I am an EU citizen and I know that I have the right to live and work in Spain. I am doing volunteer work in Spain next year for over 3 months. I'm not getting paid but I will be getting free accommodation and three meals a day for free in return.

I've been told that ever since the economic crisis that you have to show your work contract to get a residency permit.
Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you need a residency permit to work and stay in Spain for longer than 3 months?
Therefore, if I'm doing volunteer work do I have to get residency? And to get residency do I need to have a paid work contract?
I'm a bit confused as I've read contradicting stuff.

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

To be able to claim any healthcare and a residency from Span, you'll need to prove income and have an employment contract showing your paying into their system. So its the contract you'll need and whoever is giving you free board and lodgings would need to declare you officially, but surely you have a some form of financial income or savings, so you could use that???

The reason this rule has been put in place is to stop foreigners going to Spain and ending up using and abusing the countries finances - so its up to you to prove you wont

Jo xxx

you do have to register as resident if here more than 90 days, & you do have to show that you can support yourself & have healthcare provision - which I'm sure if you're able to take time out to do voluntary work you can?

that doesn't have to be a work contract - you can show a decent bank balance &/or regular income into an account - I've heard of people having to show as little as 5000 €

(edit) oh you said "for over 3 months". Then yes you do have to.

Nice, easy to understand summary of EU law here:
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens...s/index_en.htm