Lawyer Raymundo Larraín explains the Immigration & Residency services available from Larrain Nesbitt Abogados (LNA).

Marbella-based Larrain Nesbitt Lawyers has over 17 year’s taxation & conveyancing experience at your service. Our team of native English-speaking lawyers and economists have a long track record successfully assisting expats all over Spain. You can review here our client’s testimonials.

Article copyrighted © 2019. Plagiarism will be criminally prosecuted

By Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt
Director of Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers
8^th of January 2020

Introduction

Are you planning to relocate to Spain?

Larrain Nesbitt Lawyers offers a comprehensive range of residency services making us a one-stop provider for all your immigration & residency needs.

From something simple as attaining a NIE number, to open a bank account, or even buying your house in Spain, we have all your needs covered.

On hiring one of our immigration services, our company assigns you an in-house residency specialist that will handhold you through the entire admin procedure. We offer all the following immigration & residency services, from standalone services to all-inclusive immigration family packages.

All residency services featured below available only on the Costa del Sol.

I. Spanish Residency

1. Non-EU nationals

• Golden Visa Service

This is a privileged fast-tracked visa that rolls the red carpet and grants the right to work & reside in Spain for the investor, and his family (including dependent parents), allowing unfettered travel across Europe´s Schengen Area. The investor has the right - but not the obligation - to reside in Spain. Which paves the way to not be regarded as tax resident in Spain. As an example, your spouse and underaged children may live, study (and work) in Spain whilst the main investor resides outside of the EU taking care of business and being considered for tax purposes as non-resident. In other words, and in plain English, attaining a Golden Visa does not preclude your tax residency in any way; which is of particular interest to HNWIs and UHNWIs.

This visa greatly streamlines the standard residency procedure cutting out all the red tape and greatly reducing the application time frame. For affluent non-EU investors, this is hands down the residency option that should be pursued if money is not an issue.

To qualify, you can either buy a house in Spain (cheapest and easiest option), deposit a large sum of money in a Spanish bank account (also known as Wealth visa) or become an entrepreneur investing in a major project. The initial application is for two years and following this you can renew it for a further 5 years. You may then apply for permanent residency that can lead to citizenship, at your choice.

Since its launch in 2013, we have achieved a 100% application success rate.

More on this service: Golden Visa Service

• Non-lucrative permit

The non-lucrative residency permit allows you to stay in Spain for a period of 1 or 2 years (as it is a temporary residency authorization), plus renewals. The first and the second renewal last two years. At the time of applying for the third one, you may apply for the long-term residency in Spain. In case you apply for the long-term residency, you should renew it every 5 years.

As it has a non-profit nature, it does not allow you to engage in any professional activity or employment. You are required to be self-supporting, having your own means to live. If you are able to prove that you have enough funds to this end, and that your stay in the country won’t induce government expenditure, you will qualify for this permit.

More on this service: Spanish Residency: non-EU nationals - non lucrative permit

• Lucrative permit

As its own name implies, this permit allows the applicant to work in Spain as you will be self-employed. This residency applies to someone who is looking to set up his own business in Spain. Typically, you will be acting as director or company administrator. Needless to say, one of the key requirements is that you will have enough means to be self-supporting both for yourself and your family.

Outlining and submitting a sound business plan is required by the Spanish Authorities. You will be required to work in the business plan which is submitted. You can either set up a new business or else take over an existing business. Renewals of this type of permit are guaranteed so long as the business is making a profit and money is not owed to either the Social Security or Spanish Tax Office.

As stressed, devising a professional business plan is paramount to the success of this application; LNA can assist you both devising one, to meet their stringent expectations, as well as attaining the residency permit itself.

This permit allows the investor's family to live and study in Spain (but not to work).

More on this service: Spanish Residency: non-EU nationals - lucrative permit

2. EU-nationals

• Residency. All expats that spend over 3 consecutive months in Spanish territory, within a rolling six-month period, must apply for residencia, by law. If you remain in Spain after 3 months, without attaining residency, you may be regarded as an illegal alien and may even be subject to deportation to your home country. Additionally, all expats who are not registered will be stripped of a series of EU rights and entitlements. At LNA we can assist you, and your family, to attain Spanish residency fast and cheaply.

