentler if you lose your job, but its agency is overloaded and the rules are being tightened even for current residents.
Every fact on this page comes from the country pages, where the sources are listed. Checked 01/10/2026.