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Spain

Destination country · migration, permits and visas

Inflow of foreign nationals, 2023 (OECD)
1,037,549
Largest group, 2023
Colombia
First residence permits, 2025 (Eurostat)
633,729
Schengen visa refusal rate, 2024
15.0%
DestinationES2023–2025
Year by year
Data as at 2025
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Who moves to Spain

Inflows of foreign nationals recorded by Spain, by nationality (OECD).

Inflows by nationality, 2023
  1. Colombia170,722
  2. Morocco123,468
  3. Venezuela88,361
  4. Peru66,933
  5. Italy48,089
  6. Romania45,663
  7. Argentina35,041
  8. Ukraine34,385
  9. Honduras32,357
  10. Paraguay24,324
  11. Ecuador21,762
  12. Russia21,617
  13. China20,471
  14. Cuba20,373
  15. Brazil19,553
  16. United Kingdom18,269
  17. Pakistan18,175
  18. Germany17,445
  19. France16,356
  20. Algeria15,064

All inflows by year

530k1.06M200020032006200920122015201820212023
530k1.06M2000200420082012201620202023
Data table
2000330,785
2001393,974
2002443,003
2003429,437
2004645,712
2005682,617
2006802,845
2007920,438
2008567,209
2009365,230
2010330,076
2011335,558
2012272,132
2013247,949
2014263,996
2015289,322
2016351,312
2017453,139
2018558,945
2019664,925
2020390,202
2021702,927
20221,060,617
20231,037,549
Source: OECD, International Migration Database (OECD.ELS.IMD), accessed 24 Oct 2026Data as at 2023

Foreign nationals living in Spain

Stock of foreign nationals by nationality (latest year reported) and acquisitions of Spain's nationality (OECD).

Foreign nationals, 2024
  1. Morocco920,693
  2. Romania620,463
  3. Colombia578,477
  4. Italy325,358
  5. Venezuela325,254
  6. United Kingdom284,037
  7. China226,718
  8. Peru219,643
  9. Ukraine210,012
  10. Honduras171,771
  11. Argentina137,089
  12. Germany128,049
  13. Ecuador124,750
  14. France123,420
  15. Bulgaria112,834
Acquisitions of nationality by former nationality, 2023
  1. Morocco54,027
  2. Venezuela30,154
  3. Colombia18,738
  4. Ecuador11,326
  5. Honduras11,189
  6. Dominican Republic10,275
  7. Cuba9,790
  8. Bolivia9,103
  9. Peru8,489
  10. Argentina7,208
  11. Pakistan6,829
  12. Brazil5,759
  13. Nicaragua5,160
  14. Paraguay4,947
  15. Romania4,932

Acquisitions of nationality by year

120k240k200020032006200920122015201820212023
120k240k2000200420082012201620202023
Data table
200010,114
200116,331
200221,396
200326,135
200437,915
200542,460
200661,952
200771,284
200883,672
200979,547
2010123,624
2011114,464
2012115,451
2013225,768
2014205,840
2015114,304
2016150,810
201766,447
201890,734
201998,889
2020126,179
2021143,882
2022181,465
2023240,050
Source: OECD, International Migration Database (OECD.ELS.IMD), accessed 24 Oct 2026Data as at 2023

International migrants

People living in Spain who were born in another country, or who hold foreign citizenship where country of birth is not recorded: mid-year estimates (UN DESA).

Largest countries of birth, 2024
  1. Morocco1,088,408
  2. Colombia792,228
  3. Venezuela602,539
  4. Romania522,578
  5. Ecuador432,111
  6. Argentina390,798
  7. Peru352,470
  8. United Kingdom294,986
  9. Honduras218,548
  10. France217,960
  11. Ukraine217,765
  12. Cuba215,409

International migrants by year

4.44M8.87M19901995200020052010201520202024
4.44M8.87M19902000201020202024
Data table
1990813,588
19951,258,176
20002,023,886
20054,372,449
20106,281,193
20155,892,847
20207,146,130
20248,870,527
International migrants, 2024
8,870,527
Share of the population, 2024
18.5%
Counted by
country of birth, refugees added
Source: United Nations, DESA Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2024 (CC BY 3.0 IGO)Data as at 2024

Migrants in the labour market

Labour force survey results for Spain: residents aged 15 and over who were born abroad, compared with those born in the country (ILOSTAT).

