Spanish Residencia for Americanos

Hola, folks. I'm Bruce ... and have owned a vacation bolt earlier in Olvera (Cadiz) and currently Pruna (Sevilla) for about ten years now. With even the remotest possibility of Donald Thump being elected President (Hillary Clinton comes with her fair share of baggage, too), we are seriously considering spending our lives full-time in Spain as expats.

Retired expats. Or "jubilados," in Spanish.

Our problem is that we must, first, apply with all the completed paperwork to the designated Spanish consulate here in the colonies that handles our affairs. For us, that would be Chicago. Trouble is, Chicago is insisting that our documents and application follow Spanish immigration law "al pie de la letra."

And the problem with that is neither the Spanish embassy here in the USA, nor other consulates here, nor a number of Spanish lawyers based in Spain can agree on what's really REQUIRED and what's DISCRETIONARY on the part of the Spanish immigration authorities.

The issue? Spain requires a petitioner seeking a visado de jubilado to document that, in additional to appropriate health insurance, s/he is receiving either a public or private pension of € 25,560/annually (or its equivalent in USD) plus € 6,390/annually (or its equivalent in USD) per each additional family member.

My spouse and I certainly don't have an annual pension of € 31,950. Do you? Do the majority of Spaniards themselves even earn that much each year when they are working?

We've consulted a number of attourneys (including our favourite, Maria de Castro) ... and have yet to receive a definitive answer about Americans qualifying for a Spanish residency visa. One tells us, "The rules and requirements are different if you own property in Spain. That shows the government that you are committed to Spain and the required income levels are far less." Another says, "If your spouse is still working, you can submit his/her U.S. tax returns from the previous year ... which will be accepted and added to augment your own retirement income." And still a third Spanish lawyer consulted a friend who works for Spain's immigration service in Malaga--and he wasn't certain of what the answer was, but promised to look into it. We're still waiting ...

For those of us with citizenship in non-EU nations, applying for a Spanish visado de jubilado is a long, tiresome, expensive, and drawn-out process ... one that a single bureaucrat in a far-flung consulate (Chicago) can make or break throughout the process. Which is why we're hoping that someone here might have a real answer that we can provide, along with our papers and apostilles, to the consulate of Spain in Chicago:

If one owns property in Spain, are the annual income requirements for non-EU citizens reduced? And, if so, how much must we document as annual income for a family of two? Will the prior year's tax return from the working spouse PLUS the retirement income documents from the other be sufficient to present to the Chicago consulate?

Thanks, all, for your patience and consideration.

This message was last edited by bhjoffe on 24/05/2016.

I think you may be confusing two issues here.

Spain has introduced a new law that offers residency permits to non-EU nationals in return for an investment of €500,000 or more in Spanish property. Your income requirements will be waved.

The objective of the law is to attract entrepreneurs to Spain, and stimulate foreign investment in Spanish real estate, public debt, and job creation.

This law enables non-EU nationals to get qualified residency permits in return for investing in Spanish real estate (and other assets), leading to long-term residency in Spain if certain conditions are fulfilled.

Spanish residency, and the ability to travel freely in the European Schengen area (for 90 out of every 180 days), is a major attraction for many non-EU investors. Added to which, Spanish property prices have crashed into bargain territory, creating some excellent investment opportunities. It’s an attractive combination of residency and bargain prices for investors from outside the EU. €500k gets you a lot of property even in the most expensive Spanish regions.

Your other problem depending on your age will be obtaining private health insurance in Spain. Normally you cannot get private health insurance from a Spanish health care provider after 65 or if you have any pre-existing conditions.

Even EU citizens now have an income requirement to live in Spain. The rules don't state a figure they simply say "sufficient income to support you and your family".

Best of luck.

There are a plethora of American expats in Spain forums/societies.

HI Bruce. My wife is non EU and has lived with me in Spain for the past 10 years, so I have a certain experience of the subject.

I recently discovered this web site:

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-family/index_en.htm

It is an official EU site where questions may be asked.  

 I sent a question ,re my wife 's right to enter the UK, on a Friday and received a specific reply (not an automated one)  on the Monday.

Owning a property in Spain is not among of the criteria which allows/ make easier your Retirement Visa in Spain.

I would go ahead and would appeal on negative answers better than waiting for certainty.