Applying for residencia.
 

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

You shouldn't be applying for residencia until you are living there. You can't have residencia but not actually live there. So you shouldn't be trying to get residencia in October if you wont be living there until March. It is a bit like asking for residencia when you are holiday because you intend to live there one day! Also this will impact on tax etc. When do you intend to tell the UK gov you left? It all gets complicated. Why the rush?

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Don't forget that you can be resident but not tax resident. Just don't stay more than 183 days in a calendar year.

So for the OP, tax is not an issue!

However, you can only register as resident where you live (reside) and if that is the UK until March, then you really are jumping the gun a little.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

It is not "residencia" - it is only the right to stay for more than 90 days. You could be resident in the UK and want to stay in Spain for 100 days - in which case you would have to sign on. If you wish to sign on the register because it is your intention to reside you can. Also it has nothing to do with tax as that is dealt with separately. You can be on the register and not be tax resident.

However, I agree with you that it is rather pointless going to all the expense etc if you are not going to officially need to until March.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

I can understand the OPs reasoning, Brexit better to be resident pre 29 March as if there is a deal of some sort done you are entitled to rights agreed last December. Yes there is talk of the freedom of movement continuing in transition but will that include all the agreed rights? If you miss that date and they are not covered it may well simply be tough luck. So being prepared and now is to me a good idea. I agree with Fred if your intention is to reside for over 90 days then you can get residencia on arrival.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

If one intends to reside 183 days spread over a 12 month period does one have to register? Anyone know?

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

The 183 days are per calendar year.

Once tax resident, it is my understanding that you are also a 'domicile' resident and so should register as such.


You can be resident but not tax resident but once tax resident, you are automatically resident (ISTR)

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

The 183 days is fiscal residency which once you excede 183 in 12 month period 1 Jan to 31 August then you would be liable to pay Spanish income tax. That is whether you have obtained the green residencia (signed on foreigners register or not). I you spend up to 182 days per year and no one stay is over 90 days then you need currently to do nothing neither will you be tax (fiscal resident).

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Thanks for reply guys, Best,

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Sorry just realised error that is 183 days 1 Jan to 31 Dec

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Hello, I do wonder who is dealing with registering you for your NIE numbers so that you can even buy the property? I hope you are in good hands? I know it is confusing at first, I was very confused myself. It seems to be a thing here in Spain though, as if a clear explanation of procedures were forbidden!
You need to apply for a NIE number before you can become the legal owner of a property in Spain. You need this number for all manner of official things: bank, health, car, property, etc. This is the very first thing to do.
If you haven't already done this: if you want to be registered in advance you can look online, the Spanish government website allows you to apply for NIE online. I'm not sure if I am allowed to paste a link, but just google "apply NIE online", they have all the info and forms to download in English on their website. Please note that getting a NIE number is not the same as being a resident. Residency is a separate issue and there is no legal requirement for you to become a resident at this point.
Personally (I speak v.g. Spanish however), once we were in Spain, we just went to the special Police dept.to register, called the Extranjería. The local village/town police will be able to tell you where you would need to go for your area. The Extranjería give you a simple form (in Spanish) which you fill out and towards the bottom there's a place to cross "Tourist" NOT resident - that way you will receive a NIE number within a week, which you need for opening a bank account, renting/buying a property, etc., but you are not subject to taxation, so you are officially registered and recognised by the state, but you are not tax-registered. I don't know if the online version offers this alternative. I imagine so, as people sometimes just need a NIE number to buy a property although they live in another country. I seem to recall reading that the Govt has just made changes to make this process easier.
If I remember correctly, to apply for a tourist NIE you just need a passport and a local address and a EHIC card. We had rented a house for 6 months and provided a copy of the contract. Have a look what the Govt. website says they require for a Tourist NIE, not residency.
Regarding healthcare: as long as you are registered as a tourist, your UK version of the EHIC card (don't know how it's done in the UK these days) is your proof of health care. If you were to need health care, you show the doctor/hospital this card. Some things you still may have to pay for though, like X-rays. However, it's usually not too expensive. Dental procedures are not covered, you have to pay that yourself, even when you do have Spanish health care. I think you are then just covered for a basic check-up.
We stayed registered as tourists for several years, coming and going until we came to live here permanently, and then we just went to the Extranjería again and said we're here for good now. This means you are going to spend more than 183 days in the country. This is when they then want to see that you have enough income, a rental contract, etc. as the address you give becomes your fiscal address. It is VERY important to make sure post can get to that address or you should have post from Hacienda (tax office) redirected to a gestor (a kind of accountant) so you don't miss out on payment demands and end up paying fines! They know about this.
The base level income requirement per person is the minimum income p.a. as stipulated by the Spanish government and is published in the internet, or a gestor will be able to tell you what the present figure is. I seem to remember it was under 10K p/p and p/a, but it may have changed, so do get someone to help you!
Once you are a resident, then you go with your NIE to the local town hall to register for "empadronamiento", which is a local register and means the town will receive more money to provide you with services like street lights, rubbish removal, etc., and you get free library access.
With your NIE card, contract, proof of empadronamiento, you then go to the local "Centro de Salud", which is your town's equivalent of your local GP (kind of!). They will register you and give you a Social Security type number which means you are entitled to Spanish health care. You then go to that Centro de Salud if you are ill.