IndicatorBorn in the countryBorn abroad
Employment-to-population ratio, 202549.8%60.9%
Unemployment rate, 20259.4%14.0%
Born abroad: share of all workers, 2025
23.6%
Born abroad: share of high-skill jobs, 2025
13.9%
Born abroad: share of medium-skill jobs, 2025
25.3%
Born abroad: share of elementary jobs, 2025
46.6%
Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT (CC BY 4.0)Data as at 2025

Earnings by occupation

Mean gross annual earnings of employees in Spain by major occupation group, in enterprises with 10 or more employees (Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022).

Occupation groupMean annual earnings, EURIndex, all occupations = 100
All occupations31,186100
Managers63,626204
Professionals44,075141
Technicians and associate professionals35,163113
Clerical support workers27,21487
Service and sales workers21,89770
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers22,48572
Craft and related trades workers26,91486
Plant and machine operators and assemblers27,90189
Elementary occupations20,56266
Mean gross annual earnings, all employees, 2022
31,186 EUR
Women's mean earnings as a share of men's, 2022
87.0%
Source: Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (CC BY 4.0)Data as at 2022

Residence permits

First residence permits issued by Spain to non-EU citizens (Eurostat).

First permits by year

317k634k2008201020122014201620182020202220242025
317k634k2008201120142017202020232025
Data table
2008399,056
2009290,238
2010257,644
2011282,014
2012222,677
2013195,615
2014188,756
2015192,192
2016210,506
2017230,395
2018258,674
2019318,359
2020310,608
2021371,418
2022454,985
2023547,874
2024560,890
2025633,729
By reason, 2025
  1. Family275,789
  2. Other reasons137,565
  3. Work115,032
  4. Education105,343
By citizenship, 2025
  1. Colombia108,099
  2. Morocco88,407
  3. Venezuela78,783
  4. Peru43,999
  5. Honduras20,821
  6. Cuba19,583
  7. China18,103
  8. Argentina17,109
  9. Ecuador15,929
  10. United States15,810
  11. Russia15,246
  12. Brazil12,457
  13. Paraguay11,987
  14. United Kingdom11,949
  15. Pakistan10,679
EU Blue Cards granted by citizenship, 2024
  1. Russia481
  2. Colombia178
  3. Brazil122
  4. India121
  5. United Kingdom120
  6. Argentina100
  7. Mexico94
  8. Venezuela71
  9. United States65
  10. Peru53
  11. Türkiye47
  12. China46
Work permits by type, 2025
  1. Other paid activities104,274
  2. Highly skilled workers (national schemes)8,542
  3. Researchers1,558
  4. EU Blue Card658
Valid residence permits, 31 Dec 2025
4,283,358
Long-term residence permits issued, 2025
319,591
Changed status into work, 2025
43,918
Intra-corporate transferee permits, 2025
689
Seasonal work authorisations, 2024
20,810
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2025

Schengen visas issued by Spain

Short-stay visa applications at Spain's consulates worldwide.

