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MAKING THE MOVE TO SPAIN
Destination content © Nikki Weinstein, used from Living Abroad in Spain, 1st Edition.
Maps © Avalon Publishing Group, Inc.
Overview
"A move to a new country will mean facing a lot of bureaucracy and Spain is no exception to that. You’ll have to deal with official stamps, official documents, official translations, and stern-looking officials—face-to-face. Just remember that if you’ve paid your taxes and dealt with the IRS in the United States, you can certainly handle this. And when you’re finished, you’ll be rewarded with access to Spain and that really is a rich prize."
Prime Living Locations
True Stories
Making the Move Red Tape Moving with Children Moving with Pets What to Take


VISAS AND IMMIGRATION
Tourist Visas • Student Visas • Residency Visas and Work Permits

Applying for your residency visa will likely be your biggest bureaucratic challenge, but most people have to bite the bullet and go through the necessary steps. Residency doesn’t only allow you to work, it permits you to simply live in Spain for more than 182 days of the calendar year. The range of visas vary tremendously—some are only valid for the duration of a work contract while others are good for as long as five years; you’re likely to score a more liberal visa if your work contract exceeds one year.
  So can you skip all that residency stuff and go right for the gold—citizenship? Sure you can—as long as one of your parents is Spanish or if you were born in Spain and your parents happen to have no nationality or one that you can’t share. Barring those two reasons, you’ll have to wait in line. Most foreigners who become citizens have held residency status for about 10 years.
  If paperwork gives you a headache and you decide to live in Spain for more than six months out of each year but you ignored the need for a visa, you run the risk of being fined about €300 ($375) and being barred entry to Spain for three years. (As you might suspect, the enforcement of that edict is lax, but don’t take that news as your cue to break the law.)

Tourist Visas
Tourists have it easy. U.S. citizens with a passport valid for the next six months need not concern themselves with visas at all, they can just go through border control at the airport, collect their baggage, step onto the street, and hail a cab. If that’s you, you’re in luck—the stamp in your passport is effectively your tourist visa and there’s no red tape to worry about.
  However, there is one key thing to keep in mind. Rules have changed since the formation of the European Union (EU), and borders are not what they once were. Your tourist visa no longer applies to Spain alone, it applies to all the Schengen countries. (The Schengen countries are as follows: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.) With just the stamp in your passport, you can travel throughout the Schengen countries for three consecutive months, but when your visa is on the brink of expiration you may no longer stay in any of the Schengen countries—not just Spain.

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Student Visas
Every year, thousands of Americans study in Spain. In many cases they enroll in undergraduate programs for a year or semester, other times they come as graduate students, and many people also come specifically to learn Castilian in a language institute. If you want to study in Spain for longer than three months, you’ll need a student visa. You can’t get one in Spain nor can it be mailed to a Spanish address, so you have to apply while you’re still in the United States. Because Spain is such a popular study-abroad locale, the processing time for the applications can take longer than a month so submit all your paperwork well in advance.
  The rules vary slightly at each of the separate Spanish consulates in the United States, but in most cases applications should be submitted in person. That rule is more ironclad in some consulates than others—the laxer ones allow the parents of a student to apply on the student’s behalf. To find out the specifics at the consulate appropriate for you, call in advance.
  The first thing you’ll need is the application itself, and that can be downloaded from some of the consulates’ websites including New York’s (www.spainconsul-ny.org). As soon as you’ve filled that form out, you’ll have to add a few more things to your list before you’re ready to apply.
  Include your passport (which must be valid for at least the next six months) with your application. Also add four current passport-size photos with white backgrounds to the pile. Additionally, you’ll also be asked to submit the original letter that verifies your enrollment as a full-time student at a university or school, and that should have a section assuring that you have paid tuition. Have your doctor write a letter assuring the Spanish government that you do not have yellow fever, cholera, or the plague, and also stating that you do not suffer from any drug addictions or mental illnesses; the letter must be translated into Spanish. If your stay in Spain will be longer than six months, you’ll also have to add a letter of good conduct from the police department of any city that you’ve lived in for as long as six months during the past five years, and that also must be translated into Spanish.
  You’re almost done, but there’s still one more document to toss in. The Spanish government will want to know that you have enough money to live on while you’re in Spain, and you’ll have to show them that you do. That can be done in several ways. You can present $350 worth of traveler’s checks for every month that you’ll be in Spain. Alternatively, the consulate will accept proof (usually in the form of a letter) that you have received financial aid or a scholarship that covers tuition, room, board, and personal expenses amounting to not less than $350 for every month of your stay. Another option is to present a notarized letter from your parents in which they promise to assume financial responsibility for you while you’re abroad, and they must specify that they’ll give you at least $350 dollars a month. (If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to hit your parents up for money, there’s your chance.) If you have a Spanish bank account, you can show evidence that you have sufficient funds for your time in Spain—of course, “sufficient” means at least (you guessed it) $350 for every month of your stay. Your final option is to include a letter from your academic program that guarantees complete coverage for your tuition, room, and board. However, that last choice is only available to students earning credit towards a bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree. If that applies to you, the letter must mention that you will be receiving such credit.
  Once you’ve compiled the paperwork you should make two photocopies of everything—one set is for the application and the other is for you. Add a stamped and addressed, Express Mail envelope and a money order for $100 to cover the processing fee, and you’ll be ready to go to the consulate and apply. Once you receive your visa, you’ll be all set to head across the ocean and begin your studies. If your program is for six months or less, your visa process is entirely complete but if your stay in Spain will be longer than that, you’ll have one more step to take. As soon as you arrive at your destination in Spain you’ll have to register with the police department to receive a student card.

