Moving to Spain Guide – Chapter 15 – Longer Term Considerations
Contents
Temporary Right To Residency Versus Permanent Right to Residency
Permanent Right to Residency Versus Citizenship
Permanent Residency for EU citizens
Permanent residency for UK nationals who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement (those who legally lived in Spain prior to 2021)
Permanent residency for all other third country nationals (non-EU, EEA Switzerland)
Applying for Spanish citizenship
Temporary Right To Residency Versus Permanent Right to Residency
Temporary Residency:
When you first move to Spain, you’re typically granted the right to temporary residency.
To maintain this right, you must continue to meet the conditions, such as having sufficient economic means and valid health insurance.
This right can be revoked more easily if you don’t maintain these requirements.
Permanent Residency:
After five qualifying years of legal residency, you will usually have the right to permanent residency, which is much harder to lose.
Permanent residents gain access public services such as health and social care and are no longer required to prove they meet temporary residency conditions.
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Permanent Residency Versus Citizenship
Both offer almost equal rights and status but to apply for citizenship people from most non-EU countries need to renounce their original citizenship – dual nationality is generally not permitted, with only a few exceptions.
Permanent Residence – applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have lived legally in Spain for at least five years.
Citizenship – applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have lived legally in Spain the required period according to their route to residency. Spanish citizens are eligible to vote in all elections.
Permanent Residency for EU citizens
If you have resided lawfully in Spain for five consecutive years you will automatically be granted permanent residency. That means you can stay as long as you want.
You will build up a right to permanent residence even if you:
- temporarily leave the country (less than six months a year, but not more than 10 months in total during the five years)
- are absent for longer for military service
leave the country once for a maximum of twelve months for important reasons such as pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, work, vocational training or secondment abroad
You can lose your right of permanent residence if you are continuously absent from Spain for more than 2 years in a row.
The permanent residency card for EU citizens is valid for 5 years and is renewable.
Permanent residency for UK nationals who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement (those who legally lived in Spain prior to 2021)
Once you have been living legally in Spain for five years, you can apply for a permanent TIE. This allows you to reside in Spain indefinitely, without being subject to any conditions and enjoy the same rights as other permanent residents. To build a right to permanent residence in your first 5 years of living in Spain, you must not have been absent for more than six months in a year, unless for one of the important reasons mentioned above.
The five years do not have to be consecutive and if you do not meet the requirements for permanent resdidency then you can remain (and renew) your TIE as a temporary resdent until the time when you have aquired a total of 5 qualifying years.
The permanent residency card for British nationals with residency under the Withdrawal Agreement is valid for 10 years and is renewable.
As a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement with permanent residence, you can be absent from Spain for up to 5 consecutive years without losing your residency or beneficiary status.
Whilst you have the right to permanent residency and a new TIE to show your new status, many Policia Nationals will refuse to renew an unexpired TIE and ask you to reapply when your existing TIE expires.
Permanent residency for all other third country nationals (non-EU, EEA Switzerland)
Once you have been living continuously and legally in Spain for five years you can apply for permanent residency.
The routes you can take depend on the type of temporary residency status that you have had. Please check with the relevant Spanish authorities for the options available to you and their conditions. You can also take professional advice from a specialist immigration lawyer.
The permanent residency card for non-EU citizens is valid for 5 years and is renewable.
Applying for Spanish citizenship
Spanish Citizenship means just that. With a few exceptions Spain does not grant dual nationality. Therefore, in most cases, applicants for Spanish citizenship need to stop being a citizen of their country of origin in order to become a Spanish citizen.
The qualifying period of residency in Spain before you can apply for citizenship varies according to your nationality and your route to residency in Spain.
There are three main routes to applying for Spanish Citizenship:
- through family: If your parents or grandparents were Spanish nationals and you meet the requirements.
- through marriage: If you get married to a Spaniard, your marriage is registered in Spain and you have lived in Spain for at least a year, you qualify for Spanish citizenship.
- through residency as a foreigner: Citizens of Portugal, the Philippines, Andorra, any Latin American country or Equatorial New Guinea may apply after two years of living in Spain as a legal resident.
People who have been accepted into Spain as refugees and who have been legally resident in the country for at least five years may apply for citizenship.
The steps to being granted Spanish Citizenship include:
- demonstrating the required period of uninterrupted residency from the date your legal residency was granted – not when you entered the country
- passing an exam of competency in the Spanish language at A2 level
- passing a multiple choice exam on the history and culture of Spain
- having an acceptable criminal record in your country of origin and in Spain
- evidence of renouncing your existing nationality
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