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Moving guides

From Spain to Qatar

What changes in tax when you move from Spain to Qatar: what you pay today, what you would pay there and the rules Spain applies when you leave.

What you would save

With €150,000 a year in dividends or foreign income, compared as a genuine resident of each country.

Today in Spain€33,380
In Qatar€0
Yearly difference+€33,380

Full guide: Qatar →

Leaving Spain

  • More than 183 days in Spain. You are resident if you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year. Temporary absences count as days in Spain unless you prove tax residence in another country.
  • Main base of business or economic interests. You are resident if the main base or centre of your business activities or economic interests is in Spain, directly or indirectly, even with few days spent there.
  • Family presumption. Spain presumes you are resident if your spouse (not legally separated) and dependent minor children live there habitually. You can rebut this with proof.
  • Absences in tax havens. If you claim residence in a non-cooperative jurisdiction, the tax agency may require proof that you actually spent 183 days there in the year.

Rules that can follow you after leaving

  • Spanish nationals moving to a tax haven stay resident 4 more years. Spanish nationals who move their tax residence to a non-cooperative jurisdiction remain Spanish taxpayers in the year of the move and the following four tax years.

Exit tax in Spain

Ganancias patrimoniales por cambio de residencia (art. 95 bis Ley 35/2006 IRPF)

  • Tax resident in Spain for at least 10 of the 15 tax periods before the last one to be declared.
  • Shares or fund units with a total market value above EUR 4,000,000, OR a stake above 25% in a company whose market value for that stake is above EUR 1,000,000 (in this second case only those shares are taxed).

Unrealised gain (market value minus acquisition value) is taxed as if sold, as savings income at the savings rates (19% to 30%), declared in the last tax period as resident.

Exit tax → · Am I still resident? →

Arriving in Qatar

Personal income: 0% · Company tax: 10%

Residence permit through a job, company or property investment.

183 days a year.

No personal income tax. Companies pay 10% on the foreign-owned share. Very expensive and geared to people who work there.

Living there

Monthly cost for one person, rent included
Doha€2,500–3,100
Climate
Hot desert; 40-45°C summers, mild winters 15-25°C.
Direct flights to
London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Singapore
Safety
High
International schools
Many
Fixed internet
212 Mbps

Steps to residency

  1. 3 weeksRegister company with Ministry of Commerce or QFC
  2. 2 weeksObtain establishment card and entry visa
  3. 1 weeksMedical test and fingerprints
  4. 1 weeksResidence permit (QID) issued

About 7 weeks in total

Official websites: Tax authority · Immigration

Approximate figures that change often; check them before deciding.

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