How to Get Residency in Spain
How to get the Spanish residency
In Spain, you will find everything that you need: delicious food, the sun all year round, a charming vibe, a rich culture, and a landscape that will never cease to amaze you (mountains + sea). Hence, the huge number of foreigners moving to the Spanish territory year after year.
But, how to do it? If you are considering moving to Spain, in this guide you will find everything you MUST know. What are the residence permit options for non-EU citizens in Spain? And if you are from the EU? How to get residency in Spain, and what are the requirements?
Trying to answer these questions may sound intimidating, especially because there are plenty of alternatives and the process + requirements differs according to the one you choose. But after reading this guide, all your doubts will be over. We will help you find which residence permit suits you (and your family) best, so that you can fully understand all the steps to follow.
- We will carefully analyze your situation and determine which is residence permit is right for you
- We will guide you step-by-step into all the legal procedures required to get your permit in Spain
- We will help you get all the documents and send them to the relevant authority for you. All you’ll have to do is sign, we’ll handle the rest!
4 Types of Residency Authorizations in Spain:
If you are planning on visiting or moving to Spain, you must be aware that there are 4 different types of permits or authorizations that will allow you to legally stay in the country. Choosing one or the other will depend on how long you plan to stay in the Spanish territory, or how long have you already been in the country:
Short-term Visa
The short-term visa or Schengen visa (also called a tourist visa) allows non-EU citizens to stay in the country for up to 90 days. Depending on your country of origin, you may be required to apply for one or not, and you can enter Spain without a visa. Once those 90 days come to an end, you must move to a regular permit in order to stay in Spain. But bear in mind that the vast majority of permits can’t be obtained under a tourist visa. This means that, as a general rule, you can’t come to Spain with a short-term visa and get your residence permit afterwards; you need to apply from your country of origin. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions that we will explore later on.
Temporary Residence Permit
If you are planning to live in Spain for more than 90 days, you must apply for a temporary residency permit. Temporary residencies last 1,2,3 or 4 years (depending on the permit and if it is an initial residency or a renewal). But, usually, initial cards are for 1 year under the general immigration regime, and 3 years under the Entrepreneur’s law. Once that period ends, and provided that you still meet the initial requirements, you can renew your temporary residence permit for an additional two years or 4 years. On the other hand, instead of renewing, you will also have the possibility of moving to a different type of residency. Finally, bear in mind that not all permits do allow you to work in Spain.
Long-Term Residency
After 5 years of uninterruptedly living in Spain with your permit or visa, you won’t have to renew it anymore. You will be eligible to apply for permanent residency or PR (now called long-term residency), a permit that will allow you to live and work in Spain indefinitely. Bear in mind, however, just years lived under a residency status do count. All months/years under a student visa or under a stay status will not count to obtain PR.
The requirements are simple. You just need your passport, current residency card, completed EX-11 form, clear criminal records for the last 5 years, and proof of payment of fees. And, most importantly, you cannot have left Spain for 6 consecutive months nor more than 10 months in different non-consecutive trips. The only exception is for those trips that are made for work purposes (in case you are able to prove it), where you are allowed to have traveled a maximum of 18 months during the 5-year period, but never any of the departures of the 18 months can have exceeded 6 months out of Spain continuously (without having returned).
Citizenship
If you want to apply for Spanish citizenship, you need to have resided in Spain for 10 years – but this differs for some countries and situations. Though the process may take some time, obtaining the Spanish passport will allow you to work in any EU country, and freely travel to 189 countries. There are several ways in which you can obtain Spanish nationality: by residence, letter of naturalization, possession of status, option, being a native Spanish national, or by the Law of Democratic Memory. Read more about it here.
Non-lucrative Visa
Let’s say that you do not want to work in Spain. You would like to retire in Spain, or you want to travel around Spain and Europe for a year, or you would like to immerse yourself in a new culture without embarking on any economic activity. Then, the retirement or non-lucrative visa will be the best option for you. Its requirements are really straightforward:
- You need private health insurance.
- It is also required to demonstrate the possession of sufficient economic funds. The legal requirement is €28,800 for the main applicant and € 7.200 for each additional relative, but depending on your consulate, that amount can increase (and you can even see that a rental contract is required).
This permit can only be applied for from your country of origin at the Spanish consulate or Embassy, and NOT as a tourist directly from Spain.
This is for sure one of the most sought permits in Spain, and at our offices, we receive clients from all countries who wish to obtain their non-lucrative visa as it offers a straightforward application and great advantages.
Digital Nomad Visa
If you plan to work remotely from Spain for a foreign company, or as a freelancer with clients outside Spain (as long as your total turnover coming directly to Spain does not exceed 20%), you can get the digital nomad visa.
