Guide to obtaining spanish residency

Whatever your situation is, there is something you need to be able to live in Spain: a Spanish residency permit.
If you are not a resident of Spain, but you want to develop any kind of activity in the country, you will need a residence permit. This is the case if for example, you want to start working, living or even investing in Spain.There are two separate ways to obtain the Spanish residency.

• Citizens from European Union – the residency consists of a green card with your personal information and no pictures. 
• Non-European Union citizens  The residency consists of a blue / pink card with your personal information as well as a passport photo. 

Therefore, the process for applying for Spanish residence varies between residents of the European Union and non-European Union. You can keep reading below to see the details on applying to Spanish Residency.

The way of obtaining Spanish Residency also depends on the amount of time you plan to stay in the country. In this context , there are two major groups:

• Short-term visas: a short stay lets you spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, without working. Some nationalities need a Schengen visa for it.
• Long-term Visas: If you intend to stay in Spain for more than 90 days, whether or not you plan to work, you will need a long-stay visa or a residence permit.

What is the Spanish Residence permit?

The Spanish Residency permit is a short term or permanent legal permission to stay in Spain. In this page you will find the right visa or residence permit and step by step guides to obtain it.

WHAT DO YOU NEED SPANISH RESIDENCY FOR?If you are intend to live in Spain for more than 3 months, you can apply for residence (and get your TIE) in order to have the right to reside in Spain. There are different activities that can be carried out thanks to the Spanish Residency.

• Spanish Social Security Register for Healthcare 
• Pay Taxes in Spain
• Get used to work 
• Join a company and work in Spain
• Buy / Sell a vehicle 
• Buy / Sell Properties 
• Other legitimate economic operation like opening a business in Spain.

In addition, some of the advantages of Spanish residency that you will receive are: 

• Renewal of your driving license to Spanish. 
• Get your nearest pensioner card (if you’re on a pension). 
• Have your Spanish Insurance Card protected by Spanish Social Security (you can get it on the NIE if you’re already employed in Spain). 
• Permanent home. 
• Get on the padron in your town hall (permanent status) 
• If you move to Spain to work, the option of the Beckham Law, which taxes employment income at a flat 24% up to €600,000 in the year you arrive and the next five
• A tax reduction on inheritance tax can also be applied.

Applying to a Spanish Residency Permit from the European Economic Area.

People applying to Spanish Residency from the European Economic Area will need to follow a different procedure than from those applying from non European countries.

As a reminder, countries within the European Economic Area are:

1. Member states of the European Union
2. The three countries of the European Free Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (excluding Switzerland).

Ultimately, Switzerland Citizens can apply for Spanish Residency following the same procedures than those within the European Economic Area.

European Citizens must apply for the so-called ‘certificado de registro de la Unión Europea‘ a registration certificate that has no expiry date.

REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY FOR RESIDENCY FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION

As an EU citizen who will not work in Spain, you must prove enough resources not to become a burden on Spanish social assistance and health insurance, public or private, that covers you in Spain. There is no fixed amount in the law and each case is assessed individually. Alternatively, a job or self-employment in Spain is enough on its own.

This is easy. These are the core conditions for residents of the European Union. What they get is a registration certificate that lets them live and work in Spain, issued at the appointment once the requirements are checked. Permanent residence comes after five years of continuous legal residence.

Applying to Spanish Residency from Non European Countries

Steps to get the Spanish Residency permit.

Already hold a Golden Visa? We handle renewals

Existing Golden Visa permits can still be renewed. If you want Spanish residency for the first time, the Non-Lucrative Visa, the Digital Nomad Visa and the Entrepreneur Visa are the routes we work with most.

At MSResidency we still handle Golden Visa renewals for existing holders. Ask our advisors which current visa fits your plans.

Residence permit as a member of the family of an EU resident

And eventually, the last way to obtain a residence permit in Spain. If, happily, you are a relative of a resident of the European Union, having a residency permit and a work permit in Spain might be closer to you than you thought.

And, then, you will get your residency permit as a family member of an EU citizen only because of your relationship with each other.

That is why many individuals outside the EU who have a spouse who is a national of the EU constitute marriage or civil union (pareja de hecho); as they will become liable for this process as now relatives of an EU resident.