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Residency Visas and Work Permits
Some people complain that applying for a Spanish residence visa is as fruitless as trying to ride a bicycle to the moon. But try to tune that buzz out—those rumors are worse than the reality. Getting your hands on a visa is a big effort but it is possible, and as long as you’re eligible for a Spanish visa, it will likely be granted to you. However, the government will not make the process of actually getting the visa easy for you. Spain’s bureaucracy is infamous and your first brush with it will likely come in the United States when you apply for a residence visa. Applications must be submitted through one of the Spanish consulates and exactly which Spanish consulate is the right one for you depends on where in the United States you live. You should call the consulate as soon as you’ve decided to apply for a visa in order to find out how far in advance your application must be submitted—each consulate sets its own rules, but in some cases applications can take longer than six months to be processed. Most of the consulates will only accept applications that have been delivered in person, and some suggest arriving early in the morning to improve the chances of your application merely being received—some consulates enforce daily limits.
  Before you begin, there’s one important thing to know: While you can’t just move to Spain and begin working without the proper papers, you don’t need a work visa exactly—permission to earn money in Spain is built into specific visas. That means that independent business owners must apply for one kind of residence visa that grants permiso de trabajo (permission to work), while those who will be employed by a company should apply for a different visa. Depending on your job offer (for example, permanent or temporary), your visa might have any number of time and geographical restrictions.
  The Ministry of Labor ultimately grants foreigners the right to work in Spain (your visa won’t be approved without the department’s permission), but it’s worth knowing that some jobs don’t require the official go-ahead. Civil and military personnel employed by the Spanish government need not worry about getting permission to work in Spain, nor should accredited members of the foreign press, foreign teachers who have been offered positions at Spanish universities, and foreign technical employees invited to work for the Spanish government. Ultimately, your career and specific job matter a lot so peruse the various kinds of visas with special care and make sure that you apply for the correct one so you can earn a living when you reach Spanish shores.
  The next step is figuring out exactly which residence visa to apply for—you have six options. The residence visa to work in Spain as an employee is for anyone with a job offer from a Spanish company. The residence visa to reunite a family does exactly what its name suggests; that’s the visa of choice for U.S. spouses of Spanish citizens, but it can also work for the parents of children who are either Spanish citizens or legal residents. The same visa works for people under 18 who are financially dependent on a Spanish citizen or resident. The residence visa to retire in Spain is straightforward—it’s for retirees. If you want to open a business independently, such as running an inn or restaurant, you should apply for the visa for investors or the self-employed. Another option is specifically for non-lucrative purposes and is only good for people who will live off money earned outside of Spain. (You must already have a large sum of cash in your name if you want that particular visa.) Finally, the residence visa exempt from requesting a work permit (a.k.a. the visa with the most unwieldy name) applies to those who will be in Spain for a religious, scientific, or cultural activity that is not applicable to work visas; that often translates into grant-related work, but not always.
  Once you’ve found the visa that fits, you’ll need to put the application together. Not all of the individual consulates have websites, but the New York one does and you can download the application itself from that page (www.spainconsul-ny.org). Once you’ve filled it out, there will be a few more things to add.
  Each of the six visas demands a slightly different list of goods, but in all cases you should include the same list of goods that’s required for student visas: your passport (valid for six months), photos, your doctor’s letters, and the letter from your local police department. Remember that both letters require official translations. Additionally, if you own property in Spain, you should include the original deed as well as a photocopy of the same. To have your application cover your spouse or children, include separate applications for them, medical certificates of good health, your original marriage certificate, and for your children, add their birth certificates.