This is a great option, as you can apply for it both from your country of origin and from Spain. Plus, thanks to being the holder of this residency, you will pay fewer taxes, (just a flat 24% on your income), as you will be able to benefit from the Beckham Law.
But this permit has many other advantages, like the ability to include your family members in the application, the possibility of receiving a resolution in less than 20 days (fast-track application), or the fact that it is a residence for 3 years (renewable for 2 until you obtain permanent residency).
When it comes to the main requirements, there needs to have already been an existing contract with the foreign company/client three months prior to the application, and this company must have already been operating for at least 1 year. For personal requirements, the individual must demonstrate sufficient economic funds through an annual salary of €31,752 for the main applicant. They must also prove that they have 3-years worth of work-related experience, or graduated from a reputable academic institution.
Entrepreneur Visa
Can you set up a company and get the residency at the same time? With the entrepreneur visa, you can. If the project that you would like to start in Spain is of economic interest to the country, innovative, and involves a high level of technology, you can easily have access to this 3-year visa.
If you just want to create a regular company, a work permit as a self-employed individual will be the best alternative, as the entrepreneur visa requires that your business idea is completely new and does not exist in the market already.
Bear in mind that one of the most important requirements for this permit is developing a business plan, in which you must specify how you will obtain financing, how your operations will work, a marketing plan, and how you will create employment for the Spanish economy. Our business lawyers will assist you in all steps to set up your business in Spain and with your tax optimization.
Student Visa
Do you want to do your master’s or Ph.D. in Spain? Start a Spanish course or complete your professional training for a specific sector? Then the student visa is for you. This residence permit allows non-EU citizens to study in Spain. After the immigration updates from 2022, you can work up to 30 hours per week on a student visa in case you enroll in higher-education studies, and even to internship.
For some students, their application process is also highly advantageous, as they can apply for the study permit directly from Spain as a tourist within the first 60 days of their stay. Students who can apply for the permit in this way are those who come to Spain to study official higher education or health training, while all other students must apply for the study visa in their country of origin or residence outside Spain.
However, both applications for study visas from outside Spain (through the consulate) and applications submitted in Spain as tourists (at the immigration office of the place where the on-site studies are to be carried out) must be made at least two months before the start of the studies.
Besides, the student residence permit for higher-education studies or health training becomes many times a perfect gateway to enter Spain and stay for the long run. That is because after completing your studies, you can easily transition into a work permit, eliminating the complex work visa requirements.
If you are unable to find a job during your studies you can apply for the residency called “búsqueda de empleo”. This job search permit allows foreign students in Spain to extend their stay for up to two years to look for a job or start their own company. The student must have finished their studies at the time of application, and can apply for this permit 60 days before their student authorization expires or 90 days after.
Other students (such as language course students) who cannot apply for a study visa in Spain because they are not pursuing higher education or health studies, and who do not have a work permit during their studies, will not be able to modify their permit from Spain once they finish their course. This means that, once they have finished their studies, they will have to leave and return to their place of origin if they want to begin the process of applying for a residence and work permit in Spain.
Internship Residency
Students who have finished or have currently been taking level 6 studies or higher for the last 2 years, can transition from a student visa to this permit. This authorization is obtained through a: traineeship contract or internship agreement, and the internship should be within the same scope and qualification level as the higher studies taken. Once the contract or agreement finishes, the individual can transition to an employee’s residence permit or self-employed visa, which can be renewed until permanent residency.
Research Visa
A special type of permit designed for researchers and the scientific community. This is for those who travel to Spain to work in an R&D center or do authorized research. It can also include teachers hired by universities or higher education centers. The permit lasts for 3 years or for the duration of the research contract. While it can be applied for directly from Spain or your home country, the application must be initiated by the research institution that is hiring, and submitted completely online through the electronic system of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
Work Permit
Obtaining a regular work permit in Spain can become a quite complex task, and that is why we always suggest to aim for any of its alternatives. Depending on your situation, professional profile and the job offer you have, there are different types of work visas you can apply for. Each has its own requirements and the application differs:
- The regular work permit must be applied for from your country of origin. Just a few job positions will be valid for this type of work permit (those under the shortage occupation list), which makes it really completed to be obtained. Your employer from Spain will be the one to request the residence permit for you, while you are in your country of origin (as it CANNOT be applied directly from Spain).
- If you have a job offer as a highly qualified worker, the procedure to get the residence permit can start while in Spain. This visa is granted to those who get an offer as managers or any other technical position, and who earn over 40,077 € per year for technical and professional scientific and intellectual profiles, and 50,000 € per year 54,142 € per year for executive or managerial positions. In the case of those under 30 years of age, the annual salary is lower than the standard requirement, namely 75% of the annual minimum.
