¿Qué Pasa España?
Residency Application in Spain: ¿Que pasa?
What is going on? Has the Spanish government totally lost the plot or does it have an ulterior motive? What is Spain’s future with regard to the eurozone? What is going on with the changes on Residency Application in Spain?
As this is not our normal kind of blog post, you may well be wondering what has caused us to write like this, so let me explain.
Earlier today, we stumbled across an article published on the British Embassy Madrid website. This article is a translation of new residency requirements in Spain as published in the Spanish Order 1490 of 9 July 2012.
The Spanish Order 1490 of 9 July 2012 sets out the rules of entry, free movement and residence in Spain of nationals of other European Union Member States and European Economic Area.
What happened to free movement amongst Member States?
To be honest, I cannot say I disagree with what has been laid down before us but I amalso uncertain as how ethical it is, especially if Spain´s intention is to remain in the European Union.
In summary, the changes to the conditions for residency application in Spain now require EU nationals to either:
- Produce documentation to prove they have a work contract / certificate of employment accompanied by official social security paperwork or, alternatively, agree to have their employment details checked in the official “Ficheros de la Tesoría General de la Seguridad Social”
- Produce documentation (similar to the above) to prove that they are officially registered as self employed in Spain
- Non workers must:
- Have proof of public or private healthcare insurance (see more details in original article).
- Have sufficient resources, for themselves and their family members, not to become a burden on Spain´s social assistance system during their period of residence… (see more details in original article).
What do you think about that? Is it right? Is it wrong?
Many expats in Spain seem to think that Spain is pushing away expats who want to move to Spain. Or are they simply being selective about the type of people they want to allow into their country? I have seen some comments that people think the UK should impose the same measures …
Recently, changes in procedures for the NIE and Residency application in Spain demonstrated a strong push towards foreigners applying for residency rather than simply obtaining an NIE. Was this to help Spain receive more funding from the EU? If so, then why this reversal in attitude? Surely, any expat in Spain who was thinking about “legalising” their situation in Spain by applying for residency, and not just using their NIE certificate, will now think twice. Have the Spanish government changed their mind? Is EU funding no longer important?
No doubt, more information will become available over the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, how will expats who are already here in Spain be affected?
Do you hold a valid residency certificate/card? If not, how do you feel about these changes? Do you forsee any obstacles in the near furure?
Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions and to share your experiences and knowledge with our readers. We will do our best to keep you updated.
Please note that, at the end of the original article you will see:
“This Order will apply to applications presented after 24 April 2012”.
“This Ministerial Order is passed under the provisions of Article 149.1.2 of the Spanish Constitution, which gives States sole jurisdiction in matters of nationality, immigration, foreign affairs and right of asylum”
This Order will come into force on the day after its publication in the “State Official Bulletin”. (10 July 2012)
So basically the Spanish Government appears to be within their rights imposing theses requirements as: “The rules on social security coordination do not replace national systems with a single European one. All countries are free to decide who is to be insured under their legislation, which benefits are granted and under what conditions. The EU provides common rules to protect your social security rights when moving within Europe.”
Let´s see what happens next …
Read the original article Here.
For detailed instructions how to complete your own NIE application: Click Here.
Some other posts you should read:
Comments
Comments (5)
I think you’ll find that figure is only €150,000 and as someone who has tried to comply having been here in Almeria for more than 3 months it didn’t work out as we expected.
Everything was in order EX-18 completed, the correct fee paid of €10.40 and not €10.30 as they told us in their appointment email. However, the big hurdle was having acceptable proof of income, we both have private pensions / annuities paid into Uk banks and we do transfers to our Spanish bank as and when we need the funds (nothing regular).
We took P60 from HMRC, letters from UK pension provider, UK bank statements and a copy of our Spanish bank a/c and a certificate to say we were in financial good standing from the Spanish bank.
Either pension was over their limit required for a couple which incidentally is €8513 but none of our documents was accepted, anything in English had to be translated by a Traductor-Intérprete Jurado and the Spanish bank a/c was no good because there was no regular income.
So, we got sent away to either get a translation as above , although how you translate a bank statement or a P60 I don’t know.
Obviously we’re not happy as we would certainly be no burden on the Spanish state , the opposite in fact as we are spending money here.
So beware, if you do not have regular income in a Spanish bank make sure anything else is officially translated by a Traductor-Intérprete Jurado , nothing else will suffice.
Hi Jo
I can totally comprehend your frustration. I have helped so many people with residency applications and to date have only had problems with … my husband’s residency renewal. Have you read that post?
Whereabouts in Spain do you live? i may be able to give you some pointers.
Also, just for information, once your residency is more than 3 months out of date you need to reapply rather than renew.
Let me know if I can help in any way.
Lisa
Just to say;
Today, with all the required paper work to apply for residencia ( well renewing, as ours expired last year ) we went to the police office with a friend who spoke a little spanish.
The policeman on duty, wether in a bad Monday morning mood or not, was extremely rude.
Our friend had already ‘done’ his residencia and managed to get through the process without the expense of a translator.
All we wanted to do today was make an appointment.
He managed to produce the relevant form from his desk ( so he obviously knew what we were trying to do ) only to then put it back and tell us we needed an interpreter and then to give us a card with the name and number of a laywer.
We have already spent 50 euros on a document from the bank to clarify that we have sufficient funds to enable us to live in Spain!
I do not see the need to employ a translator or indeed a lawyer ( ours wants to charge 200 euros ) on a procedure that seems pretty straight forward when you have the correct paper work!
We are so cross with the way in which we have been treated but we are at a loss to know what we can do about it except to return with a translator.
I understand the spanish could be annoyed that we do not speak their language but I think they could be a little more helpful.
I feel as though we are a hinderance to them and that they do not want us in Spain.
My love affair with Spain is fast coming to an end!!!
This probably has much to do with the complaint of the medical services having to treat those “long-term holiday makers” who choose to live in Spain but do not contribute to the social security system nor register on the townhall Padron, and assume that by being non-resident they are escaping the system!
I do find it of interest though that for non-EU citizens the process of becoming a resident in Spain may be streamlined if said person buys a property for in excess of 250.000 Euros.
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