Problems with residency approval in Valencia
I am hoping other members can relate to my issue and share their experiences or maybe offer solutions.
My residency application falls under Valencia, it was applied for in the first week of September 2020 and I am still waiting one way or the other for confirmation, 7 months.
There appears to be no hard and fast guidelines as to what the Spanish Government require regarding monies in bank accounts. Last year I was told I needed 5.500 euros in my Spanish A/C so I topped it up to meet that requirement. I have since learnt that your A/C must average 5,500 euros over a 12 month period otherwise your application will fail but they will consider other accounts, my UK bank in this case.......but my UK statement (9 pages) will need to be translated into Spanish!!
A month or so ago my Lawyer was instructed by the local Valencia office that my submitted P60 would need approved by a UK lawyer as genuine, translated locally here and then notarized by a Spanish Notary, this cost me 150 euros. I am now being asked to have my 9 page UK bank statement also approved by a UK lawyer as genuine, translated locally here and and again notarized as above costing me approx 500 euros!!......has anyone else experienced these addition costs and the involvement of a UK lawyer as well.
What I am finding hard to grasp is if the Spanish Government along with everything else they ask for want your P60 then they must know what they are asking for and therefore know the meaning of the annual / take home numbers?
I am being told that the residency approval system in Valencia works and is administered very differently from the system in the Alicante region, where based on the experience of two friends in Torrevieja, their applications were dealt with within a month of applying and without the issues I am experiencing, I have also heard this from friends of friends in the Alicante region.
Despite a local friend still waiting since last August, am I being paranoid about the length of time and the additional costs I'm being asked for......is anyone else having the same experience? Thanks.