  That takes care of the areas in which the various residence visas overlap, but each specific visa requires a little more information. If you’re applying for the work-specific visa, be sure to have your doctor add to the letter stating that you don’t exhibit any health conditions that would prevent you from working at your proposed job. You must also include a written job offer from the Spanish company where you intend to work, and that offer should also have already been filed with the Ministry of Labor in Spain. That’s mandatory for Spanish branches of American companies, too. The good news is that in most cases, your employer will take care of that detail.
  If you’re applying on the family reunion visa, your family member in Spain should have already filed a formal petition with the local police department in Spain, and you must include a stamped and registered copy of that. If you’re the parent of a foreign resident in Spain, include your child’s birth certificate. Also be sure to submit the passport of your family member living in Spain, whether they’re a Spanish citizen or a foreign resident. If that person is not accompanying you to the consulate, a notarized photocopy will do just fine. Lastly, the Spanish government will want to know that you have a place to live in Spain, so submit that address in the form of a certificado de empadronamiento (certificate of residence)—a form that should have already been processed with the local police authority in Spain. If that form doesn’t apply to you, a work certificate or official change of your Spanish family member’s residence will do the trick.
  If you’re a retiree applying on the related visa, you’ll have to add an official form certifying that you receive social security and stating its monthly amount. Additionally, add proof of any other source of income that you might have—and that includes all properties in Spain. Also submit an official document from the company that provides your medical insurance guaranteeing continual coverage while you’re in Spain.
  Those applying as investors or as the self-employed must also have their doctors add to the letters that they are healthy enough to do the work proposed. A copy of the solicitud de permiso de trabajo (work authorization application) should have been filed previously with the Ministry of Labor in Spain—both an original and a copy of that should be included. The last form should document proof of the medical coverage to be received while in Spain.
  If the residence visa that you’re after is for non-lucrative purposes, you’ll have to offer proof that you have enough money to live on while in Spain. More specifically, you must submit bank account statements, investment certificates, and any other proof of funds that amounts to no less than $75,000 annually. If you own stock or partnerships in any companies, the Spanish government requires assurance that you do not make money from direct labor in those companies.
  The application for the visa exempt from requesting a work permit also calls for a letter or invitation from the organization in which you’ll be involved while in Spain. The Spanish government will want assurance that your financial needs will be taken care of, so be sure that the letter includes that information as well as some detail on the activities that you’ll be performing. Also submit forms proving that your Spanish organization is accredited with the appropriate government authority. (If you’re not sure which public office to contact for that confirmation, speak to someone at the Spanish organization you’ll have contact with in Spain in order to find out.) Finally, by the time you apply for a visa, a solicitud de exención de permiso de trabajo (application of exemption from permission to work) should have been filed with the Ministry of Labor in Spain. (Presumably that was done by the Spanish organization you’ll be affiliated with.) Be sure to add the original form with your application.
  Once you’ve completed the list you must make two photocopies of all the documents and include those in the packet, but it’s not a bad idea to make an additional photocopy for your own purposes, too. Finally, you have to add a money order of $100 to cover the processing fee along with your application. Now just sit back and wait for your reply. However, you should spend that time in the United States because once your visa has been processed, you’ll have to pick it up in person at the Spanish consulate.
  Now you have your visa, but you’re not done quite yet. The visa itself is only valid for 90 days and it offers you just one entry into Spain. As soon as you arrive at your Spanish destination you’ll have to go to the local police department to get your residence card. That residence card can be renewed from within Spain for the duration of your visa, but as soon as your visa expires (and they’re all valid for varying lengths of time), you’ll have to apply for a new visa. That can only be done by repeating the same process from the beginning.

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