New immigration laws Spain

Spain last week issued its new law paper on Visas and Immigration from EU nationals.
The new laws are laid out on a 96 page long document and covers the new requirements that citizens residing outside the European Union must meet for a Visa outside a tourist Visa to be obtained.

Who does the new law affect
For residents of number countries keen to consider Spain home the new law may make living in Spain easier and a reality. Currently those nationalities most eager to have a Visa include Indians and Chinese as well as Russians and Brazilians.

It will now be possible if citizens meet the following requirements for them to be considered for a residency Visa for up to one year renewable yearly for a maximum of 5 years as long as the criteria by which it was granted is maintained.

The key points when you are applying for Spanish residency that must be met are

·         You buy a property and your personal cash investment is € 500k or more

·         You buy government bonds for a minimum of € 2 million Euros

·         Share capital to the value of minimum 1 million Euros

·         You deposit in Spanish Bank € 1 million Euros.

Under the new law as outlined in the paper any one of the above criteria gives you access to one application. Whether one application includes all your family is not yet clear or defined. You should take legal advice when buying in Spain or wanting to meet any of the alternative criteria.

How do I maintain my Visa
To maintain the Visa you must demonstrate each year that the value of the criteria by which you met residency has been maintained.

Restrictions as to freedom of movement and what type of Visa you can gain are unclear. Not only must Spain meet its own immigration rules but Spain must also abide by the wider European immigration rules that certain nationalities are subject to along with meeting all money laundering regulations. Under the legislation there are a number of new types of Visas and again it is not clear which is suitable or offered in each individual circumstance.

A completely new government department has been created to manage the implementation of the new law although information on how to access this department is scant.

It would appear at present until the practicalities of the new law are more clear that any application should be made initially to the Spanish Consulate within the country in which you reside which is the current process all applicants undertake.