UK Citizen spending 5.5 Months a Year in Spain

    I am thinking about purchasing a property and spending 5.5 months a years in Spain. Dont want to go over the 180 days as dont want to become a tax resident in Spain. How do I stand with Visa's, can I stay for 5.5 months in 1 go.
   

    -@livinginsea

If you are a non-EEA national (including British) and wish to stay in Spain for longer than 90 days, you will need a visa. You should apply for the visa that suits your purpose from a Spanish Consulate in your home country.

@SimCityAT

Thanks for the info. Would it be acceptable to stay for 90 days. Fly out and return a few days later and spend an additional 2.5 months.

    @SimCityAT

Thanks for the info. Would it be acceptable to stay for 90 days. Fly out and return a few days later and spend an additional 2.5 months.
   

    -@livinginsea

Nope, you have to leave the Schengen zone for 90 days before you are allowed back in without a visa.

Currently, the Schengen area consists of 26 European countries (of which 22 are EU states): Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Bulgaria and Romania, the newest members having joined on 31 March 2024, only have air and maritime borders open, with land border controls remaining in place pending agreement to lift them. The only EU member states that are not part of the Schengen Area are Cyprus and Ireland.

Thanks for the great reply. I will need to research the best visa to apply for. If I decided to just stay for 90 days a year in Spain, can I purchase a property without a visa.

@livinginsea

As a foreigner, you are allowed to purchase a property in Spain, and there are no restrictions on the number of properties you can own. You have to make sure its within 90 days.

@livinginsea

To purchase a property your need a NIE (ID number), but otherwise no restriction on foreigners owning property in Spain. NIE is done at your local Spanish consulate either before or with a visa application.

In your situation, the most common visa option is the NLV (No Lucrativa Visa) for non-working foreigners of independent means. This requires 2.5k euros per month of passive income (rent, pensions, dividends) or 30k euros in savings.

https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migrac … -lucrativa

As you need proof of address and proof of health insurance, it might be easier to get your NIE first, then go property hunting. If/when you find a place you like, you buy it (or rent it, if you prefer), and then proceed with the visa application.

gwynj thanks for the info.

        @SimCityATThanks for the info. Would it be acceptable to stay for 90 days. Fly out and return a few days later and spend an additional 2.5 months.        -@livinginseaNope, you have to leave the Schengen zone for 90 days before you are allowed back in without a visa.        -@SimCityAT

If I only spent 2-3 weeks in Spain without a visa , would I still need to leave the Schengen zone for 90 days?

@livinginsea

Use the online calculator which is the best way

https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-c … tm?lang=en

@SimCityAT

Thanks for the link for the online calculator. Do the same immigration rules apply for the canary islands that apply to mainland spain.

Yes  the Schengen rule, "90 days in a rolling 180 days" applies to all European countries in the Schengen Travel Area, including the Spanish Islands. It's important to remember this because if, for example, you decided to drive down to Spain via France, your 90 days countdown would start when you arrive on French soil, not Spanish.  If your trip then totals 90 days, you would have to return to the UK (or another non-Schengen country) for a full 90 days before you can enter the STA again. 

However, if you do a month here, a couple of weeks there, it's best to use one of the free online Schengen calculators to keep track of your movements - as the rolling 180 days progress, trips that you have made more than 180 days earlier will "drop off" the count.  But you can't ever do more than 90 days in Schengen during the rolling 180 days without risking deportation, a fine and/or a ban.

@Kimberley24

Thanks for the great information.

    @livinginseaTo purchase a property your need a NIE (ID number), but otherwise no restriction on foreigners owning property in Spain. NIE is done at your local Spanish consulate either before or with a visa application.

I am now thinking of applying for an Irish Passport so I am not restricted by all these visa rules. If I travel to Spain on a Irish Passport, what is the process to get the NIE or do I need to apply for it in my home country.

@livinginsea

NIEs are not difficult to get, so you can apply for it before you get your shiny new Irish passport. It depends when you want to buy a property, and if you're happy to wait a couple of years for your passport.

The Irish passport is certainly far easier visa-wise, as you don't need one. Instead, you enjoy the EU's famous Freedom of Movement. With an EU passport, you should do the EU Citizen Registration (in Spain), rather than going to consulates and trying to get visas. The little registration certificate they give you includes your NIE.

Gwynj, Thanks again for the great information. I am going to apply for my NIE now because it could take 12-15 months to get my Irish Passport and at this stage there is no guarantee my application will be successful. I want to try and buy a Spanish property in the next 6-9 months if I can find something I like.

With the NIE, it's a Tax Number and I.D. Does the NIE have to be renewed and once I have the NIE do I need to file a tax return if I stay in Spain for less than 6 months a year.

@livinginsea

Just a tax number. And totally separate from your residence status (you'd be a tourist).

While you wait for your passport, you'd be limited to a maximum of 90 days in 180 (visa free). So you can't legally stay more than 6 months a year anyway. Hence, not gaining Spanish tax residence, and not losing your UK tax residence.

Once you have a NIE that stays with you. If/when you get your Irish passport and do your EU Citizen Registration (or don't get it, and get a residence visa at a Spanish consulate instead), you simply tell them you already have a NIE.

Gwynj, Thanks for your replies and the great information.

Like to add on the 90/ 180 day EU rule.

Number of excellent online websites and also apps set up for the British to help with planning your 90/ 180 day stay in the EU.