Moving back to Spain

It seems simple where are you tax resident, did you visit the UK, and get stuck there, or did you move your residency.

If you moved back I think you will have to start again under the new rules, but you can take a chance and try to blag it.

Hi Gill,

In your first 5 years of residency (temporary), you can't leave Spain for more than 6 months per year (I believe EU citizens can leave for defined exceptional circumstances for a maximum of 1 year).  Did you formally de-register here in Spain?  As you've said you have residency, one way to find out if you're still registered without drawing attention to your absence, would be to do a Residencia to TIE exchange (form EX-23).  I've written a step-by-step guide on how to do this yourself at a cost of €12 per person (see the section: Spain Tips and Guides in the ribbon at the top of the page).  

The only problem I can foresee is that, as you obtained residency in 2018 and, in theory, should have been here in 2019, you would have been required to submit a Spanish tax return in 2020 for the 2019 tax year.  You're not required to submit a copy of your tax return as part of your EX-23 exchange application, but I don't know whether this is a check that is done by the Foreigners' office.  (I'd be surprised if it is because, when we did our exchange, we were told at the application appointment that everything was in order.)  The deadline for your 2020 tax return is end June 2021, so you could end up causing yourself difficulties with the Spanish tax office if you fail to submit tax returns for 2 consecutive years, but given how much the financial requirements for residency have increased for third country nationals,  it would certainly be worth finding out whether you can resurrect your residency.  It may be worth speaking to a tax specialist in the first instance.

Good luck!

Kind regards,  

Kim

Hi Kim, if we decided to start from the beginning again would we be able to apply for Residency and begin as new applications and would we be able to do this once we arrived in Spain and hopefully get this done within the 90 days restriction or do we have to apply for a visa before we leave the UK.

Thank you for your help 

Gi

You start it in the UK, that is a must

Hi Kim, do you think we might be wise to start again with our Residency as our Tax was paid up when we sold our property in Spain or is it worth giving it a try with our Green card it’s difficult to know what to do for the best.

Thanks

Gill

Hi Gill,

If you were to start from scratch for, say, a Non-lucrative visa (so you wouldn't be able to work), the initial visa application has to be made at a Spanish embassy or consulate in the UK.  If granted, the visa lasts for 3 months and 15 days  during which time you need to travel to Spain and apply for your first residency permit.  The first permit lasts for 1 year; subsequent permits last for 2 years.  When you've lived permanently in Spain for 5 years, you become "residencia permanente" and no further permits are required.

From memory, the cost of the Visa application in the UK is £516 per person (and it's not refunded if your application is rejected), but the greater issues are:

-  if you're not State retirement age, you have to pay for private health insurance upfront, so will not be able to benefit from the PHI until you move to Spain.  But retirees who do qualify for an S1 from the UK can't apply for it (via the NHS Business Services Authority) more than 4 weeks in advance of moving to Spain, so they end up having to pay for PHI for the first year.  I think it would be useful to test this with the NHS BSA - these visa processes are new for UK citizens, since we became TCNs, so it would be helpful to know if there are any plans to change the timing for those who do qualify for an S1.

-  the financial requirements for TCNs is around €27,200 (versus €5,500 as EU citizens) for one applicant or €34,000 (versus €11,000 as EU citizens) for a couple, but this amount has to be proven for each 2 year renewal.  So you can see why I suggested checking whether you can resurrect your residency!

Another member posted a review of their own experience applying for an NLV, which may be helpful:

Non Lucrative Visa 

Kind regards, 

Kim

Hi Gill,

When you sold your property in Spain, did you pay tax as residents, or non-residents?  If non-resident, did you receive a refund of the 3% retention?

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kim we paid our tax as a non resident and we did get some of our 3% back, would our Spanish Solicitor be able to help us with getting our Green card reinstated.

Gill

Hi Gill,

If your lawyer helped with your original residency application, that may be a good place to start.

Kind regards, 

Kim