Founded in 2015, the firm has focused its practice on profiles requiring a higher degree of planning: individuals with assets or investment capacity, executives and qualified professionals, and clients whose migratory status has become complicated due to a denial, revocation, or expulsion proceeding.
"Our clients don't come to get paperwork. They come to make a decision that affects their assets, their career, and their family for years. Our job is to design the most solid legal path to achieve that goal and secure the case at every stage," explains José Antonio Canela, Legal Director at Cohen & Aguirre Abogados.
A Regulatory Context in Full Transformation
The firm operates in a period of significant changes in immigration law. In May 2025, the new Immigration Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 1155/2024, came into effect, modifying a large part of the residency procedures. A month earlier, in April 2025, the investor residency permit known as the Golden Visa was abolished, forcing many investors to rethink their strategy for residing in Spain.
"Every reform changes the rules for many people. Those who planned their move under the previous regulations need to review their case, and those starting now need to do so under the current regulations. Legal certainty here depends on an individual analysis," notes Canela.
Three Practice Areas
The activity of Cohen & Aguirre Abogados is organized into three main areas:
- Immigration and residency planning. Advising investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals in the strategic selection and management of their residency permits: non-lucrative residency, permits under Law 14/2013 for highly qualified professionals, entrepreneurs, and international remote workers, and self-employed residency.
- Spanish nationality. Assistance in applying for nationality by residency, which requires two years of legal and continuous residence for nationals of Ibero-American countries and ten years as a general rule, as well as through judicial channels when the administration does not resolve within the deadline.
- Defense and appeals. Action in cases of denials, situations where reaction times are short, and where the firm recommends acting from the first notification.
Clients from America and Europe
Although a significant portion of their clients come from Ibero-America, the firm also serves citizens from the United States, Canada, and Europe. "Each nationality has a different starting point. An Ibero-American citizen can apply for Spanish nationality after two years of legal residence; an American or Canadian generally needs ten years. This completely changes the planning from day one," explains José Antonio.
The firm works with an initial planning session model, where a client profile study is conducted before defining the strategy and legal investment budget for each case.
About Cohen & Aguirre Abogados
Cohen & Aguirre Abogados is a law firm specializing in immigration law and international mobility, based in Madrid. It advises investors, highly qualified professionals, and families from Ibero-America, the United States, Canada, and Europe in planning their residence and nationality in Spain.
