Benefit of residencia

Can anyone advise on the pros and cons on.getting residentia?
I seem to meet lots of people here who gave been here for many years but still dont have residencia, so wondered what is gained or lost by having it.

If you live here you should go for residence and Fiscal residency. You are treated very well by the Spanish Government and we know that only too well after the flooding and the way they have treated our claims financially. You use their facilities including hospitals and get very good treatment.
regards Eileen

If they've been living here some time, and spend 183 days a year or more, then they are breaking the law. Lots of them don't but i think they either don't know the system or are scared it might affect them for taxes and so on.

However, without residency you can't get official work. Yes, I know loads do it under the radar and work for peanuts but they won't get a contract and healthcare.

It will become even more important after we leave the EU as all those currently with residency will be allowed to apply for permanent residency if they've been here more than 5 years or provisional residency if less. That will allow them to stay in Spain for longer. Also after Brexit it will give you free access to all the other Schengen countries which a Brit passport won't.

If you sell your property then a EU citizen pays 15% (sliding scale average) Capital Gains Tax but a non-EU resident pays 35%. A non-resident selling their property will also be liable to a 3% with holding tax whilst a resident is not.

Banks have different accounts for residents and non-residents. A non resident will pay service charges and be charged 30 odd euro every couple of years for a non-resident certificate.

Local town halls give extra benefits to residents such as night classes or cheaper holidays and discounts off certain things. Pensioners can obtain a local pensioner's card if a resident (tarjeta de Jubilacion) which gives discounts on glasses, hearing aid and entitles you to register for home care as you get older. If we had them here in Quesada, you'd get reduced or free bus passes.

As you get older, you should think of the tax implications. If you are a resident for 3 years and over 65 then you pay no CGT or inheritance tax. Non resident survivors will be charged inheritance tax on half the property value if jointly own or on all the property if singly owned.

You don't pay the so-called non-resident income tax annually (this is the Impuesto sobre la Renta) which could be a hundred or so euro per owner per year.

Renting out your property for a non resident incurs a 25% rental tax (you won't pay the renta tax, though) whilst a resident gets a 50% discount on that and you can claim full expenses like mortgage repayments off your annual income tax bill.

At the moment, residents can vote in local or EU elections (probably stop after Brexit) whereas non-residents can't.

You can't get a Spanish driving licence without residency. You may need to take a Spanish driving test in future.

If you earn enough or have enough assets to pay wealth tax, you get 150,000 euro per person allowance (300,000 if jointly owned) as the value of your property. Non residents get no allowance on that.

Probably a lot more than that but the free healthcare and hospital treatment for us (being pensioners) rather than relying on a EHIC has been invaluable. It has been stated that those who are eligible for permanent or provisional permanent residency will retain the right to free healthcare.

Again, those who don't probably don't understand the advantages, are too frightened because they don't know, don't care or have the attitude that I'm a Brit so these foreign rules don't apply to me. Probably the same people who drive around in Brit reg cars for years or go back to UK to get their prescriptions and so on.

I do believe that many will be in for quite a shock once we have left the EU and passports and arrival dates start to be checked.

Those Brits who currently live in Spain, but have never bothered applying for residencia and are therefore illegal, will have a rude awakening after the end of the Brexit transition period.
Currently, the Spanish authorities don’t really have any record of them being in Spain (from an immigration perspective).
The problems will occur when they want to go back to the U.K. for a short visit to see family and friends, or to attend weddings, funerals etc.
The first time they leave Spain after the end of the transition period (which we think will be the end of December this year), their passport will be stamped. When they re-enter, it will be stamped again.
At that point, as British residents, they will be entitled to stay in Spain for up to 90 days. Obviously they will stay longer, as Spain is their home.
The next time they try to leave, their over-stay will be detected and they will be pulled aside. They will probably be fined, and possibly detained (at least long enough to miss their flight) and they may then be forcibly deported..
When they attempt to re-enter Spain again a few weeks later their entry will be denied because they have already over-stayed and it’s less to 90 days since they left, so they will have used-up all of their 90 day in any 180 day entitlement, or because their passport has been stamped to say that they were deported.

They will then be stranded in the U.K., presumably with nowhere to stay, and faced with having to apply for a visa to enter Spain to obtain residency. That visa may or may not be granted, and even if it is they will then have to go through the process of obtaining residency and may well find that they don’t meet the income requirements for 3rd country nationals.

People in this situation could easily find that they have no choice but to instruct a solicitor to sell their property in their absence and try to find somewhere to live in the U.K.

People who have Spanish residency won’t fave these problems, as their residency papers will allow them to stay in Spain for as long as they wish without worrying about the 90/180 day rule.

Pete.

Great summary but lets not forget that nothing is yet set in stone and Bojo could still fcuk it up!

If you live here you dont get a choice. Either that or be illegal and if you go back to the uk or visit another country go through passport control big fine or not allowed back without it. You should be submitting tax returns like many of us do. Those people you know will get found eventually

Steve4878 wrote:Can anyone advise on the pros and cons on.getting residentia?

Simply because it is the right thing to do.,

You use roads, you use the police, the army protects us, you use firefighters etc etc etc..

Being a resident and paying your tax is morally the right thing to do..

.

Yes quite a few people are in for a shock.many of them voted to leave not realising the consequences.

That was a great question and a very useful thread of answers - shows the TQ forum can still be a valuable source of information for all of us.
Very refreshing change....

PeteKnight wrote:Those Brits who currently live in Spain, but have never bothered applying for residencia and are therefore illegal, will have a rude awakening after the end of the Brexit transition period.
Currently, the Spanish authorities don’t really have any record of them being in Spain (from an immigration perspective).
The problems will occur when they want to go back to the U.K. for a short visit to see family and friends, or to attend weddings, funerals etc.
The first time they leave Spain after the end of the transition period (which we think will be the end of December this year), their passport will be stamped. When they re-enter, it will be stamped again.
At that point, as British residents, they will be entitled to stay in Spain for up to 90 days. Obviously they will stay longer, as Spain is their home.
The next time they try to leave, their over-stay will be detected and they will be pulled aside. They will probably be fined, and possibly detained (at least long enough to miss their flight) and they may then be forcibly deported..
When they attempt to re-enter Spain again a few weeks later their entry will be denied because they have already over-stayed and it’s less to 90 days since they left, so they will have used-up all of their 90 day in any 180 day entitlement, or because their passport has been stamped to say that they were deported.

They will then be stranded in the U.K., presumably with nowhere to stay, and faced with having to apply for a visa to enter Spain to obtain residency. That visa may or may not be granted, and even if it is they will then have to go through the process of obtaining residency and may well find that they don’t meet the income requirements for 3rd country nationals.

People in this situation could easily find that they have no choice but to instruct a solicitor to sell their property in their absence and try to find somewhere to live in the U.K.

People who have Spanish residency won’t fave these problems, as their residency papers will allow them to stay in Spain for as long as they wish without worrying about the 90/180 day rule.

Pete.

That's an interesting read Pete, were did you read that please,as ive been looking everywere as to how in/out of spain will affect over stayers,