Visas for non-EU Citizens

Since Brexit, the UK are now one of the countries that need a visa to stay in the EU for longer than 90 days. There are different options available and we can help in many ways.

In most cases this first involves an application at the Spanish Consulate in the country where you currently preside, eg UK,  

Non Lucrative Visa 

This is the most popular option for retired people. The first one is for one year, and the following 2 are each for 2 years so, when applying for the next after 5 years it is for Residencia permanente and gives you a residencia card for 10 years at a time. 

The main requirements are:-

Income - you are required to show 400% of the IRPM (minimum wage bracket) and if you are coming as a married couple the 2nd person only needs to prove 100% of the IRPM. Currently that works out to about 32,000 euros for a couple.  

Health cover - if you are of retirement age you will most likely qualify for an S1 (NHS Overseas issue this document) and also for your spouse if not of age themselve. If you are young retirees then you will need private medical cover that is equal to what you would obtain in the Spanish Health system - we can provide you with details and quotes from acceptable companies.

Criminal Record Check - you have to provide proof of a clean chriminal record from any country that you have lived in during the last 5 years.

Medical Certificate - this requires a doctor to confirm that you have no record of any dangerous deseases.

Marriage Certificate - only applicable if you are applying as a married couple. This document needs to be renewed with a issue stamp of within 3 months of application.   .

The Health Cover information must be issued in Spanish (unless it is the S1) and the Criminal Record Certificate, Medical Certificate and Marriage Certificate (if applicable) will require legal translation and Hague Apostille (verification of the registrar/witness signature). 

All documents are presented to the closest Spanish Consulate, by appointment. They will most likely retain your passport until the application has been accepte. At this point you will be contacted to collect the passport and will have 90 days to enter Spain and exchange the Visa for an ID card.

We can help you with any of the document preparation and when your visa is granted we can arrange the visit to the Foreigner's Office for the ID card.  

Renewal of a Non Lucrative Visa

The renewal of a non lucrative visa is completed and applied for in Spain.

It is important to note that the process for the renewal is very different and in some autonomous regions, much more complex than the first application.

The renewal application can be applied for 60 days before expiry and up to 90 days after. For Almeria, we always recommend getting the application in as close to the pre-expiry as possible because it takes on average 3 months for the response to the application. 

 

Moving to Spain

Moving to Spain can be an exciting prospect for many and for those who are citizens of an EU country the process is fairly straight-forward.

For non-EU countries, including the UK, the process is not so easy, but, in many cases, it is acheivable.  

If you have the resources and follow the requirements we can help you achieve your dream.