Moving to Spain —
the late October edition

✉️ What's Actually Happening

Moving to Spain, the late October edition

Every fortnight, the stuff that actually matters if you're moving to (or living in) Spain.

🏠  HOUSING

Congress just rejected the government's emergency housing decrees On 2 October, both of the "decreto Maricarmen" housing decrees — named after the 87-year-old evicted after her landlord sought a 275% rent increase — were voted down (178–172 and 184–166), with the PP, Vox and Junts against. The decrees would have brought automatic lease renewals and stronger protection against evicting vulnerable tenants. Practical takeaway for renters: none of that is now law. If you've seen headlines about new eviction protections, they didn't pass — the rental rules you're dealing with today haven't changed, and this is very much still unfolding. Via El Tiempo / BBC Mundo coverage of the Congress vote

🛂  IMMIGRATION

Extranjería waiting times, cut in half in Madrid Resolution times still swing wildly by province — from about 35 days in Teruel to 200+ in Valencia — but Madrid and Barcelona have reportedly brought theirs down to around 60 days after decentralising case processing. Family reunification and arraigo familiar are moving fastest (30–60 days); nationality applications still average 6–8 months. Via Cohen & Aguirre, provincial resolution-time tracking

💰  TAX

Digital nomads can now combine the visa with the Beckham Law Since the Startup Law update, digital nomad visa holders qualify for the Beckham regime's flat 24% rate (on income up to €600,000), not just traditional employees. The catch: no more than 20% of your income can come from Spanish clients, or you lose eligibility for the visa itself. Form 149 is still due within 6 months of your Social Security registration — no extensions. Via Startup Law (Ley 28/2022) guidance

🚆  DAY TRIP

Toledo, in a day: the easiest "wow" trip from Madrid The AVE gets you from Atocha to Toledo in about 35 minutes (€10–20) — close enough for a whim, atmospheric enough it doesn't feel like a commuter town. Walk the walled old town, see the Alcázar (€8, free Sundays till 2pm), the Gothic cathedral, and the Jewish quarter's two surviving synagogues. Bring cash for mazapán on the way out — it's the one souvenir actually worth buying. Via how to get to Toledo from Madrid & a one-day Toledo itinerary

🍳  THE BEST TORTILLA DE PATATA IN MADRID

Onion or no onion, runny or firm — nobody in Madrid agrees, and anyone who tells you there's one correct answer is lying to you. Here's where to try both sides of the argument.

Pote — Calle Mantuano, Prosperidad

No onion, barely set — the centre is almost a sauce. This is a neighbourhood bar, not a destination restaurant, which is exactly the point: if you live anywhere near Prosperidad, this should be your everyday one.

Casa Dani — Mercado de la Paz (Calle de Ayala, 28)

Tucked inside a produce market stall in Salamanca, and routinely named the best in the city by critics who've eaten their way through every contender. Hundreds go out daily. Go for breakfast — it closes early (8pm weekdays, 5pm Saturdays, shut Sundays) and there's no dinner service.

Alto Bardero — Plaza de Puerta de Moros, 4 (La Latina)

The legendary Juana La Loca closed in March 2024 after 20 years — but the same chefs reopened in the exact same spot as Alto Bardero, making the exact same tortilla with caramelised onion. They still only make 45 a day, and it still sells out by 8pm most weekends. If you remember the old pincho, this is it, under a new name.

Bodega de la Ardosa — Calle Colón, 13 (Malasaña)

One of Madrid's oldest bars, serving tortilla as a pintxo at a perfect lightly-set point. Order it with a glass of their house vermouth or a Pilsner Urquell — they were one of the first bars in the city to import it, and still pour it properly slow.

Pez Tortilla — Espoz y Mina 13 (Sol), plus Malasaña and La Latina

The chain most tourists mean without knowing it. Built its name on poco cuajada — almost spilling off the fork — and now does morcilla, goat's cheese and Parmesan versions alongside the classic. Casual, usually standing room only; go before 1:30pm on weekends or queue.

Cañadío & Gran Café Santander — Conde de Peñalver 86, and Plaza de Santa Bárbara 4

Sister restaurants under the same ownership, both doing a soft-set, onion-heavy version as a starter on an otherwise Cantabrian menu — treated properly, not as a tapas-bar afterthought. Santander's the better pick if you're already in Chamberí.

Via the Juana La Loca → Alto Bardero story & Time Out Madrid's tortilla guide

⚡  QUICK HITS

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