Kingdom of Spain vs Republic of Iraq
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 Republic of Iraq 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
- Iraq eVisa Portal
Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Interior eVisa Portal - verified
- Ministerio — Highly Qualified Professional
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations - verified
- Iraq Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Visa
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Iraq - 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
Republic of Iraq
Iraq publishes tourist eVisa guidance through the Ministry of Interior eVisa portal and a wider consular visa-type framework through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The route set covers tourist eVisa, visit and tourism visas, normal visas, transit, multi-entry visas and work-permit-linked visa or residence cases, with extra caution for employment because MOFA says foreign-worker visas or residence permits generally require a Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs work permit.
- Official portal
- Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Interior eVisa Portal
- Languages
- Arabic, Kurdish
- Currency
- Iraqi dinar
How Kingdom of Spain and Republic of Iraq differ
| Dimension | Kingdom of Spain | Republic of Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 7 | 6 |
| 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 | Work-Permit-Linked Visa or Residence 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 | Spanish | Arabic, Kurdish |
| Currency | Euro | Iraqi dinar |
| Primary regulator | CGAE | GDR |
| 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
Republic of Iraq
Work-Permit-Linked Visa or Residence Permit
- 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.
Republic of Iraq (6)
Tourist eVisa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · The eVisa portal describes the eVisa as valid for 30 days; applicants should confirm whether their approval is single-entry or multiple-entry in the issued document.
Visit or Tourism Consular Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · MOFA describes tourist visa entry once during three months from grant with a one-month stay; visit visa wording also describes one-month entry and one-month residence for religious or holy-site visits.
Normal Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · One entry during three months from grant, with residence in Iraq not exceeding three months, according to the MOFA page.
Transit and Non-Stop Transit Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Transit visa: one entry within three months from grant and stay up to seven days. Non-stop transit: one supervised transit within three months without stopping.
Multi-Entry Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · MOFA says multi-entry visas may be granted for three months, six months or one year after the legal conditions are met.
Work-Permit-Linked Visa or Residence Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · The reviewed MOFA page does not publish a standard work-linked visa or residence-permit grant period; timing depends on the work permit, visa and residence channel used.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Kingdom of Spain or Republic of Iraq?+
Kingdom of Spain’s Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) permit requires a salary of at least €41,356/year; Republic of Iraq’s Work-Permit-Linked Visa or Residence Permit 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 Republic of Iraq immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/spain/vs/iraq. Last verified 27 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons