6 advantages of a Spanish residency permit

Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt, October, 26. 2020

Marbella-based Larraín Nesbitt Abogados (LNA) has over 17 years' taxation & conveyancing experience at your service. We offer a wide range of 50 legal and corporate services. Our team of native English-speaking lawyers and economists have a long track record successfully assisting expats all over Spain.

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Article copyrighted © 2020. Plagiarism will be criminally prosecuted.

 

 

By Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt
Director of Larraín Nesbitt Abogados
8th of November 2020

The United Kingdom officially left the Union on the 31st January 2020, and the Brexit transition period ends on the 31st December 2020.

Following up on last month's article (Spanish residency permit: Time is running out!), we are now on the run up to the last days for British nationals to benefit from all the advantages the transition period has to offer on applying for Spanish residency. We strongly advise all UK nationals to apply for a residency permit now, before the end of the year, if you can. As from 2021, the application requirements will be far more challenging, and many will no longer qualify.

To complicate matters further, at the time of publishing this immigration article, it would seem the UK Authorities are heading for a no-deal Brexit which would pile even more pressure to get this done and out of the way whilst you can. From the Spanish side, Immigration Authorities have tightened up the requirements in a new change from November which now requires applicants to categorically prove their habitual residency is in Spain. This is the second major change in 2020, besides the one we already reported in July 2020.

Please note that because the United Kingdom has been a member state of the Union over the last 47 years we take many rights for granted; but these rights will no longer be available as from 2021 for all those who have not landed a residency permit, so please do not take them for granted and be proactive, for your own sake.

Besides the six reasons we collate below, there are also tax advantages: Tax advantages on becoming resident in Spain – 8th March 2018.

Apply for Spanish residency now and ensure you secure your EU rights as a national of a member state of the Union before it’s too late.

 

Six advantages of a Spanish residency permit

 

  1. Freedom to move within the Schengen Area

With a Spanish residency permit you are granted unfettered access across the Schengen Area. Avoid pesky passport controls, avoid multiple visa applications, avoid long queues. A residency permit allows you visa-free access to all 26 Schengen countries.

  1. Right to live in Spain (Europe)

Again, most UK nationals take this for granted, but in a post-Brexit world this will be far more challenging. A Residency permit legally allows you to remain within the Union territory unmolested and go about your life. Illegal aliens, who do not have a valid residency permit, and overstay the 90-day period, may be subject of deportation to their home countries.

  1. Right to work

A residency permit allows you to seek a job normally. Employers in Spain, going forward, are going to be asking job seekers to prove they are in Spain legally to avoid large fines on hiring illegal immigrants.

  1. Right to study

A residency permit allows students to live and study in Spain (Europe).

  1. Right to vote

Have your say on local elections, vote for a mayor to improve things in your town.

  1. Right to public healthcare (S1)

After you attain a Spanish residency permit, UK pensioners may apply for a full transfer of their accrued UK healthcare rights over to Spain using the S1 procedure. For as long as you remain in Spain, you may use the Spanish healthcare system in equal rights to any native. We offer this service for a flat fee:  Transfer of healthcare rights (S1 - Social Security Homologation).

In conclusion

Any EU national living in Spain for more than 90 consecutive days must apply for a Spanish residency permit, by law.

Please note that you may remain lawfully, within Spanish territory, a maximum of up to 90 days within every rolling six-month period within a calendar year.

As the Brexit transition period draws to an end, it is important UK nationals attain a Spanish residency permit taking advantage of the lenient conditions currently in existence while they last.

You should be advised that attaining a Spanish residency permit is taking (in Malaga) several weeks, so please plan ahead accordingly. What matters is that you file for it before the 31-12-2020 deadline.

Please, for your own sake, don’t sleep on this as the clock is ticking.

For updated information on all residency matters, please browse UK Gov Living in Spain Guidance.

 

"I met my wife through playing golf. She is French and couldn't speak English and I couldn't speak French, so there was little chance of us getting involved in any boring conversations - that's why we got married really quickly." – Sean Connery

Sir Thomas Sean Connery (1930 – 2020). Was born in my beloved Edinburgh. Before pursuing a career in acting, he worked on several jobs such as milkman, Royal Navy sailor, lorry driver, footballer, bodybuilder, lifeguard, labourer, coffin polisher, artist’s model, and part-time babysitter (sic). At age 27 he would start his career as an actor which would bring him world-recognition as one of the best actors of his generation. His seminal role in the first James Bond movie would bring him much praise and years on he would be widely regarded as the best actor to play the incorrigible Bond. Other major roles he played were Marnie (1964), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Untouchables (1987), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996). He officially retired from acting in 2006, though he briefly returned for some voice acting roles in 2012. I came across him several times when I was younger at Aloha Golf in Marbella, where he lived for several decades with his second wife until they left for the Bahamas. A proud Scotsman, he swore he would never return to live in his native Scotland unless they attained political independence. True to his word, he would die abroad never seeing his dream come to fruition. He proudly sported a tattoo: “Scotland Forever.”

 

LNA has a 100% track record attaining Spanish residency

 

At LNA we assist UK nationals to apply for Spanish residency for the first time, or renewals, for a very competitive fee. You will be assigned an in-house specialist to deal with your matter. Call or e-mail us free of compromise.

Please note we only deal with residency permits on the Costa del Sol (Malaga province).

Larraín Nesbitt Abogados, small on fees, big on service.

Larraín Nesbitt Abogados is a law firm specialized in residency, taxation, conveyancing, inheritance, and litigation. We will be very pleased to discuss your matter with you. You can contact us by e-mail at info@larrainnesbitt.com, by telephone on (+34) 952 19 22 88 or by completing our contact form.

 

Immigration & Residency services available from LNA

 

 Residency-related articles

 

Article also published at Spanish Property Insight: Six advantages of a Spanish residency permit

Please note the information provided in this article is of general interest only and is not to be construed or intended as substitute for professional legal advice. This article may be posted freely in websites or other social media so long as the author is duly credited. Plagiarizing, whether in whole or in part, this article without crediting the author may result in criminal prosecution. No delusional secessionist politician was harmed on writing this article. VOV.

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