Temporary Residency to Permanent Residency

Hello,

I saw an article on the internet that said that the 5-year waiting period to become a permanent resident in Spain may be reduced to 3 years instead.  It said that it is hoped that the new legislation (by the European Parliament) will be completed by February 2024.

Has anyone else heard about this or knows more information?

Thanks in advance.

Hello cloudnine

Spain is a sovereign country and therefore can have its own residency policies. Sometimes these policies can be flexible and dependant on your country of origin and status.

Are you an illegal immigrant living in Spain and what nationality are you?

Hello Kavanagh,

I am asking on behalf of my boyfriend who is Canadian. He has a 5-year temporary residency which he got in 2021 as he is my partner and I am British (I have been a permanent resident in Spain for many years). He has a TIE - Residencia Temporal, Miembro de la Familia UE Articulo 50 TUE, Emitido Bajo Art. 18.4 Acuerdo Retirada.

I originally read a brief comment about the possible 5 yr to 3yr change in someone's blog so I then tried to google it to find out more and I found the following info. I am not sure if I am allowed to post a link, so just copy and paste the details below into your browser.

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/04/25/want-to-live-in-the-eu-new-rules-could-make-it-easier-to-move-between-countries

Let me know what you think.

Thx

Hello cloudnine

Occasionally you need to treat media news like a pinch of salt. Journalists have to fill blank pages with anything, once in a while the truth, periodically rumours and at other times lies.

Your Canadian boyfriend would be advised to visit the Spain immigration office for reliable information, which is free.

Duly noted. Thanks.

I do have one more question - During my boyfriend's 5 years of temporary residency, do you (or anyone else) know the maximum time he is allowed to be out of Spain in total? Is it 24 months or 10 months? Not sure if it makes a difference that his residency is through being a family member of a EU citizen (not through the non-lucrative visa route).

Thanks in advance.

Is his EU family member a Spanish national citizen?

No, I am the EU family member (pre brexit).

How can you be a family member to someone you are not legally related?

Also, you may be an EU resident but you are not an EU citizen.

Sorry, perhaps I should have said EU member (not citizen) so as not to confuse. His TIE card says "Residencia Temporal, Miembro de la Familia UE Articulo 50 TUE, Emitido Bajo Art. 18.4 Acuerdo Retirada". Although it says "miembro de la familia", on his card, we are boyfriend/girlfriend and we had to show proof in his application that we are a genuine couple for them to grant him his temporary residency.

Why does he not make a normal straightforward simple permanent residence application like any other non-EU citizen?

If you mean a non-lucrative visa, then he would have had to renew after the first year and then after another 2 years. It was the immigration lawyer that suggested to do it this way.

Anyway, back to my question on whether it is 10 months or 24 months. We asked the immigration office this question (twice) after being granted the temporary residency and they said 24 months but I am worried it may be 10 months and that they have made an error.

The Long Term Residence Permit is a legal document granting non-EU citizens the right to reside in Spain for over 90 days. This permit allows for a continuous stay in the country, valid for five years, with the possibility of renewing it indefinitely.

Cloudnine  it's 10 months in the first five years. as a Tax resident.but you are only permitted 183 day's out of Spain in any year or you will loose your Tax Residency. 

Thanks Kavanagh and windtalker for your replies. I think we'll pop into the immigration office and get them to confirm one last time!

Best wishes.