Living part time in Spain - Page 3

Jim...is the requirement to live in Spain to apply for residency strictly true? If you satisfy the application criteria of income, padron, healthcare isn't that job done? If you intend to stay for more than 90 days you need residency but does it follow that if you have residency you need to stay 90 days?

It's got to be full cover PHI. The law doesn't require the insurance to be contracted in Spain, but it's got to provide total cover here. Most insurance companies here would provide a certificate confirming that a policy complies with residency requirements. Even if you changed to BUPA Europe, I doubt that would suffice. Scroll down the page and click the advert for Gran Alacant Insurances - Alfonso has an excellent reputation and would tell you what's required.

For other information, look at:

Jim's guides - your complete guide to Spain

particulary:

https://www.costablancaforum.com/area/almorad%C3%AD-spain-11/residency-in-almorad%C3%AD-padron-residencia-passport-advice-23/jims-guide-the-residency-certificate-43535/

Whilst the movements of UK citizens were not monitored because the UK was in the EU, it was possible to avoid applying for residency, or applying without residing here. 

As regards acceptable documentation then, as usual, it depends on the individual national police stations. Some will accept only a padrón as proof of residence, but others require sight of an escritura or long-term rental contract.

Post the transition period movements will definitely monitored, and there have been reports that this monitoring has already started. It might be possible to apply for residence without living here, but there's a chance of being found out and having residency withdrawn. There obviously aren't any case studies yet, but I'd point out that people overstaying a Schengen visa duration have been not just expelled but also banned from further entry for a spell.

Also, Jim, if someone has obtained residency in Spain, presumably the Spanish tax office would have an interest in them?

Kind regards, 

Kim

They certainly would, Kim, and it's a point I should have made, so thanks for pointing it out.

Thanks Kim/Jim. So my thoughts are that there is a maximum stay without residency of 90 days in 180 but no prescribed minimum stay to remain a resident? So if you obtained residency but only stayed in Spain for x days, what is the value of x that would trigger a withdrawal of residency?

EU citizen:

Your continuity of residence is not affected by temporary absences of less than 6 months a year or one absence of 12 consecutive months, for important reasons such as pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, work, vocational training or a posting to another country.

I don't know what it is for non-EU citizens.

Thanks Jim/Ray. Maybe others are following the logic of the rules taken together but not sure I am. So under current EU rules and ignoring future state for the moment:

• anyone staying for more than 90 days in any 180 day period is required to apply for residency
• if you stay more than 180 days in a year that triggers fiscal residency
• if you stay less than 180 days in a year (i.e. by being out of the country for more than 6 months) you will lose residency

So going back to an earlier post where I was trying to resolve the more than 90 but less than 180 day residency issue, that status simply doesn't exist? By definition all residents of Spain are fiscal residents because if they don't meet the 180 day fiscal criterion then de facto they cannot be residents. Apologies in advance if I'm being thick but I've been looking at this through the maximum time required before needing residency not the minimum time required to maintain residency. So anyone who intends to spend less than 6 months a year in Spain cannot apply for residency basically.

No, not really. Over 90 you should apply for Residencia. Between 90 and 183 you are a permanent resident but not a fiscal resident. Above 183 you are both.

Steve

Slip of the tongue. You're correct!

But the point I was making about the status between 90 and 183 meets with your approval I hope !