Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa Residency Renewal Process

We've had to put in some time to spend some more time in Spain. In this blog, I share our experience because there isn't much information out there about this process and it's a very Spanish experience. I will start back in June...

JUNE 2016

This was our tenth month living in Span and our residency cards would expire in August. Therefore, it was time to apply for our “Renovación de la autorización de residencia temporal no lucrativa.” Consistent with our Spanish bureaucratic experiences thus far, it has involved hundreds of pages of documents, hours of preparing and waiting, and feelings of uncertainty (we seem to always fall in the "gray area").

We’d heard that renewing your non-lucrative visa is “so much easier” than the initial application. The information on the government website and on one blog post was all I could find on the subject which was not very much. However, after surviving "visa document boot-camp" in spring of 2015, I felt confident that we could get through this renewal application process relatively easily. That was until I read this line:

“Plazo de solicitud: durante los 60 días naturales previos a la fecha de expiración de la autorización. También se puede solicitar dentro de los 90 días posteriores a la fecha en que hubiera finalizado la vigencia de la autorización, sin perjuicio de la posibilidad de que sea incoado el correspondiente procedimiento sancionador.”

...which states that we can apply up to 60 days before the expiration of our residency, which was August 16, or up to 90 days after. The problem is that we’d booked flights back to the USA in June and our flights returning to Spain were in September - AFTER the expiration date of our visas.

Why was this a problem? Well, I knew that we couldn’t just leave Spain and expect the 90-days-after rule to work for us because it was likely they wouldn’t let us back into Spain with expired visas. Because we were leaving fifty-five days before the expiration, we had five business days to sort out our paperwork before we left Spain. In the US this would probably be plenty of time and you’d likely have the option to pay more to expedite. But this is Spain where paper, stamps, copies, more copies, and face-to-face interaction is the norm. You can’t make an appointment ahead of time at the foreigner's office (at least for this matter). You have to go in person, wait in long queues and cross
your fingers.

I found a gestor (administrative/lawyer) in Javea and spoke with him about our limited time-window. He told us that we didn’t have anything to worry about because this renewal was so “easy” and advised us that we should simply send in our paperwork, or if we really wanted to, we could go in person. Feeling relieved to hear this process would  be so ‘easy’, we completed all the paperwork and decided that it was safer to deliver our papers in person.

For all of our residency paperwork, up to this point, we had been going to the Alicante Oficina de Extranjeros, but recently we’d learned this service had been moved to the Altea Oficina (Great! that’s closer to Javea and a beautiful city!). On day one (of 5), we dropped the kids off at school and drove to Altea with all of the required documents:

• EX-01 Official Application Form for each person in duplicate
• Form Modela 790 codigo 052….. €15.76 euros for each person
• Passport (must have minimum one-year validity remaining)
• Copy of Passport
• Proof of financial funds for the period requested
• Proof of Health Insurance for all family members
• A report issued, by the regional or state authorities, or from the kids’ school stating that our children have been attending

We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the office, which was new, open, had bathrooms, and wasn’t crowded. Our number was called and we sat down at a desk with a government functionario. We started going through papers and quickly realized that we weren’t as prepared as we needed to be. We may have gotten through that meeting, except for three issues: the passport copies, the financial documents, and leaving the country.

Copy of Passport “completo” - Turns out we couldn’t just submit a copy of our passport, we needed TWO copies of EVERY page (even blank ones)  for EACH person in our family (Which later took fours hours of my life - scanning and going to the print store with my USB drive).

Financial documents: When we initially applied in Chicago we’d printed an entire book of W2s, Investments, Bank Accounts, etc, and had a letter from Davin’s employer saying he’d continue to be employed. This time, we simply printed online screenshots of bank accounts, which we thought would suffice. But functionario actually laughed at the documents. When he looked at the four pages he said, “This is no good. You printed this.”. Well, yes of course we did, it’s our bank account!. Apparently, our American bank statements mean nothing to Spanish authorities and we needed to have official bank documents stamped by the Spanish Consulate in the United States. (UGH- this was not going to happen anytime soon). He told us that the only other way to get around this was to simply “put €90,000 in our Spanish bank account” (and that is when WE got a good laugh because this was not happening anytime soon either!)

Leaving the Country: Next he informed us that we would need to apply for “Autorización de Regreso” so that customs agents would allow us to return in September with our expired Residency Cards. We returned home that day with more forms to complete: EX-13’s  and more taxes to pay Form Modela 790 codigo 052….€10.31 for each person.

