HolaRetire is a small independent team writing about retiring to Spain for people who are actually doing it — in English, German and French, because the questions are not the same in each.
We are Spanish and French, and we come from the international tourism sector — the part of it that deals with people arriving to stay rather than people on holiday. Between us we have spent years answering the same questions from the same kind of person: what do I need to be allowed to live here, what happens to my pension, who treats me if I fall ill, and can I afford it.
We are not a law firm, a broker or an agency, and we do not want to be. What we are good at is knowing which question actually matters, where the official answer lives, and how to say it in a way that someone who is not a specialist can act on.
We will not tell you that you qualify for something, that a policy suits you, or that a town is right for you. Those are decisions that need someone who knows your file, and where a guide is not enough we say so and can put you in touch with a professional — only if you ask.
We also will not pretend to be more than we are. There is no panel of lawyers behind this site, and any page claiming otherwise would be lying to you.
When a reader asks to be introduced to a lawyer, a broker or an adviser, we are paid for that introduction, and we sometimes earn commission on products we mention. That is why there is no advertising here.
It buys nothing editorially. If we would not send a family member to a partner, they are not on the site — and where a commercial relationship exists, the page says so.
Rules change, consulates apply them differently, and we get things wrong like everyone else. If you find a mistake, write to us and we will fix it and re-date the guide. Corrections from readers are the fastest quality control we have.
Every guide carries a name. These are the two.
Editor — visas, residency and everyday life
Chris is based in Spain and has spent his working life in international tourism and residential services, on the side of it that deals with people arriving rather than people on holiday. On HolaRetire he looks after the guides on visas, residency paperwork and settling in, and checks them against what the consulates and the Spanish administration actually publish.
Editor — money, healthcare and housing
Iria works between Spain and France and comes from the same corner of the tourism sector, the part that ends up answering questions about doctors, contracts and money rather than beaches. On HolaRetire she looks after healthcare, tax and housing, and is the reason those guides quote figures and form names instead of generalities.
The photographs on this site are licensed from Pexels and served from our own servers, so nothing you look at here is reported back to anyone else.