Residencia and TIE Cards

Residencia for European Citizens

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Anybody who lives in Spain for more than 183 days a year is classed as being a resident in Spain and should apply for a residencia. For European citizens this is an unquantifiable timescale as passports often don’t get stamped when going through border controls, so it really is down to the individual to decide where they want to call “home”.

 

A Spanish residence permit (tarjeta de residencia) has gone from credit card size to A4 and back down to credit card size and whereas it used to take over a year from start to finish, you can now collect your residencia on the day of application.

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Applying for your Residency Permit

 

The application process is becoming easier as computer systems are more widely used and is done at your local National Police Station or Departmento de Extranjeros (Foreigners Department). You need to book and appointment, complete the application and tax forms and take all this with you when you do the application.

 

The two main things that Spain is interested in when you apply is that you have an income coming into Spain and that you have adequate health cover, this can be via reciprocal agreement with another EU country, private medical insurance, signing onto the Spanish equivalent of the “NHS” convenio especial or by working and paying contributions.

 

As a resident you must pay income tax on your worldwide income irrelevant of where it is paid. If you choose to become a resident it is important that you notify the tax office in your home country and your bank in Spain. There are some reasons why being a resident is advantageous, these include:

 

• Capital gains tax on selling your property

• Residents do not pay the 3% retention

• No tax declaration (Impuesto de la renta de no residentes (IRNR)) on principal residence

• Residents pay lower taxes on rental income

• Income tax breaks

• Inheritance tax bonuses

• Social security and health care benefits

• Right to vote in local elections

British Citizens Already Resident

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Although not obligatory at this moment in time there will come a point when British residents in Spain will need to have a TIE Card (Tarjeta Identification Extranjeros / Card Identification Foreigners).

 

By completing and returning the above checklist or sending us a message via “contact us” we can help you get your TIE Card with as little fuss as necessary.