Moving to Tenerife: A Practical 2026 Guide

Every year more people trade a grey commute for a green island with spring weather and fast internet. Moving abroad is still a big step though, and Tenerife has its own quirks worth knowing before you book the flight. Here is the practical version, from a family who made the island home and now helps others land here, written by the team at Bencomo Coliving in the north of Tenerife.

Can You Actually Move to Tenerife?

It depends on your passport. If you hold an EU or EEA passport, you can move to Tenerife freely and simply register as a resident once you arrive. If you are from the UK, the United States, or another non-EU country, you will need a visa or residence permit to stay beyond the usual 90 days in any 180. The good news is that Spain now has clear routes, and the digital nomad visa in particular has made this far easier for remote workers.

Moving from the UK After Brexit

Since Brexit, UK citizens are treated as non-EU, so the old freedom to just move and stay is gone. In practice this means choosing a visa route before a long stay. For remote workers the digital nomad visa is usually the cleanest option, and we cover it in detail in our Spain digital nomad visa guide. Others use non-lucrative visas, work visas or family routes. Whichever fits you, sort the paperwork before you commit to a one way flight.

Residency and the Paperwork

Once you have the right to stay, the practical admin usually includes getting an NIE, the foreigner identification number you need for almost everything, registering on the padrón at your local town hall, and opening a Spanish bank account. A local gestor, a kind of administrative advisor, handles most of this quickly and cheaply and is well worth using. Healthcare comes either through the public system once you are contributing, or through the private insurance most visas require, which is affordable here.

What It Costs

Tenerife is more affordable than most of western Europe, especially on housing and food if you live like a local. A single person lives comfortably on roughly 1,300 to 2,200 euros a month. We break down rent, groceries, transport and a sample budget in our cost of living guide, so you can plan properly before you go.

Where to Live

This is the decision that shapes your whole experience. The south is drier, sunnier and busier, built around the beach resorts. The north is greener, more authentic and calmer, with real Canarian towns and easy access to nature. We compare the areas properly in our guide on where to live in Tenerife. Bencomo is in Santa Úrsula in the north, which suits people who want to live among locals rather than tourists.

The Soft Landing

The hardest part of any move is the first month, when you have no address, no community and a to do list as long as your arm. This is exactly what coliving solves. You arrive to a furnished room, fast internet, a workspace and a ready made community, with a real address you can use for the paperwork. It gives you a base while you find your feet, learn the island and decide which area you want to settle in for the long term. Plenty of people use a coliving stay as their first two or three months, then move into their own place once they know where they want to be. You can see how that works on our rooms page.

About Bencomo

Bencomo Coliving is a warm, family-run home in the green north of Tenerife, where fast fibre, a real workspace and an easy international community come together in one simple monthly stay. It gives remote workers a place that stops feeling like a trip and starts feeling like home.

A Simple Order of Operations

Sort your visa or residency route first. Book a soft landing for your first months so you have an address and a community. Fly over and get your NIE, padrón and bank account sorted, ideally with a gestor. Live in your chosen area for a few weeks before signing a long lease. Then settle into the rhythm of the island. Doing it in that order takes most of the stress out of the move.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I move to Tenerife from the UK?
Yes, but since Brexit you need a visa or residence permit for stays beyond 90 days. The digital nomad visa is the usual route for remote workers.

Do EU citizens need a visa to move to Tenerife?
No. EU and EEA citizens can move freely and simply register as residents after arriving.

How much money do I need to move to Tenerife?
Beyond visa income requirements, budget for your first months of housing, the setup admin, and a comfortable monthly figure of roughly 1,300 to 2,200 euros. A coliving stay makes the first months predictable.

Is it easy to make friends when you move?
It is much easier if you arrive into a community. That is one of the quiet advantages of starting in a coliving rather than an empty flat.

Get in touch

colivingbencomo@gmail.com

+34 679 51 39 52

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