- The Intra-Corporate Transfer Visa applies to multinational company employees who need to relocate to the Spanish headquarters to continue working or to take any type of training.
- Similar to the skilled professional visa, you also have the EU blue card, which allows you to work in the whole European Union area.
Family member of an EU Citizen visa (tarjeta comunitaria)
Under this immigration procedure, European Union citizens living in Spain can bring their Non-EU relatives with them. The residence permit as a family member of a European Union citizen is usually formalized after constituting a civil partnership (pareja de hecho with a non-EU national or via marriage. Parents and children of European Union citizens can also benefit from the right to get their residence and work authorization as relatives. This family member visa can be applied for as a tourist, and grants a 5-year residency card that also allows you to work in the country.
Family Reunification
Relatives, civil partners, and in-laws of non-EU citizens residing in Spain can apply for family reunification, under the condition that the said foreigner living in Spain has been in the country for at least one year (with a valid permit) and has applied for at least another year of residency. This residency card allows the applicant to live and work in the country.
When applying, the individual should show adequate housing conditions in Spain, and, as always, sufficient economical means. In the case of family reunification, the Spanish resident needs to show that they can support their arriving relatives (i.e., the applicant). There are four main ways to do this. They can show that they are employed by a company, that they are a registered self-employed worker, that they are an enrolled student declaring financial support, or that they have at least 150% of IPREM in the case of the family being the reuniting and the reunited, and 50% more of the IPREM for each additional member in the family.
Arraigo
Arraigo is the regularization process that allows foreigners who are in irregular situations to become legal after living in Spain for a minimum period of time. There are currently 5 different types of arraigos, each with different requirements:
Arraigo Social
If you have been living in Spain for at least 2 consecutive years and you are in an irregular situation, you can apply for this type of arraigo if you have the necessary savings or the necessary requirements to apply for a residence and self-employment permit. This implies that you must have a minimum of 100% of the IPREM for its maintenance or have an approved business plan.
Besides, you will need to obtain a favorable integration report. This is done through an interview with the town council of the relevant locality, showing a link with Spain (knowledge of culture and language), and learning about your background. In case you have relatives in Spain, there is no need to get this report. You will also need to speak a certain level of Spanish, and possibly the language of the autonomous community you are applying in (like Catalan in Catalonia).
Family Arraigo
You may apply for this permit without having been in Spain for a minimum period of time if you can prove that you are the father, mother or guardian of a minor citizen who is a citizen of a country of the European Union (not Spanish), the European Economic Area or Switzerland who resides in Spain, or prove that you provide support, care for and live with a family member with a disability who is a national of one of these countries and resides in Spain.
This type of arraigo grants a residence permit for 5 years.
Sociolabor Arraigo
You can apply for this arraigo if you have been in the country for two continuous years, and you have one or more job offers. These offers must guarantee the minimum interprofessional salary (SMI) or the salary established by the collective bargaining agreement applicable to the position being offered.
The minimum working hours required are 20 hours per week.
In the event that several contracts are provided to bring to the required minimums, these must be:
- Employment contracts of a seasonal nature or linked to seasonal productive activities. In this case, two or more contracts from different employers may be submitted and may be concatenated.
- Employment contracts with part-time and simultaneous work for different employers.
Studies Arraigo (Arraigo socioformativo)
The arraigo socioformativo is for you if you have been living for at least two years in Spain, you are in an irregular situation, and you wish to study. The studies that you can carry out with this permit are:
- Post-compulsory secondary education studies
- Studies of vocational training
- Compulsory education studies for adults
- Training promoted by the Public Employment Services in Spain to fill the jobs listed in the “Catalog of occupations that are difficult to fill”
Please note that the course must be 100% face-to-face and not part-time. You can study for 12 months, extendable for the completion of the second course, ( In addition, and during the completion of studies with this type of permit, you can work as an employee for a maximum of 30 hours per week.
You can find the list of valid centers and training in the following links:
State Registry of Non-University Teaching Centers
SEPE search engine
Second Chance Arraigo (Arraigo de segunda oportunidad)
If you are currently in Spain in an irregular situation after two continuous years in the country, and you had a residence permit during those two years but lost it for some reason, you may apply for this arraigo.
Applicants cannot have lost their residence permit for reasons of public order, security and public health to request this arraigo, but any other reason that would lead to the loss of residence will give rise to the possibility of requesting this second opportunity: from cases in which the residence was lost for not having requested the renewal, to any case in which the residence could not be maintained for not fulfilling the conditions at some point.
Of course, it cannot be that the residence permit that was lost was another permit due to arraigo in the previous two years.
If you are also thinking about a new life in Spain, click the Apply For Residency button and let us help you.
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