Kingdom of Spain vs Islamic Republic of Iran
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 Kingdom of Spain and Islamic Republic of Iran 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
- Ministerio de Inclusión — Portal de Inmigración
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations (Spain) - verified
- Iran MFA eVisa
Evisa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran - verified
- Ministerio — Highly Qualified Professional
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations - verified
- Iran MFA eVisa - visa types
Evisa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran - verified
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
Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran publishes public non-immigrant visa guidance through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs eVisa portal and the MFA traveller pages. The source-backed packet covers visa-waiver tourism entry, tourist, entry, pilgrimage, education, temporary work, transit, media, investment, marital and medical visa categories, while avoiding unsupported permanent-residence or citizenship claims.
- Official portal
- Evisa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran
- Languages
- Persian
- Currency
- Iranian rial
How Kingdom of Spain and Islamic Republic of Iran differ
| Dimension | Kingdom of Spain | Islamic Republic of Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 7 | 11 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 5 | 5 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 6 | 0 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | Arrival → permanent residence (5 years) → citizenship (10 years for most nationalities; 2 for Latin American). | — |
| Dominant skilled visa | Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit | Temporary Work Visa |
| 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 | Spanish | Persian |
| Currency | Euro | Iranian rial |
| Primary regulator | CGAE | MFA |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
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
Islamic Republic of Iran
Temporary Work Visa
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- No
Routes unique to Kingdom of Spain
Visa routes side by side
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.
Islamic Republic of Iran (11)
Visa-Waiver Tourism Entry
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 15 days for the MFA-listed ordinary-passport tourism waiver; other bilateral waivers depend on the nationality-specific rule.
Tourist Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and permitted stay are shown on the issued visa; confirm the grant terms before travel.
Entry Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and permitted stay are shown on the issued visa or mission instruction.
Pilgrimage Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and stay length are shown on the issued pilgrimage visa.
Education Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and stay conditions are set by the issued visa and the Iranian academic or ministry approval.
Temporary Work Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and work conditions are set by the issued visa and the approved labour certificate.
Transit Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Transit-only permission; validity and transit stay are shown on the issued visa.
Media Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and conditions are shown on the issued media visa and permit.
Investment Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and conditions are shown on the issued visa and investment approval.
Marital Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and stay conditions are shown on the issued marital visa.
Medical Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Validity and stay conditions are shown on the issued medical visa and treatment approval.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Kingdom of Spain or Islamic Republic of Iran?+
Kingdom of Spain’s Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit requires a salary of at least €41,356/year; Islamic Republic of Iran’s Temporary Work Visa is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
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, "Kingdom of Spain vs Islamic Republic of Iran immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/spain/vs/iran. Last verified 22 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons
Underlying comparison sources (4)