simonbear

Hello,

I'm trying to get an accurate-ish idea of income requirements for Alicante (within 10km or so of Benidorm), for residency and I've seen everything from €800/month, €7,000 per person, €9,000 per person, €11,000 for a couple. Currently looking for a long term rental villa and currently in the UK, renting.

I'm freelance with a UK Ltd co and also have another UK business, my wife and I will work remotely. I can/will register as autonomo and pay tax on all income in Spain.

From what I can gather, this falls into the "Not employed in Spain and not over 65" category, therefore I think I need a lump in my Spanish bank account for 3 months prior to my residency appointment. Is that right? So whether it's 7, 8 or 9k is not so much of an issue, but is that *each* (for a married couple) or is it closer to 11k for a married couple? And lastly, is that *plus* a monthly income or not?

Hope this makes sense!

spainrico

I suggest you contact

https://www.pellicerheredia.com/en/

they can give you up to the minute advice. They are very professional and have dealt with all my legal needs for 15 years and have a lot of Uk clients and have been heavily involved with all the Brexit changes etc and regularly hold live webinars etc.

Barriej

Hi.
We will be moving out in the next week or so and our solicitor has said that Alicante wants €9000 in a Spanish bank for 3 months (sometimes they are flexible depending who is on duty)
If a couple going together I think you add another 4000 (can't be certain as we can't apply as a couple)
However if you are going to become autonomo you can use this as it will include the health care although you have to show at least 3 months of paperwork.

I think the 3 month thing is to stop people borrowing the money, getting residency and then paying back and trying to live on a basic pension. My opinion.

Our solicitor is in Albir and a few on here and the other big forum have used them.

​​​​​​

simonbear

Just to add some more confusion, I was watching a video last night with Sara Munsterhjelm, British Vice Consul who was saying that you don't need a lump sum - just regular income of about 450 EUR per month showing in the bank!

She said that the requirement for 8/9k was from the National Police, but the new TIE applications are being made by the Foreign Office.

Any thoughts on this from anybody?

Here's a link to the video, 7 minutes in....

simonbear

Thanks for the link - recognise them from a few videos, I'll get in touch...

spainrico

British Embassy Madrid has just posted this on their Brits in Spain FB page:-

Many of you have asked us what constitutes “sufficient resources” if you are applying for residency and not working. It’s not a straightforward question to answer! Both EU and Spanish law state that there is no set amount that a person must have in their bank account in order to meet the residency requirements for EU nationals (which apply to UK nationals during the Transition Period), but rather a series of indicators that will be considered as a guide when assessing the individual’s circumstances. These indicators are: IPREM (Indicador Público de Rentas de Efectos Múltiples. Visit http://www.iprem.com.es for information) and the annual income index for accessing social benefits in Spain and the minimum state pension from the Seguridad Social (http://www.seg-social.es/…/Pensionist…/Revalorizacion/30434…)

We know that UK Nationals are asked to demonstrate funds of varying set amounts depending on where there are in Spain. Often the authorities prefer to see regular income rather than a lump sum in the bank and, in some regions, they ask to see bank statements showing three to six months’ income in a Spanish bank account. Ultimately, it’s at the discretion of the Spanish official to take into consideration your personal circumstances and determine whether or not you have sufficient means to not become a burden on the state, so you may find it helpful to take along other evidence of assets when you go to your appointment. If you want to get a general idea of the figure asked for in your region, please contact the relevant extranjeria office. We do not yet know what the income requirement will be from 1 January 2021, but it is likely to change.

bobd22

That is exactly what we did for my wifes very recent successful application all be it we applied to Málaga Extranjero Office. Before making the appointment I emailed for specifics such as income given she is not yet state pension age and our spanish account is in my name as I have been resident a while and its quite difficult to have a joint account (which we had as non residents) if one is resident and the other non resident. I explained everything as clear as I could in an email they replied quickly and said if she had UK bank details and statements that would be acceptable. On the day of our appointment initially only my wife was allowed in the Extranjero Office due to covid rules. However the official saw my wife was struggling to explain and sent security to bring me in. I explained I was already resident and that my wife was covered as my dependant with an S1, that was all fine. She then queried the UK bank details statements etc? I showed her the email we had been sent saying acceptable to use UK bank savings, the official made a phone call and another lady came to the desk (not sure if maybe she was the one who had replied to my email saying we could use UK savings as proof or a supervisor) anyway she checked the statements and details and said that's fine. We were then issued immediately the authorisation letter to continue to phase 2 at Policia National. We attended that appointment 2 days later and all went well. So yes if in doubt it is well worth getting the information direct from the Extranjero Office ours couldn't have helped us more it was really stress free.

simonbear

Thanks - I have just contacted them.

bolton wanderer

Hi Simon, could you please let us know how they respond.

I've read on another forum (Costa Blanca) that the Alicante office are now looking at income from €5,500 on a case by case basis.
see.....https://www.costablancaforum.com/are...110954/?page=3

Barriej

​​​​I suppose it all comes down to who you ask on the day.
We will be arriving in Spain on Wednesday 19th and have been advised by our solicitor that Alicante are now asking for around 9000 euros in a Spanish bank account dating back at least 3 months.

Will find out for certain in a couple of weeks when we do ours.

Notdunroamin

The rules covering income requirements are referenced in the Withdrawal Agreement to

​​​​​​Article 8(4) of Directive 2004/38/EC

Which states

Member States may not lay down a fixed amount which they regard as "sufficient resources",but they must take into account the personal situation of the person concerned. In all cases this amount shall not be higher than the threshold below which nationals of the host Member State become eligible for social assistance, or, where this criterion is not applicable, higher than the minimum social security pension paid by the host Member State.

the_dd

Did you get a response back from them?

We are looking to move to Javea (Alicante province)

Fred James

Which is precisely why they are able to make up the rules to suit themselves!

Incidentally you can’t blame the withdrawal agreement or Spanish law for this. It’s straight out of the EU law which has been referred to.

Barriej

Been told today that Alicante want to see €9000 maintained as a minimum level in the bank and with regular outgoings showing to prove you are in the country. (the usual like shopping, petrol, meals etc)
I'm assuming if you use a UK bank and can prove regular use here in Spain that should be acceptable as well.

This comes from a Solicitor in Albir that some on here have used.
And the earliest appointment we can get to see them to start getting our stuff together is 14th Sept. This is due to all the existing residents rushing to get the new TIE as they are panicking as well as those coming out of the woodwork who couldn't be bothered to register originally.

bolton wanderer

Hi Barrie,
I think that you'll probably be pleasantly surprised to find that the income requirements in Alicante have reduced......
https://www.costablancaforum.com/are...ration-112149/

€5,381 per person or €462 per month.

Always good to have too much though.