My tip: if you do decide to do everything yourself, make copious amounts of photocopies as everyone seems to want copies. I must also say that in my experience, your luck, and "the rules", are very dependent upon who you meet in these places.
Wishing you the best of luck!

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

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Re: Applying for residencia.
 

I am really looking forward to the reply. I have never seen such dubious guidelines.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Snikpoh, I think your response makes it all the more evident for the OP, and any other poor people trying to understand what to do, just how difficult it is to know exactly which procedure to follow as they differ so much from one area to another.

I have in your opinion evidently wasted my time trying to recount my experience, which is all I can offer as I'm not a professional in any of the fields involved, something I believe forum members generally are not - otherwise we'd not be here!!

The discrepancies from one area to another are also an important reason leading me to strongly recommended the OP to get proper professional help locally.

I asked the OP to check himself what the Govt website says as I haven't time to read it and although I haven't the time to counter all your comments either, I can say that mine is a true account of my experience, and the fact that it is done differently where you live doesn't make my experience (Seville) untrue. I'm still a spring chicken and far from losing my faculties.

There most certainly is such a thing as a tourist version of NIE, exactly as I explained it, and which was my valid status for several years. The number stays the same, but not the status. I did have to show my EHIC card to get it, etc, etc.

You are however correct that I referred to a NIE card when the ID-card is actually called a "tarjeta de residencia", whilst you only receive a stamped paper from the Extranjería police if you apply for a NIE as a tourist first. Most Spanish people ask me in Spanish for my "tarjeta de NIE" because they call their own ID "tarjeta DNI", so I've been used to thinking of it in this way, hence the wrong description.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

The problem is that people are talking about things that were never originally written or conceived in English. What is a tourist NIE for instance?The official forms and papers for all these things are in spanish. The people in these offices work in Spanish and refer to Spanish documents and procedures. Every time someone tries to translate something a little bit is lost hence all the perceived misunderstandings and differences. If you don't speak Spanish just go to an assessor or lawyer who does and let them arrange everything for you.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

This is so true, I couldn't figure out what people were writing about or how to apply things when I first arrived because of the "implicit but unspoken" within these forums, as I now realise, meaning all the bits and pieces of knowledge and experience already gathered whilst living here, and which are no longer perceived as needing explicit explanation. But a complete newcomer isn't able to automatically piece those jigsaw pieces together. I'm afraid the Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset seems to have a point after all with his idea that verbal exchanges cause more confusion!
Okay, have to get hubby's tea now or Ortega y Gasset is going to be right again.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Hello EsuriJohn, I see you have a symbol like the NO-DO of Seville - is that a coincidence? I think you have a very valid point about the rapidly changing laws too, and actually probably valid for most areas of life where you might have to do with your local town hall or other such places. Talk about a personal twist: I remember our astonishment when we went to ask the local "arquitecto técnico" of a certain village to explain to us how to understand building permission in practise in the surrounding countryside. He then proceeded to tell us, as cool as a cucumber, exactly how to buy a local plot and build illegally in such a way that he would then certify it as legal after 5 years. We could see he really meant well, but we just couldn't conceive taking that route!

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

EsuriJohn, that's very interesting, I'll read up on it, thank you.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

I stand corrected then, Fred. I based my comment upon information I have read which stated that a lot of reforms, especially regarding tax/financial issues, make it very difficult to keep up as a lay person, but it seems that I have naively followed the advice of a dodgy website.
I'm sure it can't be easy trying to monitor forum content regarding a place where laws are so freely interpreted as is the case here in Spain.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

The tax rules do change frequently, as they do in most countries. The same applies to other financial rules such as IVA, fuel taxes etc. That is because these are not generally covered by EU laws and are decided (within limits) by individual member states. Things like residency rules are governed by EU directives. The current residency law was issued in 2007 and there has been one minor update since.

Re: Applying for residencia.
 

Lots of good useful information here ¡Residencia! All your questions answered | Healthcare in Spain