NLV - being out of Spain for 1 year in the 5 year NLV period

You are correct on the 1 + 2 + 2 = 5. Then you can apply for permanent residency.

However, in the five years of the NLV, you can only be outside Spain for a maximum of 10 months (not 1 year, as you have stated) - and the maximum time in any one absence is 6 months. The aim behind this is that you should want to reside in Spain and also, if you were outside Spain for more than 6 consecutive months, you would cease being a tax resident for that tax year. Incidentally, I have seen solicitors touting the NLV as a way around the 90 in 180 rule, but they forget to mention the 10 months in 5 years rule, so people attempting this as a way of avoiding the 90 in 180 rule should get caught out.

Although I can't see clearly an example of what happens if you did break the 'absence from Spain' rules part way through the 5 years; it implies that your temporary residence would end and you would have to start from Year 0 again. If you entered Spain illegally or overstayed in Spain, these can be reasons to refuse an NLV but being outside for too long isn't shown as a reason to refuse a future application. If at the end of year 5 you were found to have spent more than 10 months outside Spain, there is provision for an “extraordinary renewal of the residence permit”, which would give you a further two years of temporary residency to try to reduce the average time spent outside Spain to a maximum of 2 months per year (so after 7 years, a maximum of 14 months).

The other question is = How will they know how long I have been outside Spain? The new ETIAS visa system will start in 2024 which will enable all EU countries to track the comings & goings of non-EU visitors far more easily, so I would expect that would 'catch' residents too.

Hope this helps!

Hi, Rich, perfect!  It's about what I thought, but with more clarification and depth.  We are just concerned that unforseen circumstances could impact that '10 month' rule - we have no intention of being out of Spain much at all!  Once again, thank you :)