Alastair Johnson

Alastair Johnson is the co-founder of Moving to Spain, the Barcelona-based relocation consultancy that has developed over 600 personalized relocation plans and helped thousands more English speakers through its free tools, guides, and vetted network of specialist partners.

Born and raised in South Africa, Alastair has relocated three times. He moved to London at 22, spent seven years there, then relocated to Sydney for what was meant to be a six-month stop on the way to Cape Town. Sydney became home for fifteen years. In 2018, he, his wife, and co-founder Alison, and their seven-year-old son Sam moved to Spain for what was planned as a one-year sabbatical. Three months in, they decided to stay.

That direct, lived experience of relocating across three continents, including with a school-age child, sits behind every piece he writes.

Before moving to Spain, Alastair spent 15 years at AstraZeneca, ending as Regional IT Manager for AstraZeneca Manufacturing across Asia, a role that covered operations in multiple countries and involved significant international travel. He brings that operational and cross-border background to the way Moving to Spain is run: a structured client journey (Decide, Plan, Relocate, Thrive), an accountability model in which MTS refunds its own fees if it falls short, and a partner network in which every specialist is vetted and held to the same standard.

At Moving to Spain, Alastair focuses on the technical end of relocation: Spanish visa categories and pathways, tax residency and how it interacts with the move, and access to Spanish healthcare. He has worked directly with hundreds of clients, run dozens of webinars, and sat on panels and joint sessions with immigration lawyers, gestores, and tax advisers across Spain.

Areas of expertise

  • Spanish visa routes for non-EU nationals (Non-Lucrative Visa, Digital Nomad Visa, Golden Visa transition, family reunification)
  • Tax residency rules and the move year specifically
  • Accessing Spanish public and private healthcare as a new resident
  • Relocating with school-age children and choosing between Spanish, Catalan-medium, and international schools
  • Choosing where to live in Spain across regions and cost-of-living profiles
  • Working with Spanish specialist professionals (lawyers, gestores, tax advisers) as an English-speaker

Experience and credentials

  • Co-founder, Moving to Spain (2019–present)
  • Co-founder, Where Can I Live (2015–present), the broader international relocation platform that preceded Moving to Spain
  • Regional IT Manager, AstraZeneca Manufacturing Asia (final role in a fifteen-year career at AstraZeneca)
  • Resident of Spain since 2015, currently based in Sitges, Catalonia
  • Personally consulted with hundreds of relocating households
  • Host and presenter of recurring Moving to Spain webinars and joint sessions with Spanish specialists

Languages

English (native), Spanish (functional working level, comfortable handling day-to-day, professional, and household matters in Spanish).

What I do not do

Alastair is not a lawyer, tax adviser, or immigration consultant. Moving to Spain provides structured guidance, planning, and access to a vetted network of regulated specialists who deliver the formal legal, tax, and immigration work.

Contact and verified profiles

Connect with Alastair
Moved to Spain in 2015
Favorite Spanish Food

Good Patatas Bravas and a cold beer in the sun are hard to beat.

Fun fact

Alastair has done his driver’s license test 4 times. Passing first time in South Africa & Australia he failed in Spain with 35-years’ experience, requiring a do-over (and yes, Alison passed the first time)…

Favorite Spanish Expression

No pasa nada – Literally translated as “nothing happens”, but really means ”no problem”, “don’t worry” or “it’s all good”!

Articles written by Alastair Johnson

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