As you can imagine, we left the Altea foreigner’s ’office on Friday feeling defeated and depressed about the financial documents we somehow had to come up with. I was actually doubting that we'd be able to pull off returning to Spain because it seemed so grim. The funcionario said we were still able to submit the visa renewal application but that we’d receive a mail notification from the government in about thirty days informing us that the documents were not sufficient. (Not being able to get our mail in Spain while we were gone is a whole other issue that we had to sort out).

We returned to the Altea office on Monday (the kids last day of school) and presented all of the following information as thoroughly and officially as we could manage over the weekend. Putting together last minute documents is especially challenging because you must provide a copy that has been certified-translated. Rev.com was great for a 24-hour turnaround this but got pricey really fast. Again we took a ticket and sat down to wait, wait, and wait some more. We get to the desk and present our visa renewal documents. After the man went through it all and agreed it was complete, we then handed him our paperwork for the “Permiso de Regresar.” He told us that we had to go back to the beginning and take a new ticket for this separate issue. (Really?!) So we smiled politely and got another ticket to wait, wait, and wait some more. Our turn arrived and we handed him the paperwork which he deemed to be sufficient in about thirty seconds. Then he informs us that we need to return again the next day to pick up the Permiso de Regresar form.

Tuesday we drove back to Altea (which is about an hour drive requiring toll roads and parking ramp fees). Luckily, it’s absolutely beautiful, and we arrived early enough to have coffee and tostadas near the church in the old town positioned at the top of a hill overlooking the sea, mountains, and surrounded by the classic Mediterranean white stucco village. The kids were with us this time and at the office we took a ticket to wait, wait, and wait some more. We got to the desk and the man told us that they had not received the permisos yet and that we should come back in an hour or so. These moments can be really frustrating, but we have to remind ourselves that we are in Spain and that it is all worth it! Our kids have been troopers during all the trips and waiting at foreigners offices.  A few hours later we finally got four official “Permiso de Regresar” documents and went home.

JULY 2016

We paid our mail service employee to email us if we got any letters that were from the government and then bring them to our gestor's office in the Old Town (something that only worked because it is British-run). In July, we received Davin’s letter first, informing us that his application had been denied. This was not a surprise until we read more closely. It was not denied because of the financial documents like we'd anticipated but rather because of his American health insurance. Soon afterward, both Declan and I received our letters stating that our visa renewal was approved. So in the end, after all of our stressing about the financial documents, it turns out that Davin’s health insurance coverage was the issue! Davin was insured through an American Blue Cross Blue Shield Worldwide international plan, while the kids and I have private Spanish heath insurance. This international coverage probably doesn’t mean much from the Spanish perspective.

While we were happy that we didn’t have an issue with the financial documents which could have involved a trip to the Chicago consulate, we felt stressed about our new deadline. The letter stated that we had ten days to present sufficient evidence of Davin’s health insurance by a Spanish provider, but we weren’t going to return to Spain to submit these documents for at least a month. We couldn’t accomplish anything from the U.S. except for reaching out to an insurance broker in Spain to purchase private Spanish health insurance for him.

SEPTEMBER 2016

We returned to Javea on September third and ironically there was nobody in Spanish customs to even check our passports or the Permiso de Regresar documents that were supposed to be necessary to re-enter. We organized all sorts of new paperwork regarding Davin’s health insurance change, which involved many photocopies and translations, then we met with our gestor to get advice on how to proceed. Since the kids and I were approved, our next step was to get an appointment at the foreigner’s office in Benidorm where we submit more documents and get our fingerprints taken. Since Davin was denied, he recommended that when we all go to Benidorm we stop in Altea as well to submit Davin’s insurance paperwork, and that is exactly what we did.

I solicited appointments for the morning of September 20th and we arrived at the office in Benidorm right at nine. As we walked towards the office it became clear which building it was because, in front, was a large line of people. We heard yelling and nearly witnessed a fist fight between two men who appeared to disagree about their place in line. Luckily the police arrived in time to break it up.

For this meeting we had to provide:

• Justificante de cia previa : This means that you need to print out the receipt of the meeting time you chose when you made your appointment online
• Passport
• Non-lucrative Residency Visa card (that has expired)
• Photograph(s) for new card
• Tasa 790 Modelo 12 codigo - tax form prepaid at the bank (€18.54 for each person)
• Certificate of Empadronimiento -if you’ve changed addresses (but I brought mine just in case)

It was a quick meeting and they gave each of us a document that we need to bring with us when we return in at least thirty days to collect our new visas (no appointment required).

