If you are looking to live in Spain and you are not from a EU country, take a look at the overview of the different visas that Spain offers to the foreigners for a long term stay.
Non Lucrative Visa (NLV)
This is the visa known to be elected normally by people that are looking for retirement in Spain. You cannot work but you can move to Spain.
The request is for one year and it can be renewed for two years periodically.
It is not fixed but is changeable between other visas. For example you could apply for a work visa if someone offers you a job in your second year NLV visa.
One of the hardest points to prove in order to get this visa is the proof of funds.
You will need to prove that you have at least 4 times the Indicador Publico de Renta (IPREM) per month and for the second and third year you will need to prove that you have the double amount than for the first year.
For your wife or husband or children you need to prove that you have 1 time the IPREM.
The money needs to be accessible. The exchange rate between your home currency (Pounds, Yenes, Yuans or Dirham for example) and euros will be calculated on the same day of the application. This means that it is advisable to have some extra cash ready in case the ratings change abruptly.
You will need a criminal background certificate and medical certificate.
All documents need to be apostilled and translated into Spanish through a sworn translator. This means that the translation must be made by an official translator.
When booking your appointment with the consulate, please note that a third party cannot book the appointment for you. You need to do it in your own name.
Golden Visa
This visa allows you to live and work in Spain and is also valid for your wife, or husband,and your children. And also your parents if they depend on you. This visa pretends to attract foreign non-EU investors.
In order to request this visa you need to be 18+, have no criminal records, have life insurance and not have been rejected before.
This visa will allow you to access the public schools in Spain.
The easiest way to obtain this visa is through the purchase of one property in Spain. The price needs to be at least EUR 500.000. You cannot request a mortgage for the 500k, they need to be a real investment with cash, but if the price of the property exceeds 500k, you can request a mortgage for the remaining part.
The expenses around 10% and 15% that are normally present in a Real Estate transaction cannot be included in the 500k.
And the 500k are per person. This means that if the property is going to be acquired by two people, each one needs to invest 500k.
When can I request this long term visa?
You can request it when you have signed the private purchase agreement of your house or the deposit agreement. You do not need to wait until signing with the notary.
How can I make the request?
You will need to request the Golden Visa in the Spanish embassy or consulate of your home country.
This are the documents that you will need to submit:
1.- Spanish Golden Visa application form
2.- 2 passport photos
3.- Original of your passport and a copy. The passport needs to have at least two free pages for annotations and at least one year to expiration.
4.- If you are living in a country that is not your birth country, you will need to submit your residence permit.
5.- Economic solvency test. This is 4 times the Indicador Público de Renta (IPREM) + 1 time IPREM per family member.
6.- Criminal Records Certificate obtained in the last three months;
7.- Either public or private life insurance with a company that operates in Spain;
8.- Golden Visa payment form. This can be paid in the embassy or consulate;
9.- Specific documents for the case, this is, if you are purchasing a home, you will need to submit the private purchase agreement or the deposit agreement;
All documents must be apostilled and translated into Spanish by a sworn translator.
The application can be done by a representative but he will need to have a special Power of Attorney to do so, apostilled and translated into Spanish.
Once the visa has been approved, you have to go to Spain in one year, or 6 months if the house was signed the private agreement and exchange the visa for the residence permit. The residence permit will be valid for two years and every two years it has to be renewed. For the permanent residence you will need to demonstrate that you have lived in Spain 5 years uninterruptedly. To get the Spanish nationality you have to live in Spain for 10 years and pass a knowledge and language test.
Residence visa for employment:
This visa will be useful to you if you are going to start working for a company in Spain. The visa authorization has one year of duration. Once the year has passed you will be able to renew the visa periodically as long as you fulfill the same requirements.
It is very important to request this visa from your country of origin, not from Spain. The Inmigration Law does not allow you to request this visa from Spain.
Residence visa for Self-Employment:
This visa was delivered for those who pretend to set-up a business in Spain as self-employed workers (trabajadores autónomos por cuenta propia).
In order to obtain this visa, the Self-Employer will need to fulfill the following points:
1- Business plan. To obtain this visa, it is necessary to prepare and fill a business plan on the business project that is intended to be carried out. It must detail what the activity to be carried out is, what the profitability will be, what is or are the potential clients, to whom is the business activity directed, whether or not financing is available, internal or external, what are the own resources, if it is intended to generate jobs. In short, an exhaustive description of the activity must be made.
2.- Favorable report from the business associations of Spain: The different Spanish business associations may issue a favorable report on the business project. It is not mandatory or binding in order to obtain the visa, but it is highly recommended to have it so that the consulate can approve the visa. Some of the associations are ATA or UPTA.
3.- Amount allocated to the Investment: It must prove the disposition of the economic amount destined for the investment. The law does not establish a minimum but it will depend on the activity to be carried out and the necessary means to set it up.
4.- Justification of means of maintenance: In addition to the economic amount destined for the investment it must be proved that the necessary economic means are available to live in Spain for a year. Unlike the investment amount, in this case the law does indicate an economic minimum that consists of 100% of the IPREM on a monthly basis. The amount established for 2022 is 579.02 euros per month. In other words, you must prove that you are in possession of at least 6,948.24 euros.
5.- Training and qualifications necessary to carry out the activity: It is necessary to accredit the experience and that you have the necessary qualifications in Spain to carry out the activity or business.
6.- Licenses necessary to carry out the activity: All the licenses necessary to carry out the business or activity that is intended to be established and the form of application, authority issuance and requirements for obtaining them must be described.
7.- Place of application: This long-term visa must be applied for at the Spanish consulate of the applicant’s country of origin or habitual residence. If the applicant is not residing in his country of origin, he must provide his residence permit in his country of habitual residence with the application. It cannot be managed in Spain if you come as a tourist. It is mandatory to do so through the Spanish consulate, where all the documentation will be presented and sent to the immigration office of the city where the project is to be established. Once the authorization has been granted, the consulate will be in charge of processing the visa and stamping so that the worker can get into Spain legally.
8.- Duration: The residence permit granted by this visa lasts for one year. Once fulfilled, its renewal, fulfilling a series of requirements, for a period of two years. Once these two years have expired, it can be renewed for another two years. And when the self-employed worker has been residing in Spain for five years, can apply for a permanent residence permit.
9.- Formal obligations: The self-employed person is obliged to register in the special regime for self-employed workers (RETA) and to declare their taxes, personal income tax (IRPF), VAT and IAE.
If you need more info you may check this official Spanish government site: PORTAL DE INMIGRACIÓN. Residencia de larga duración (inclusion.gob.es)
If you need more info do not hesitate to contact us: Contact us – Spanish Companies Incorporation
