Principality of Andorra vs Kingdom of Spain
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines Principality of Andorra and Kingdom of Spain government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- Immigration - Government of Andorra
Government of Andorra - verified
- Ministerio de Inclusión — Portal de Inmigración
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations (Spain) - verified
- A.1 Residence and work initial authorisation - Government of Andorra
Government of Andorra - verified
- Ministerio — Highly Qualified Professional
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations - verified
Principality of Andorra
Andorra runs a quota-based immigration system through the Government of Andorra immigration portal. Core public routes include residence and work, self-employed residence and work, family reunification, study/training/research authorisation, digital-nomad residence and border-worker authorisation. Many routes require proof of accommodation, criminal-record evidence and registration with the local parish after approval.
- Official portal
- Government of Andorra
- Languages
- Catalan
- Currency
- Euro
Kingdom of Spain
Spain offers residence permits through consulates abroad and Oficinas de Extranjería inside Spain, with headline routes including the Digital Nomad Visa introduced under the 2022 Startup Law, Non-Lucrative Visa for passive-income residents, and the Highly Qualified Professional permit.
- Languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- Euro
How Principality of Andorra and Kingdom of Spain differ
| Dimension | Principality of Andorra | Kingdom of Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 6 | 7 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 3 | 5 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 0 | 6 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | — | Arrival → permanent residence (5 years) → citizenship (10 years for most nationalities; 2 for Latin American). |
| Dominant skilled visa | Residence and Work Authorisation (A.1) | Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | €41,356/year |
| Skilled visa processing time | — | UGE-CE — Highly Qualified Professional does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route. |
| Skilled visa government fees | — | — |
| Official languages | Catalan | Spanish |
| Currency | Euro | Euro |
| Primary regulator | COAA | CGAE |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
Principality of Andorra
Residence and Work Authorisation (A.1)
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- No
Kingdom of Spain
Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit
- Salary minimum
- €41,356/year
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- UGE-CE — Highly Qualified Professional does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Routes unique to Kingdom of Spain
Visa routes side by side
Principality of Andorra (6)
Residence and Work Authorisation (A.1)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Initial authorisation for 1 year, then three renewals for 2 years each; after 7 years, renewals are generally issued for 10-year periods, subject to treaty exceptions.
Self-Employed Residence and Work Authorisation (J.1)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Initial authorisation for 1 year, then three renewals for 2 years each; after 7 years, renewals are generally issued for 10-year periods, subject to treaty exceptions.
Digital Nomad Residence (D.3)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Initial residence authorisation for 2 years, first renewal for 2 years, second renewal for 3 years and later renewals generally for 10 years, subject to treaty exceptions.
Family Reunification Residence (B.1)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 10 years when reunited with an Andorran national; where reunited with a residence-and-work holder, the initial period is 1 year, then three renewals for 2 years and later renewals generally for 10 years.
Study, Training, Elite Sport or Research Authorisation (F)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · For studies, the authorisation follows the school-year duration; for training, high-level sport or research, it follows the duration of the approved activity.
Border Worker Authorisation (C.1)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Initial authorisation for 1 year, then renewals for 3-year periods.
Kingdom of Spain (7)
Digital Nomad Visa (Spain)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 1-year consular visa, extendable to 3-year residence permit, then renewable for further 2 years; counts toward permanent residence after 5 years.
Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 1 year; renewable for 2-year periods; leads to permanent residence after 5 years.
Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · 3 years; renewable for 2 years; leads to permanent residence after 5.
Entrepreneur Visa (Ley 14/2013)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 3 years; renewable.
Spain Golden Visa (ending April 2025)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Closed to new property-based applications from 3 April 2025.
Spanish Student Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Programme length; annual renewal.
Family reunification (Spain)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Aligned with the sponsor’s permit; long-term residence is a separate eligibility route.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Principality of Andorra or Kingdom of Spain?+
Principality of Andorra’s Residence and Work Authorisation (A.1) is the dominant skilled route; Kingdom of Spain’s Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit requires €41,356/year. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Does Principality of Andorra or Kingdom of Spain have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
Kingdom of Spain has more: 5 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 3 for Principality of Andorra. No-sponsor routes — such as digital-nomad, self-employment, and points-based skilled migration — matter most if you do not yet have a job offer.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Principality of Andorra vs Kingdom of Spain immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/andorra/vs/spain. Last verified 27 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons