How to apply for residency

RichT wrote on Mon Feb 7, 2022 2:57pm:

Will you be retired, working or self-employed / starting a business - there are different requirements. 

If you let me know, I can help...

RichT wrote on Tue Feb 8, 2022 2:10pm:

Hi

If you are retired, then you need to apply for a Non Lucrative Visa (NLV).

Read more...

We successfully retired and moved over last May and the NLV process is as follows...

You need to apply for an NLV at the appropriate embassy / consulate in the UK. Broadly speaking, London serves the south of England; Manchester from the Midlands to the North West and Edinburgh for the very north of England and all Scotland. The consulate websites, visas sections, provides the list of requirements, which I've copied below, with my additional comments in bold:

LIST OF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR A NON LUCRATIVE RESIDENCY

1 Passport or travel document valid for at least 6 months beyond the intended arrival to Spain with at least two blank pages to affix the visa.

2 One completely filled and signed National Visa Application Form.

3 Ex-01 form and 079-052 fee form to be paid at the Consulate on the day of your appointment. The visa and appointment fee totalled approx. £1,050 for the two of us.

4 One recent passport colour photograph. (No more than six months old)

5 For non-British citizens: A UK residence permit valid for at least 3 months. It can be either in form of Visa stamped on the applicant’s passport or a Residency Card. If you are a 'normal UK subject / citizen, this doesn't apply.

6 Medical (Health ) Certificate signed and stamped by a registered doctor. This Certificate must literally state that the Applicant does not suffer of any illness which represents a risk or a danger for the public according to the International Health Regulations of 2005. The document must be translated by a Sworn Translator only, and with the Hague Apostille if the country is a member. Otherwise the document must be verified by the Spanish authorities in the country of issuance. Our doctor charged £25 per certificate, using a template provided by our Spanish solicitor.

7 Certificate of Good Conduct issued by the country or countries where the applicant has resided in the past five years. The document must be translated by a Sworn Translator only, and with the Hague Apostille if the country is a member. Otherwise the document must be verified by the Spanish authorities in the country of issuance. This is a Police Certificate which is obtained from the ACRO website, at a cost of, I think, £55 per person - turnaround time was about 10 days.

Note - docs 6 & 7 had to be notarised (our UK solicitor charged £25 to do all our documents). The Hague Apostille is an additional government service, which costs £30 per document and has a turnaround time of about 10 days.

8 Full health cover for applicant and, if applicable, family member. There are specific policies, which must not include 'co-payments' which are acceptable for the NLV. Many companies offer these. We used Sanitas (which is part of BUPA), as our bank had a linked offer. I have seen DKV recommended by other people on this forum. The policy needs to be paid up front for a year and be 'live' at the date of the NLV application. We are 50 & 48, with no pre-existing conditions and our policy cost around £1,200 for the two of us. I have seen people with pre-existing conditions getting quotes as high as £6,000 pa each. It's important to shop around as prices vary significantly. If you are of state retirement age, then you can apply for a S1 form, which means you don't need private healthcare.

9 Means of maintenance in Spain in form of 2200 € per month for the main applicant. Each additional family member will need € 550 per month. In general, €33,000 pa for a couple. This has recently increased to approx. €34,500 per couple.

10 All documents must be translated into Spanish (and where it specifies a 'Sworn Translator', these are specific translation companies that charge a lot of money (however, our Spanish solicitor included this in her price).

Although I would say that I am quite confident and competent in completing forms, gathering evidence, etc.; as many forms needed to be completed in Spanish (and mine is very limited) we used a Spanish solicitor (Raquel at BeGlobal Attorneys) to assist in preparing all the paperwork, making the appointments, etc. but there is still quite a bit of work you need to do yourselves.

For the 'means of maintenance' we provided evidence of cash in bank, shares, premium bonds, rental income from a property we own and rent out in the UK, and my pension pot.

In total, the process took us about 12 weeks and cost around £2,300 (excluding the cost of the private health insurance) - of which the solicitor's fees were approx. £1,000. When you get the NLV, you then have to enter Spain within 3 months and then start the rest of the process (below) within 1 month of entering.

When we got to Spain, we then had to attend the Foreigners' Office at a specific Police Station to have fingerprints taken; and be added to the padron at the town hall. Approx. 5 weeks after this, we collected our TIE from the Police Station.

This NLV lasts for a year, then you have to renew for 2 years, then a further two years, then you can get permanent residency. Although I understand the renewal process is less onerous than the initial application!

There are other considerations that you need to make - around cost of buying a property in Spain, income tax, potential capital gains tax on selling your UK home. 

I, and others on this forum, can advise on these, but all advice is only ever on our own experience, so for important / costly matters such as tax, CGT, etc. it would be good to get professional advice.

Hope this helps and happy to answer any other questions...

RichT wrote on Tue Feb 8, 2022 2:10pm:

Hi

If you are retired, then you need to apply for a Non Lucrative Visa (NLV).

Read more...

We successfully retired and moved over last May and the NLV process is as follows...

You need to apply for an NLV at the appropriate embassy / consulate in the UK. Broadly speaking, London serves the south of England; Manchester from the Midlands to the North West and Edinburgh for the very north of England and all Scotland. The consulate websites, visas sections, provides the list of requirements, which I've copied below, with my additional comments in bold:

LIST OF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR A NON LUCRATIVE RESIDENCY

1 Passport or travel document valid for at least 6 months beyond the intended arrival to Spain with at least two blank pages to affix the visa.

2 One completely filled and signed National Visa Application Form.

3 Ex-01 form and 079-052 fee form to be paid at the Consulate on the day of your appointment. The visa and appointment fee totalled approx. £1,050 for the two of us.

4 One recent passport colour photograph. (No more than six months old)

5 For non-British citizens: A UK residence permit valid for at least 3 months. It can be either in form of Visa stamped on the applicant’s passport or a Residency Card. If you are a 'normal UK subject / citizen, this doesn't apply.

6 Medical (Health ) Certificate signed and stamped by a registered doctor. This Certificate must literally state that the Applicant does not suffer of any illness which represents a risk or a danger for the public according to the International Health Regulations of 2005. The document must be translated by a Sworn Translator only, and with the Hague Apostille if the country is a member. Otherwise the document must be verified by the Spanish authorities in the country of issuance. Our doctor charged £25 per certificate, using a template provided by our Spanish solicitor.

7 Certificate of Good Conduct issued by the country or countries where the applicant has resided in the past five years. The document must be translated by a Sworn Translator only, and with the Hague Apostille if the country is a member. Otherwise the document must be verified by the Spanish authorities in the country of issuance. This is a Police Certificate which is obtained from the ACRO website, at a cost of, I think, £55 per person - turnaround time was about 10 days.

Note - docs 6 & 7 had to be notarised (our UK solicitor charged £25 to do all our documents). The Hague Apostille is an additional government service, which costs £30 per document and has a turnaround time of about 10 days.

8 Full health cover for applicant and, if applicable, family member. There are specific policies, which must not include 'co-payments' which are acceptable for the NLV. Many companies offer these. We used Sanitas (which is part of BUPA), as our bank had a linked offer. I have seen DKV recommended by other people on this forum. The policy needs to be paid up front for a year and be 'live' at the date of the NLV application. We are 50 & 48, with no pre-existing conditions and our policy cost around £1,200 for the two of us. I have seen people with pre-existing conditions getting quotes as high as £6,000 pa each. It's important to shop around as prices vary significantly. If you are of state retirement age, then you can apply for a S1 form, which means you don't need private healthcare.

9 Means of maintenance in Spain in form of 2200 € per month for the main applicant. Each additional family member will need € 550 per month. In general, €33,000 pa for a couple. This has recently increased to approx. €34,500 per couple.

10 All documents must be translated into Spanish (and where it specifies a 'Sworn Translator', these are specific translation companies that charge a lot of money (however, our Spanish solicitor included this in her price).

Although I would say that I am quite confident and competent in completing forms, gathering evidence, etc.; as many forms needed to be completed in Spanish (and mine is very limited) we used a Spanish solicitor (Raquel at BeGlobal Attorneys) to assist in preparing all the paperwork, making the appointments, etc. but there is still quite a bit of work you need to do yourselves.

For the 'means of maintenance' we provided evidence of cash in bank, shares, premium bonds, rental income from a property we own and rent out in the UK, and my pension pot.

In total, the process took us about 12 weeks and cost around £2,300 (excluding the cost of the private health insurance) - of which the solicitor's fees were approx. £1,000. When you get the NLV, you then have to enter Spain within 3 months and then start the rest of the process (below) within 1 month of entering.

When we got to Spain, we then had to attend the Foreigners' Office at a specific Police Station to have fingerprints taken; and be added to the padron at the town hall. Approx. 5 weeks after this, we collected our TIE from the Police Station.

This NLV lasts for a year, then you have to renew for 2 years, then a further two years, then you can get permanent residency. Although I understand the renewal process is less onerous than the initial application!

There are other considerations that you need to make - around cost of buying a property in Spain, income tax, potential capital gains tax on selling your UK home. 

I, and others on this forum, can advise on these, but all advice is only ever on our own experience, so for important / costly matters such as tax, CGT, etc. it would be good to get professional advice.

Hope this helps and happy to answer any other questions...

PeterC wrote on Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:34pm:

Just a general comment that there are lots of rules. If you grumble about all of them you are just giving yourself a needless headache - it is good preparation for what it will be like dealing with Spanish beaurocracy once you live here.

GerryT wrote on Sat Mar 25, 2023 10:30pm:

Not grumbling, just stating my opinion that some of the costs are unnecessary.  

GerryT wrote on Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:15pm:

So you sorted a Spanish Solicitor while you were in UK?  I am thinking if going for a NLV, so not only does the Acro certificate need the Hague Apostle seal and translating by a Sworn Spanish translator,but other documents do?  I assume you weren't receiving a UK State Pension when you ...

Read more...

...applied? I aim to provide an S1 form which I believe is acceptable for the health cover criteria.

It seems the whole process is costly , I do wonder why people applying need to pay Sworn translators when it's highly likely people at the consulate know exactly what forms in English mean.