Tenerife has one of the most established British and Irish expat communities of any Spanish island, particularly in the south. English-speaking professional services are well represented across the island — from lawyers and gestors handling residency and property matters to doctors and dentists serving the main expat areas. The Canary Islands also have their own tax rules, making a local accountant who knows the system particularly valuable. Browse by service below.
Professional Services
Tenerife is an autonomous community of Spain and has been since long before Brexit, which means moving there from the UK now involves the same residency process as moving to the Spanish mainland.
The short version: you cannot simply arrive and stay indefinitely on a tourist visa. As a British citizen, you need to apply for residency under Spanish law. The most common route for people not working for a Spanish employer is the Non-Lucrative Visa, which requires proof of sufficient income or savings, private health insurance, and a clean background check. You apply at the Spanish consulate in the UK before you travel.
Once in Tenerife, your first tasks are getting your NIE (your Spanish identification number, without which you cannot do much), registering at your local town hall (empadronamiento), and applying for your TIE card within 30 days of arrival. A gestor or immigration lawyer can handle most of this for you, and given how specific the requirements are, most people find it worth the fee.
For a full guide to the NIE process, see How to Get Your NIE in Spain on the Your Mate Pat blog.
Tenerife has one of the most established British and Irish expat communities of any Spanish island, and unlike some popular destinations, this is genuinely a year-round community rather than a seasonal one. The climate — mild winters, warm summers and rarely extreme — is part of that. So is the infrastructure.
What is Tenerife like to live in? It depends considerably on where you are. The north and south of the island are different enough in character that people who visit one and form an opinion have not really seen the other.
The south — Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas, Adeje — is where the largest concentration of British and Irish expats live. The English-speaking professional services infrastructure is strongest here: English-speaking doctors, dentists, lawyers, and accountants are well represented, and the expat community is large enough to support a full range of services. It is more built up, more tourist-facing, and more immediately convenient for those arriving without an established network.
The north — Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava, La Laguna — is greener, cooler, and more authentically Spanish in character. It attracts a different kind of expat — people who want to be in Spain rather than in a British community that happens to be located in Spain. English-speaking professional services are less concentrated but not absent.
Neither is objectively better. The right choice depends on what kind of life you are moving to Tenerife to live.
This is the thing most Tenerife expat guides skip over, and it matters.
The Canary Islands operate under a distinct tax regime from mainland Spain. The standard Spanish VAT (IVA) does not apply here. Instead, the Canary Islands use IGIC (Impuesto General Indirecto Canario), which has a lower base rate. There are also specific tax incentives within the Canary Islands designed to attract business investment, known as the ZEC regime.
For most expats, the day-to-day tax implications are straightforward: lower consumption tax, slightly different rates on some goods and services. But for business owners, self-employed people, and those with more complex financial situations, the differences are meaningful and worth understanding properly before you arrive rather than after.
An accountant who knows the Canary Islands tax system specifically is worth finding early. Browse English-speaking accountants serving Tenerife in the directory above.
Tenerife is generally more affordable than mainland Spanish cities and considerably more affordable than the UK. The mild climate year-round reduces heating costs. Property, both rental and purchase, is cheaper than the Balearic Islands and cheaper than most popular coastal areas on the mainland.
As a rough guide: a one-bedroom rental in the south typically runs €700 to €1,200 per month. In the north and more rural areas, less. Day-to-day costs, including food, utilities and transport, compare favourably to the UK across the board.
How much money you need to move to Tenerife depends on your visa route and your lifestyle. The Non-Lucrative Visa requires demonstrating a minimum monthly income (currently around €2,400 for a single applicant). Beyond the visa threshold, most people find they live comfortably on less than they would have needed in the UK.
