Applying for residency in Spain under the ‘Immigration General Regime’ for UK nationals and family members

DISCLAIMER:

This article is only for orientation purposes and it does not represent any official sources of information. Please bear in mind that criteria may be different from an Immigration Office to another. For specialised advice on this matter, you may wish to seek individualised legal advice from an expert lawyer in the immigration field, or from the immigration department at your local town hall, at different organisations providing legal advice to third-country nationals, or at the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería).

Please be aware that Asociación Babelia is gathering information through this anonymous survey on residency applications that have been rejected, to raise with the British and the Spanish authorities. Please help us by completing it.

If you are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement or your residency application has been rejected but you are still willing to apply for residency in Spain, there are some alternatives under the Immigration General Regime that you may wish to explore. To see whether you may be eligible or not for each option, please take a look at the following questions:

  • This residency option has to be applied for from the UK through the Spanish consulate.
    • Are you able to prove that your minimum income is superior to 400% IPREM (in total, 2.259,6 € per month; 27.115,20 € per year in 2021), in addition to a 100% IPREM (564,90 € per month; 6.778,80 € per year) for every dependent family member?
    • Do you have a public (e.g. S1 form) or a private comprehensive healthcare coverage with no copayment equivalent or superior to the Spanish public coverage?
    • Are you able to provide a medical certificate stating that you don’t suffer from any of the diseases that may have serious public health repercussions?
    • Do you have any criminal records? (To be eligible, the response to this question should be ‘NO‘).

For further details on requirements and the procedure to apply for the Non-lucrative residence visa, please check this document from the Spanish consulate in London (for English, scroll down to page 4).

Non Lucrative Visa
  • Labour roots (Arraigo laboral)
    • Have you been continuously living in Spain during the last two years and if so, are you able to prove it?
    • Have you been working and active (de alta) in the Spanish Social Security System for at least six months during these last two years?
    • Otherwise, have you been working for a company or a person that did not want to regularise your labour situation with the Social Security and you are willing to report it to the Spanish authoristies?
    • Do you have any criminal records? (To be eligible, the response to this question should be ‘NO‘).

  • Social roots (Arraigo social)
    • Have you been continuously living in Spain during the last three years and if so, are you able to prove it?
    • Are you able to show sufficient income similar to the non-lucrative residency option or to provide a work pre-contract for a minimum of a year from a solvent company or individual?
    • Are you able to provide a ‘social roots report’ (informe de arraigo social) from your local town-hall?
    • Do you have any family members living in Spain?
    • Do you have any criminal records? (To be eligible, the response to this question should be ‘NO‘).

  • Family roots (Arraigo familiar)
    • Are you a child of a Spanish parent, or you a parent of a minor Spanish citizen?
    • Do you have any criminal records? (To be eligible, the response to this question should be ‘NO‘).

  • This option is meant for foreign residents to be able to bring to Spain their first-degree dependent relatives who are still living in the UK.
    • Are you married to a Spanish citizen or to another EU citizen who is already resident in Spain?
    • Are you already resident in Spain and looking to apply for your minor child’s residency?
    • Are you already a resident and looking to apply for residency for your financially dependent parent or adult children?
    • Do you have sufficient income to cover the members of your family you are applying for?
    • Do you have the appropriate home where to relocate your family members to?
    • Does your family member have any criminal records (To be eligible, the response to this question should be ‘NO‘).

Once you are granted the authorisation for residency, the family member will need to apply at the Spanish consulate in the UK for a specific visa to enter Spain. Please check this document for more info (for English, scroll down to page 4)

  • This option is meant for employers in Spain wanting to hire a foreign worker who is not in Spain yet and who is supposed to have a specific qualification to cover a position not easy to be covered by other workers already resident in Spain.
    • Is your employer willing to submit the application for residency on your behalf?
    • Is your employer solvent?
    • Is your employer able to provide an appropriate job contract to the Immigration Office?
    • Do you have any criminal records? (To be eligible, the response to this question should be ‘NO‘).

Once you are granted the authorisation for residency, you will need to apply for a working visa at the Spanish consulate in the UK. Please check this document for more information (for English, scroll down to page 4).

Self-employment residency (Residencia de trabajo por cuenta propia)

  • This option is meant for individuals who are willing to work as self-employed in Spain.
    • Do you have a viable business project to develop in Spain?
    • Do you have the professional qualification to carry out such project?
    • Are you able to prove that the investment is sufficient to carry out your economic activity and that this will have an impact in terms of job employment creation?
    • Do you have sufficient economic means for you to live on once the costs of the project are deducted?
    • Do you have any criminal records? (To be eligible, the response to this question should be ‘NO‘).

Once you are granted the authorisation for residency, you will need to apply for a working visa at the Spanish consulate in the UK. Please check this document for more information (for English, scroll down to page 4).

Student stay (Estancia por estudios)

  • This option is for students who are willing to come and enroll in official studies in Spain.
    • Have you been accepted at an authorised school or university?
    • Do you have sufficient income to stay and live in Spain during the period of studies?
    • Do you have a healthcare coverage?
    • If you are an adult, do you have any criminal records? (To be eligible, the response to this question should be ‘NO‘).

To apply for a student visa at the Spanish consulate in the UK, check this document (for English, scroll down to page 6).

For more individualised information on applying for residency under the ‘General Regime’, you may wish to contact the immigration department at your local town hall, called Oficina Pangea in the region of Valencia (Alicante, Valencia, and Castellón). Please check the following link for the list of oficinas Pangea per province and town: https://inclusio.gva.es/es/web/integracion-inclusionsocial-cooperacion/listado-de-oficinas-pangea

GOOD LUCK!

Buena suerte
Logo Babelia in English