Legal costs

Assuming that you are a UK resident with a UK passport. 

You must first see if you qualify for a visa to move forward with your plans. You must apply for a visa from the Spanish consulate while you are still living in the UK. You will need to meet the income and healthcare requirements. 

Steve 

My apologies Steve, I'm an Irish national and want to get an estimate of costs for a lawyer to do everything required for me to get a property and residency

My apologies Steve, I'm an Irish national and want to get an estimate of costs for a lawyer to do everything required for me to get a property and residency

Hi Martin,

Congratulations on the Irish passport - that makes the move to Spain so much easier and more affordable for you!  

The first thing you'll need is an NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero), the tax identification number - you can't buy a property without one.

If you don't mind me asking, what age are you?  If you're State retirement age, you should be entitled to a Form S1 to transfer your health care rights from Ireland to Spain.  You can apply for your S1 up to 4 weeks in advance of moving to Spain and you'll need it for your Residency application (Certificado de Registro, rather than TIE, as you'll be applying as an EU citizen), so that's something to do before you leave Ireland.  With your S1, you can apply for a SIP card (Sistema de Información Poblacional) which will give you access to Spanish health services - this needs to be done via registration at your designated INSS office (Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social, or Social Security office).  If you're not yet retirement age, you'll have to pay for Private Health Insurance - the cost will depend on your age and any pre-existing conditions.

I don't think most people would recommend a lawyer (abogado) to do most of this work for you - a "gestor" (pronounced "hestor") is usually better placed and cheaper than a lawyer to assist with general Spanish procedures and bureaucracy.  As your location is showing as La Mata, it would be worth asking for recommendations in that area from this forum.  The one thing you can do for yourself is obtain your Padrón (Certificado de Empadronamiento) - apply at your local Town Hall when you move to Spain; you'll need your passport, house deeds and some Town Halls ask for a utility bill in your name.  This is another document you will need for your residency application.

As an Irish passport holder, do you also have an Irish driving licence?  If so, as an EU citizen I believe you will still have up to 2 years to exchange your driving licence (unlike UK citizens who, since Brexit, have to do so within 6 months of moving to Spain and have to take a Spanish driving test).

The one procedure for which I would recommend you use a lawyer is your house purchase - ensure that their service includes the transfer of all utilities into your name, including the IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles), i.e. Council Tax.  This is often incorrectly referred to as your "SUMA" bill, but SUMA is the agency in the Alicante province which collects local taxes on behalf of the Town Halls, so they also issue bills for car tax and rubbish collection (Basura).  Always use a lawyer independent of the estate agent - another item where forum members should be able to help with recommendations for you.

Typically, a gestor will charge around €70 to get your NIE, €30 to register your S1 at the INSS, €120 for the Registration certificate (residency) and €100 for your driving licence exchange (which should include the medical certificate).  As for your house purchase, the easiest way to calculate this is as a percentage of the purchase price - 10% has to be added to pay for ITP (property purchase tax) and then a further 3% for the lawyer, land registry and notary fees.  So if you buy a property for €150,000, your ITP will be €15,000 and your legal fees will be around €4,500.

Kind regards,

Kim

Thank you very much Kim. A very informative reply. Thanks for taking the time to respond and with so much detail.

Kind Regards Martin

I can personally  recommend getlegalinspain.com

I agree. Uma and her team are excellent, and reasonably priced. 

3rd recommendation.

We are an Irish couple who bought a property in La Mata about 3 years ago. We dealt with a lawyer who did everything for us at a fixed cost. I thought he did a great job at a great price. We did not apply for residency as it is a holiday home.He did NIEs , power of attorney, conveyancing, switched bills to our names and arranged Spanish will for us. Oscar Ricor is the lasers name. If you want more info you can message me.