Moving to Costa Blanca

As you are already aware if you are a non EU/EEA Passport holder you will have to apply for a visa to work and live in Spain. The following links should provide you with some more detailed information. 

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/londres/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/Visados-Schengen.aspx

https:https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/londres/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/Visado-de-trabajo-por-cuenta-propia.aspx/www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-spain-for-work

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/londres/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/Visado-de-trabajo-por-cuenta-ajena.aspx

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain

If you are applying for a work permit, you need a contracted offer of a job before you apply. Note that work visas for UK (and all non EU citizens) are usually only for work that is classed as a shortage and normally in technical trades such as IT or scientific and medical studies although there are others. The employer has to show that the job cannot be carried out by a Spanish or other EU citizen.

If you husband wishes to go self employed, he should apply for either a self employed or entrepreneur visa. This first would need a business plan showing how he would be able to earn the minimum amount required (about 30,000 euro a year at the moment) and for the latter setting up his own business and, again, setting out a business plan to show how this would generate the income required.

Office and administration work are not classed as a shortage occupation. Most applying here would be fluent in Spanish and at least one other language. For example, the receptionist at my dentist is Polish but speaks four languages including Spanish and English.

You will also need to have private medical insurance for your family. If you husband becomes self employed, he will pay a certain amount into social security and will receive state health care for himself and all members of his household.

The other ways are working remotely online for a non Spanish company (known as the digital nomad visa) or a non lucrative visa which means you are not allowed to work. In both cases you would need private health insurance and a minimum income of over 30,000 euro per year.

Best of luck but, unfortunately, it is no longer as easy as it was before UK withdrew from the EU.

Please note the minimum income required would be 4 x 600 euro a month for the main applicant and 1 x 600 euro a month for dependants. Therefore the income that needs to be shown for a family of 4 is now approaching 50,000 euro per year.

Just a word of caution, please don’t think it will be an easier life having to work to live in Spain, the cost of living is lower than the UK but pay is low and many people need 2 or 3 jobs to survive.

The tv shows do not give a balanced view of living here, the ‘laid back lifestyle’ is only available if you have the existing funds to support it.

Good luck with your plans

I don’t blame you wanted to move to the sun but I’ve tried to think of jobs that could work from you and can’t. Being legal in Spain makes it nigh impossible to scrape a living. The previous advice given is pretty accurate. Unless you could think about setting up a business that you could both work at and have the money to keep yourselves afloat until it started to generate money,   I can’t think of anything else.  The language is something you’d need to have for certain. 

Working remotely sounds like the perfect answer for you.  As your husband is a joiner, wooden outdoor furniture could work as a new experiment. The sun tends to be very harsh on manmade products and wooden outdoor furniture is something that could work in Spain.  I always loved the old fashioned deckchairs favoured by my late father. I refer to the wooden framed with linen fabric attached at the top and bottom. The chairs can recline too. Never see them in Spain and would love a couple to take tote beach with us. I reckon you could import them from China and assemble them very easily. Buy a property in the countryside and set your business up where you live.  
just an idea but food for thought!   Put your thinking caps on and search for an Irish grandfather/ grandmother  and if you do,you can apply for an Irish passport and bypass all the requirements demanded if applying from the U.K.   good luck. Grannyrose. 

Hi,

   Spain, in common with a lot of countries, has labour shortages in various trades & professions. Mid-last year they were making it easier for third country citizens to work in Spain for certain roles, construction being one.  

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-grant-more-work-visas-combat-labour-shortages-2022-06-03/

With your family contacts already living in Spain you might be able to use this to your advantage.

Contact your nearest Spanish consulate and discuss with them, hopefully they can give advice on how to proceed.

 Look on google to find your nearest consulate.

Good luck!

Rgds,

Aitch.