We went to Altea next and played the grab-a-ticket-and-wait game. Davin showed the functionario his large collection documents proving he had both American and Spanish plans (detailed plan explanations, proof accounts have been paid, translations, certificate of health, etc). The day before, Davin had received a “last warning” letter from the government saying that his application for visa renewal would be terminated because he hadn’t provided the required documents in thirty days. We showed all of his to the funcionario who seemed surprised that we had already received this warning letter. In the end, he advised that we only present the Spanish insurance and said we could mail it or we could go to Denia to submit in person. (A new foreigner's office explore!) (At least the kids wouldn’t have to miss another day of school for this next adventure.)

The next day we continued our “Tour de foreigner’s offices” and went to Denia. It was relatively painless since we arrived right at nine and of course had more paperwork to fill out and submit. It was good to go in person because the functionarios helped us properly complete the paperwork, re-checked that we had all of the necessary paperwork, put stamps on everything (which must add some value?!), and sent it off for us.

SO WHAT NOW?

Fingers crossed, Davin’s application will be approved and they’ll notify us via mail. If someone were to ask me, “Is the renewal application easy?” I would definitely not say “Yes”. It was certainly less paperwork than the initial application, but with little information on procedures. I’m not sure why Davin’s American worldwide health insurance didn’t suffice because it was the same plan the kids and I had when we applied for our initial visas. It’s also strange that Davin’s was denied but the kids and I were approved. In the end, I’m glad we consulted with a gestor (well at least I think I am - we haven’t paid the bill for that yet). I’m also glad that we went in person even though it wasn’t necessary because every functionario seems to have a different take/opinion on the procedures.

At the end of the month, we will return to Bendidorm to collect our new visa cards and hopefully Davin’s application will have been approved so we can move on with enjoying life in Spain!

I thought I’d include the following information to help anyone going through this process. It’s the procedures listed on the Spanish government website that I've roughly translated:

REQUIREMENTS

• Financial means to cover the expenses to stay and return, and in the case of family members, must amount to the following minimum quantities:
• Sustained support for 400% of the monthly IPREM, amounting to €2,130 and for each one of their family members, 100% IPREM what amounts to 532.51.  (IPREM= Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples which is Spain’s index for determining an income level that qualifies for financial assistance)
• Authorized Spanish public or private health insurance for all family members
• Evidence that any minors are attending school while living in Spain

DOCUMENTATION

(Note: you must be to provide copies in addition to the original documents)

• EX-01 Official Application Form- in duplicate
• Passport (must have minimum one year validity remaining)
• Copy of Passport  - this means the entire passport page by page - 2 copies
• Proof of financial funds for the period requested
• Evidence can consist of property titles, certified checks or credit cards accompanied by bank certificate state the amounts available on the credit cards.
• If the measure come from shares in Spanish, mixed or foreign companies, it will be credited by the same certification that the applicant does not exercise any work activity, accompanying affidavit to that effect.
• Proof of Health Insurance
• If you have school-aged children, a report issued, by the regional or state authorities, or the school

(Note: all documents from other countries must be translated into Castellano or co-official language of the territory where the application is submitted).

PROCEDURES

• Application deadline: within 60 calendar days prior to the expiration date of the authorization. You can also request within 90 days after the date of expiry of the authorization, without prejudice to the possibility that it initiated the relevant disciplinary procedure.
• The presentation of the application extends the validity period of the previous authorization pending the outcome of the procedure.
• Taxes: will be accrued at the time of admission of the request, and must be paid within ten working days are: Modela 790 codigo 052….. €15.76 euros
• http://www.seap.minhap.gob.es/es/web/servicios/tasas.html
• The validity of the residence permit renewal is two years.
• Within one month of the notification of renewal, the foreigner must apply personally Identity Card Alien in the Aliens Office or Police Station of the province where authorization has been processed. To see where to go, schedule and if you have to make an appointment may be consulted: http://www.seap.minhap.gob.es/web/servicios/extranjeria/extranjeria_ddgg.html
• The applicant will exhibit at the time of processing fingerprint passport or travel document and provide:
• Identity card application Foreigner, on the official form (EX-17) available in http://extranjeros.empleo.gob.es/es/ModelosSolicitudes/
• Receipt of the rate card amounts to 18.54 euros.
• Three recent color photographs, white background, card size.