Renting in la zinia/villa martin

Hi Mags and welcome to the forum,

Since Brexit, there are a lot of permutations to the advice we can offer, so apologies, but the first thing I need to do is ask you some questions: are you UK citizens or Irish?  What are your ages?  The rules for applying for residency, especially around financial and healthcare requirements, have increased significantly since Brexit, so your answers to my questions could make a significant difference.

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kim thanks for your reply we are UK citizens and i am 65 and my husband is 66 years of age.

Regards 

Mags

Hi Mags,

Thanks, so assuming that you're retired, or about to be retired, the Non-Lucrative Visa is most likely to be the one you need.  You start the residency process by applying for the NLV at a Spanish Embassy/Consulate in the UK: in London, Manchester or Edinburgh, depending on which one is closest to your home address.  You need to prove an income level for the two of you of €34k (this can be a mixture of income and/or savings); you will also need to buy private health insurance for the first year.  If the visas are granted, they last 3 months and 15 days, during which time you need to move to Spain and apply for residency (the TIE) within 1 month of arriving.  

Your first Visa lasts for 1 year, then you have to apply for a renewal which lasts for 2 years and you'll have to prove the income level for that period, i.e. 2 x €34k.  As you should qualify for your S1s, you will be able to transfer your UK funded healthcare to Spain and cancel your private health insurance.  Towards the end of year 3, you'll need to apply for a further 2-year visa renewal, again proving the required income level and using your S1s as proof of health cover.  At the end of this visa period, you achieve the 5 years required for permanent residency, so no further visas required.

Another of our members has written a guide of his experience in obtaining an NLV, which gives you first-hand knowledge and tips:

How to apply for a Non-Lucrative visa (NLV)

We have a number of members now who are going through this process and I'm sure they'll be able to help with most queries.

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kim thanks so much for your reply the information was very helpful and appreciated 

Regards

Mags

Hi Kimmy, do you know what the rules are with regards to an Irish citizen applying for residency or where I can get the information. Thanks in advance,  Zdenek 

Hi Zdenek,

Irish citizens still have their EU status, so it's a much easier process for you - and cheaper!  

When you move to Spain, you need to apply for residency (Certificado de Registro) within the first 90 days.  You'll need to prove annual income and/or savings totalling around €7,000 for the first person, or around €12,000 if there are two of you.  If you are State Retirement Age, you can apply for a Form S1 in Ireland to transfer your healthcare entitlement to Spain (this is done via the NHSBSA's Overseas Healthcare Team for UK citizens, but I assume Ireland has an equivalent department?).  If you're not retirement age, you'll need to buy private health insurance.  Your initial registration card will last 5 years, known as "residencia temporal", after which you can apply for a card that lasts 10 years, known as "residencia permanente".  You only need to prove that you have the financial and healthcare means for your initial application.

The easiest way to do this is to appoint a gestor once you arrive in Spain - you can ask for recommendations for your area on this forum.  For residency, they typically charge around €120 per person.  I would recommend Uma at Get Legal In Spain, but you may receive a recommendation for someone closer to you:

https://www.getlegalinspain.com/

Kind regards, 

Kim

Thank very much, you are such a knowledgeable and helpful person. In the mean time how long are we legally allowed to spend in Spain on holidays at anyone time?

Regards Zdenek 

Hi Zdenek,

To comply with Spanish registration law, it's only 90 days.  However, as I'm sure many UK citizens know, especially the pre-Brexit "swallows", you are unlikely to run into problems so long as you don't exceed 182 days (6 months) in Spain, but it's important that you understand the law says 90 days.  If you spend 183 days (6 months + 1 day) or more in Spain, you become tax resident in Spain by default - and if caught, border control would be the least of your problems!

Whether EU citizens will continue to be able to get away with exceeding 90 days without registering, once ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) is introduced next year, is anybody's guess.

Kind regards,

Kim