I talking about the benefits of NOT registering as a resident.

Are there any?

1. what happens should I not register?
   
2. Do we have to if kids go to private school, we have private medical cover and do not need to work?

there are NO benefits to not registering as resident - & if (when?) caught there are fines to be paid - it's a legal requirement as far as the Spanish govt is concerned


I can't understand why you wouldn't - it costs less than 11€ per person & takes at most a day out of your life - & since you say you are financially stable & don't need to work it's a simple formality

... my only issue is they are going to want me to disclose my financials from UK which I do not really want to do - I made the money there so I pay tax there.

Too much hassle - otherwise

you are tax resident by default if you're here long enough - it has nothing to do with registering as resident

if you've paid the tax in the UK you don't pay it again - there's an agreement


if you're tax resident there are pretty high fines for non-disclosure of assets - read the threads about it that are running here atm

also, if you are living in your own house you must be registered as a resident or you will pay non resident taxes, they will have no proof you are a resident, so you will be charged, and any Spanish bank account will be much more expensive, residents get favourable rates etc.

Im afraid you dont get the choice Tambo, even if you think you do. You are a tax resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days in the year here. So yes, you have to declare your assets now and if you dont then if they find them later the fines are ridiculous.

Theres only one way around it simply, and thats to spend less than 183 days a year in Spain and in that way you can still be a domicile resident but not a tax resident

I live here permanently so the question is mainly academic... How do the Spanish actually check you are here for less than 183 days?

Having children at school is a pretty good give away.

And if you don't have children?

If asked, you have to prove that you're not by producing travel receipts, tickets etc. My husband kept all his - just in case

Jo xxx

the onus would be on you to prove it

if questions were asked they would expect you to prove you weren't here - plane tickets & so on

OK I get it that if you are asked you need to prove it by receipts but what would that actually prove ? that you entered and left Spain by public transport of some kind but I'm still curious, Who actually does the asking and why?

As far as I understand you could only get asked if you were to involve yourself in any sort of Spanish administrative matters.

The authorities may ask - my husband kept flight receipts, he also had proof he owned and lived at our UK address. The bank and the guardia did ask him, after we'd been in Spain for 6 months as he had a non residents bank account and they were insistent that he changed it to the cheaper residents account - he closed it as he genuinely wasnt a resident - I was, so I changed mine!! So he couldnt have a bank account, all bills and payments had to go thru me. If had he have lied and tried to play the system, he would have tripped up - and that was before things got tougher in Spain

Jo xxx

Sure, if you can live without a house, electricity, water, a bank account, a car, schooling or health then I guess you wouldnt need to do any "Spanish administritive matters"

Of course, you could sign an illegal rental contract and run a car illegally, but you wouldnt want to do that. I know that British people are very much against illegal immigrants