More on this service: Spanish Residency: EU nationals

• Healthcare. We can homologate your national EU healthcare with Spain’s Social Security so you can benefit from your acquired rights in Spain in equal footing. This is particularly advantageous for senior citizens allaying their healthcare fears on living in a fellow EU member country.

More on this service: Social Security Homologation

II. Spanish Nationality

We also offer a specific service for those seeking to apply for Spanish nationality.

A Spanish passport is amongst the top 5 in the world following the prestigious annual ranking elaborated by Arton Capital and Henley & Partners (Henley Passport Index). It allows unfettered access to 187 countries without a prior visa (out of 195 countries worldwide).

More on this service: Spanish Nationality

III. Other Non-Resident Services

• NIE number

This is a tax identification number for non-residents that is required to pay taxes in Spain and carry out almost any administrative procedure, including renting or buying property – simply essential.

• Opening a bank account in Spain
• Exchanging your driving licence
• Finding a reputable estate agent
• Finding a competitive exchange rate company
• Arranging a mortgage loan
• Conveyancing (buying or selling property)
• Contract-drafting
• Litigation
• Spanish wills
• Inheritance (probate & succession)
• Setting up direct debits for taxes, rates and utility supplies (water, electricity etc)
• Attain a Tourist licence for holiday rentals in under 24 hours (only Andalusia)
• Wealth planning
• Holiday rentals taxation
• Non-resident taxation
• Company incorporation
  
• Off-the-shelf companies
• Etc.

Conclusion

If you plan to relocate to Spain, Larraín Nesbitt Abogados has over 17 years’ experience assisting expatriates. Calls us and one of our friendly staff will guide you through the wide range of immigration and residency services available from us.

Our client’s testimonials, collated over the years, are truly our best business card and a testimony to our team’s good work.

"Always follow your own heart and go your own way.” – Marie Fredriksson

Marie Fredriksson (1958 – 2019). Was a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, pianist and painter. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the duo Roxette, alongside Per Gessle. The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their classic hits became staples of Hollywood's most romantic movies of the time (i.e. Garry Marshall's iconic Pretty Woman). They rank, along with ABBA, as one of the all-time best Swedish pop bands. For 17 years she would wage a relentless battle against brain cancer, finally succumbing on the eve of 9th December 2019. She would not allow cancer to define how she lived and always went her own way. 

Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers, small on fees, big on service.

Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers is a law firm specialized in conveyancing, inheritance, taxation, and litigation. We will be very pleased to discuss your matter with you. You can contact us by e-mail at info@larrainnesbitt.com, by telephone on (+34) 952 19 22 88 or by completing our contact form.

Immigration & Residency services available from Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers

• Golden Visa Service
• Spanish Nationality
• NIE Number (Tax Identification Number)
• Spanish Residency: EU nationals
• Spanish Residency: non-EU nationals - non lucrative permit
• Spanish Residency: non-EU nationals - lucrative permit
• Social Security Homologation
• Opening a bank account in Spain

Related articles

• Investor Guide to Spain’s Golden Visa Law – 8th November 2013
• How to Apply for Healthcare in Spain – 8^th November 2014
• Golden Visa Spain (Mandarin) – 8^th July 2015
• Golden Visa Spain – 8th June 2017
• Golden Visa Spain ­­– 8/8/18
• Golden Visa Spain: 10 frequently asked questions – 8th October 2019
• Relocating to Spain? Immigration & Residency services – 8th January 2020

Article also published at Spanish Property Insight: Relocating to Spain? Immigration & Residency services

Please note the information provided in this article is of general interest only and is not to be construed or intended as substitute for professional legal advice. This article may be posted freely in websites or other social media so long as the author is duly credited. Plagiarizing, whether in whole or in part, this article without crediting the author may result in criminal prosecution. VOV.

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