Obtain your residency to start a business

The so-called “visa for entrepreneurs“, which was included in the Law on Entrepreneurs and has been in force since the end of 2013, is an International Mobility Plan that regulates the entry and stay in Spain of non-EU foreigners who prove to be investors, entrepreneurs, highly qualified professionals, researchers or workers.

Residency to work in Spain

This scheme was made to attract top tier talent from all across the world.

If you are interested in working in Spain as a highly qualified professional (HQP) or you are a graduate or postgraduate from universities and prestigious business schools, and you have a job offer, you may be eligible to apply for a HQP residence permit. Our lawyers can help you all along the process, ensuring that you have all the requisites for a residence permit like this. In any case, if you cannot obtain your work permit in Spain in accordance with the standard procedures, you have the possibility to apply for the so-called European Union Blue Card.

Family grouping of visas 

For all those foreigners who have made their residence in Spain; good news. With the process of family reunion, they can easily carry their relatives to Spain. This refers to their partners, their children and their parents.

A family reunification visa is an immigration process by which a non-European citizen with a residence permit in Spain may bring his or her family to the country; issue them a residence permit and a work permit.

You can start this procedure once you have lived in Spain for at least a year and applied to renew your residence permit.

That is, if you have been legally in Spain for less than a year, you cannot apply yet, and your relatives’ permits are only granted once your own renewal is.

You also need to show enough money and suitable housing for the whole family. Parents are a special case: you can only bring them once you are a long-term resident, and as a rule they must be 65 or over and depend on you financially. Later on this post, we’ll see exactly how this is done.

Permanent residence

After 5 consecutive years of living in Spain, you would be able to gain long-term or permanent residence. Basically, we’re talking about a card that is valid for five years, and that can be extended forever. There are two types: a permanent EU card, and a general one.
Of course, this is the path to citizenship, something that you can get in the country after 10 years (in the case of citizenship by residence).

Residency in Spain After Brexit

Since Brexit, UK nationals are non-EU citizens in Spain. If you were already living here before 1 January 2021, the Withdrawal Agreement protects your right to stay. If you move now, you need a visa or a residence permit like any other non-EU national, for example the non-lucrative visa or the digital nomad visa. Appointments at immigration offices are hard to get in many provinces, so start early. Our full guide for UK citizens in Spain after Brexit covers both situations. These are the steps you need to take after Brexit to get your Spanish Residency:

If you already lived in Spain before 2021 and hold the green residence certificate, you can swap it for a TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) that states you are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. The card shows your name, nationality and NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero). With it, you are a legal resident of Spain. It does not make you a Spanish citizen: Spanish nationality is a separate application, normally after 10 years of legal residence.

How to apply for a residence in Spain from the UK after Brexit

If the Withdrawal Agreement covers you and you hold the green residence certificate, book an online appointment at the police station that issues foreigner cards in your province. Take your passport, form EX-23, a recent passport photo and the receipt of the fee, paid at a bank with form 790 code 012. If you lived in Spain before 1 January 2021 but never got the green certificate, it takes two steps: first you apply at the immigration office with form EX-20 and proof that your residence started before that date (your padrón from the town hall, for example), and once it is granted you have one month to request the card at the police station with form EX-23 and the fee. Bring photocopies of everything. If you are moving from the UK now, the Withdrawal Agreement does not apply to you: you usually apply for a visa at the Spanish consulate before you travel, and you request your TIE within one month of arriving.

If you don’t have an NIE yet, don’t worry: it is assigned during the residence application.

Modelo 720 (assets abroad)

Once you are a tax resident in Spain, you may also have to file Modelo 720, the informative return on assets held outside Spain. It applies when your bank accounts, your securities and insurance, or your property abroad are worth more than EUR 50,000 in any one of those three groups. It is a tax return filed with the Spanish tax agency, not part of the residence application. The obligation comes from the eighteenth additional provision of the General Tax Law 58/2003, and the Spanish tax guide explains the rest of your obligations as a resident.

HOW DO WE WORK

By collaborating with different immigration experts, we can put you in touch with the best Spanish residency lawyers.

We want to be the people who help you start living in Spain in the easiest and most comfortable way possible. For us it’s something personal.

We believe that the world is everyone’s place. Any society that shares different cultures is much richer than one that does not. And that’s how we try to do our bit to make the world a better place: helping people like you move to Spain. Helping people start a new life in Spain is the reason MySpanishResidency was created.

Frequently Asked Questions about Spanish Residency