Why you should get Permanent Residency in Spain
When we decided that we wanted to go through the Non-lucrative Visa process and live in Spain, it was because we had a long-term goal.
The long-term goal was getting Permanent Residency in Spain. Why did we want to do that? We wanted a base in Europe, a place we could call home for the rest of our lives. Canada is a great country – but being retired, why would we want to live there with its 6 months of winter and its expensive cost of living?
But there are many other reasons why Permanent Residency in Spain made sense.
In this post I do a Q&A with an immigration specialist. Javier tells us all about the rights and privileges you get being a Permanent Resident in Spain.
Hi Javier! The first thing I wanted to ask you: what are the qualifications to apply for Permanent Residency in Spain?
Hi Frank. The most important thing is that you have legally lived in Spain for 5 years with valid residency and TIE Card. This is the rule for anyone who obtained temporary residency in Spain. Other than that, the requirements are easy: you have to show your residency card, proof of residence and health insurance. After applying you’ll go for fingerprints and then receive your Permanent Residency Card which is good for 5 years (but easy to renew when those 5 years are up).
*Important: During your 5 years of temporary residency, you shouldn’t have left Spain more than 10 months in the last 5 years or spent more than 6 months abroad at once.
What are the benefits of getting Permanent Residency that you don’t get with Temporary Residency?
Once you get Permanent Residency you’ll have many of the same rights as Spanish citizens:
1. You’ll be able to work in Spain and/or start a business in Spain.
2. You have freedom of movement anywhere within the Schengen zone with no visa requirements (you are allowed 90 days in other countries of the Schengen within a 180 day period).
3. You have freedom to spend more time outside of Spain. As a temporary resident, you cannot surpass more than 6 months in a calendar year outside of Spain, or a total of 10 months over 5 years. With Permanent Residency, you should be in Spain 6 months/year and should be in Spain no less than 30 months total during the 5 years.
4. With Permanent Residency you can bring your parents to live in Spain. With Temporary Residence you can only bring your children and spouse…but with permanent residency you can apply for the re-unification of parents who are more than 65 years old.
5. If you decide to leave Spain for another EU country, you can apply for EU Permanent Residency with many of the same pre-conditions that allowed you to get Permanent Residency in Spain (explained in detail further below).
What is the process for renewing your Permanent Residency when the first 5 years are up?
This process is even easier than obtaining your initial Permanent Residency permit. The reason is that you are not renewing your legal status as a foreigner in Spain, you are just renewing the card itself. Even if, for example, you don’t renew your card, you are still considered a legal resident of Spain. The only thing is that you’ll have to pay a penalty fee if you don’t renew in time.
Can Permanent Residency ever be revoked by the government?
Yes, the permanent residency can be revoked in certain cases:
- In case the holder passes 12 months out of Spain consecutively.
- When the holder has to be expelled from the country for any reason.
- When obtaining a long-term visa in another EU country.
What is the different between Permanent Residency and Citizenship?
You can apply for Permanent Residency after 5 years in Spain, you can only apply for Citizenship after 10 years. When you apply for citizenships you (in theory) have to revoke any other citizenships. Citizenship also gives you the right to vote as well as gives you access to more social services than permanent residency.
What is the difference between Permanent residency in Spain VS EU Permanent Residency?
Some people decide at some point that they want to leave Spain and live/work somewhere else in Europe.
People in that situation should apply for EU Permanent Residency. The advantage to this (over Permanent Residency in Spain) is that if you go to another country (France for example) it will be much easier to become a legal resident there. What people should know however is that the requirements are stricter: you need proof of sufficient funds and to be fully covered by health insurance.
Note: if you’re a non-EU citizen who has lived 5 years in Spain as a temporary resident or are a permanent resident of Spain, you can apply for EU Permanent Residency. So your time working towards permanent residency in Spain hasn’t been lost because you require the same pre-conditions to apply for EU permanent residency.
Thank you Javier!
Related: How to Get a Spanish Non-Lucrative Residence Visa (a step-by-step guide)
Related: The Digital Nomad Visa in Spain
Hello,
Your website is a golden mine for me. I will move to Spain in less than a year and I have more and more question and your website answer lots of them. But… there is one thing I don’t understand. You wrote:
-With permanent residency you have freedom to spend more time outside of Spain
Since there is no border in the Schengen zone, how can they now we have been more than two months out of Spain if we stay in the Schengen zone and keep a long term location in spain?
Thank you Pascale.
Exactly. That’s the theoretical rule, how they apply it is another question. In theory, they could ask you for receipts of grocery receipts, bills paid etc. In practice that most likely never going to happen.