RESIDENCIA (CHAPTER 2)

Documentation that in practice is required to be submitted by retired or early retired EU citizens who were willing to become Spanish residents, and obtain the EU Spanish Residence Card. This is a list of all that we consider that should be prepared in our experience, but it might be slightly different depending on the particular region in Spain where application is submitted. We understand that this should not be exactly right due to be an existing Rule of Law being supposed to be applicable all over the country, but it is not in practice, and every region, and sometimes even one city, or another into the same area is enforcing different requirements to each circumstances affecting the applicants.

• Official application forms, and rates.

• Proof of earnings. Annual certificate of earnings from the pension payer will be a required document to present.

• Proof of earnings being paid into a Spanish bank account. Spanish national immigration department will require the pension or regular earnings to be paid into a Spanish bank account. Due to exchange rate reasons between the EURO, and some official currencies into the EU area (Danske Kr. for instance), there are usually many people in our experience who still prefer to be paid in their own country, and in their own currency, and transfer funds into their Spanish account when needed. This is not possible when applying for Spanish Residence cards. Applicant regular earnings will have to be paid into a bank account in Spain, and immigration department being given sufficient evidence of it.

• Bank account statements showing earnings credited in along the previous six months to the time that application is done. The longer backwards that it goes, the better usually it is.

• Certificate from the bank showing the bank account number is in the name of the applicant. The intention is reconciling the account number, and the bank statements being also required.

• Certificate from the Council where applicant lives showing temporarily registration in it, and time since it was first-registered.

• Copy of house deeds or original rental contract. In case that applicants lived in rented accommodation, the Spanish immigration department will usually require, or it might demand to present the original signed rental contract, proof of last 3-6 months rental payments, and proof of utilities being in the name of the applicants, or in the name of the landlord who is shown on the tenancy agreement. There are sometimes serious problems since the rental agreement might not be signed in every page, and only the last one, or it might be just a copy, or it might be signed between the leese, and an Estate Agent in the name of the owners, and not by the actual owners, …

• Proof of health coverage either from presenting the S-1 forms (formerly E-106, E-109 and E-121), or from a private health insurance policy together with 1 year proof of payment. The S-1 is an EU certificate of entitlement to healthcare if you do not live in the country where you are insured, and it is useful for posted workers, cross-border workers, pensioners and civil servants and their dependants. There might be generally other alternatives provided by each region health service, such as temporarily joining the Spanish NHS by paying an amount of money every month; higher or lower depending the age (https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/social-security-and-benefits/social-security-forms/index_en.htm).

• Original Apostilled, and translated Birth Certificates & Marriage Certificate in case of children being also applying for green cards together with their parents.

Our Firm will be of course assisting you in this complex process along the way.