Applications by year

1.04M2.08M2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
1.04M2.08M200920122015201820212024
Data table
2009854,674
20101,143,753
20111,518,641
20121,836,868
20132,080,175
20141,923,016
20151,629,753
20161,583,848
20171,624,276
20181,701,379
20191,912,500
2020340,062
2021483,469
20221,197,457
20231,413,222
20241,634,887
Country of the consulateApplications 2024Refusal rate
China254,5713.8%
Morocco216,98521.9%
Russia125,5517.9%
Algeria123,99129.5%
United Kingdom123,0583.9%
India97,20415.6%
Ecuador76,69229.0%
Saudi Arabia62,9552.7%
Türkiye44,4186.4%
Kuwait33,2288.0%
Dominican Republic29,57820.9%
Cuba28,26111.5%
Philippines26,7396.9%
United Arab Emirates24,79918.1%
United States24,0973.9%
Source: European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, visa statistics for consulates (CC BY 4.0)Data as at 2024

Spain's embassies and consulates abroad

Countries in which Spain has an embassy or consulate, as recorded in Wikidata.

CountryEmbassiesConsulates-generalConsulates
Afghanistan1——
Albania1——
Algeria12—
Andorra1——
Angola1——
Argentina14—
Australia1——
Austria1——
Bangladesh1——
Belgium1——
Bolivia11—
Bosnia and Herzegovina1——
Brazil14—
Bulgaria1——
Cameroon1——
Canada12—
Cape Verde1——
Chad1——
Chile1——
China14—
Colombia1——
Costa Rica1——
Croatia1——
Cuba1——
Cyprus1——
Czechia1——
Côte d’Ivoire1——
DR Congo1——
Dominican Republic1——
Ecuador11—
Egypt11—
El Salvador1——
Equatorial Guinea1——
Estonia1——
Ethiopia1——
Finland1——
France191
Gabon1——
Germany1——
Ghana1——
Greece1——
Guatemala1——
Guinea1——
Guinea-Bissau1——
Haiti1——
Honduras1——
Hungary1——
India1——
Indonesia1——
Iran1——
Iraq1——
Ireland1——
Israel1——
Italy23—
Jamaica1——
Japan1——
Jordan1——
Kazakhstan1——
Kenya1——
Kuwait1——
Latvia1——
Lebanon1——
Libya1——
Lithuania1——
Luxembourg1——
Malaysia1——
Mali1——
Malta1——
Mauritania1——
Mexico12—
Montenegro1——
Morocco17—
Mozambique1——
Namibia1——
New Zealand1——
Nicaragua1——
Niger1——
Nigeria1——
North Macedonia1——
Norway1——
Oman1——
Pakistan1——
Palestine—1—
Panama1——
Paraguay1——
Peru1——
Philippines1——
Poland1——
Portugal12—
Qatar1——
Romania1——
Russia1—1
Saudi Arabia1——
Senegal1——
Serbia1——
Singapore1——
Slovakia1——
Slovenia1——
South Africa1——
South Korea1——
Sudan1——
Sweden1——
Switzerland1——
Syria1——
Tanzania1——
Thailand1——
Trinidad and Tobago1——
Tunisia1——
Türkiye11—
Ukraine1——
United Arab Emirates1——
United Kingdom11—
United States19—
Uruguay1——
Venezuela1——
Vietnam1——
Zimbabwe1——
Countries
117
Missions
173
Source: Wikidata (CC0)Data as at Oct 2026

Remittances sent abroad

Personal remittances paid from Spain to other countries, in current US dollars (World Bank).

Remittances paid by year, US$ million

4498972000200320062009201220152018202120242025
449897200020052010201520202025
Data table
2000622
2001574
2002533
2003539
2004705
2005733
2006794
2007897
2008749
2009557
2010471
2011497
2012407
2013353
2014403
2015368
2016304
2017363
2018440
2019449
2020353
2021265
2022415
2023595
2024588
2025794
Remittances paid, 2025
US$794 million
Average cost of sending US$200 from Spain, 2023
2.2%
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)Data as at 2025

Corridors into Spain

Nationalities with a dedicated corridor page.

Source: OECD, International Migration Database (OECD.ELS.IMD), accessed 24 Oct 2026Data as at 2023

Official data, not advice. Visa Atlas publishes figures from government registers and statistics. It does not assess eligibility or give immigration advice; for advice, consult a regulated adviser. Read more