Residency !

Hi, my partner and I have just found out how difficult it is going to become in Jan 21 to be able to visit for a long period, and we found out that if we become resident by Dec 2020, we will get free health care for life !
Is it a difficult process to become resident ? and I suppose it will be harder and take longer now, due to Covid !
We dont speak Spanish either, but would really like to become resident if possible to beat the Dec deadline !
Any help anyone can give us would be appreciated greatly !
We are in the UK, but would come back out there ASAP if we have a chance of making the deadline !
We were there from Dec 2019 - July this year !
Kind Regards
Mikey and Stephy.

Our friends are going through the process at the moment.
We used One Way Services in Quesada who did all the organisation for us!

Not sure where you’ve heard about the free health care?
You either have to be working here And contributing to tax/NI or have private health!

OAPs might be different

They will also require to see your funds in your Spanish bank too... think per person €9k

Yes if you are of pension age you get a form S1 from the overseas health team in Newcastle which entitles you to health care in Spain. If you pay tax in Spain then you don’t pay for prescriptions if not then you pay about 10% of the prescription cost. If only one of you is getting uk state pension then the other is allowed to piggy back and both get it

Ritchtee wrote:

They will also require to see your funds in your Spanish bank too... think per person €9k

The €9k needs to have been in your Spanish bank account for at least 3 months.

blingle wrote:

Ritchtee wrote:

They will also require to see your funds in your Spanish bank too... think per person €9k

The €9k needs to have been in your Spanish bank account for at least 3 months.

I don’t think this is correct and certainly wasn’t the case when I got residency 5 yrs ago. I think it said you needed to show sufficient funds so that you wouldn’t be a burden on thr Spanish state

We are just mid process. It is £9000 per person for 3 months in Spanish account or UK pension paid in for 3 months.

Ron Hill wrote:Yes if you are of pension age you get a form S1 from the overseas health team in Newcastle which entitles you to health care in Spain. If you pay tax in Spain then you don’t pay for prescriptions if not then you pay about 10% of the prescription cost. If only one of you is getting uk state pension then the other is allowed to piggy back and both get it

Sorry, that's not true. If you are over retirement age in your home country you will pay 10% of the cost of prescriptions if your earnings are more than 18k a year regardless if you pay tax or not.

You get free prescriptions in the Valencia Region if you earn under 18k. Other areas are different.

Regarding taking out residency. I assume you are going to live in Spain full time? That is, more than 6 months each calendar year. If not then residency won't apply and you will remain a UK resident.

If you are going to spend more than 6 months (183 days) each calendar year then, yes, you need to become a Spanish resident and transfer health and tax liabilities to Spain.

When you move over, you have up to 3 months in which to apply for initial residency. The requirements are that you show sufficient income to support yourself which is based on the minimum living wage in Spain of around 800 euro a month. Each office processing the residency looks on it a different way. Some will ask for a whole year's amount to be in the account so around 9,000 euro but others will only ask for the 800 euro to be regularly in your account for at least 3 months. All the guesswork on the amount you need will depend on which office is processing your application so it is important to check with them what their rules are (Yes, I know it should be the same all over but welcome to Spain).

You need to show you have health care to cover you to at least the level provided by the Spanish NHS. If you are under retirement age then private health insurance which can be expensive if you have pre-existing conditions. If over retirement age in UK then transfer your health cover via the S1 form which is obtained from the Overseas healthcare service in Newcastle. You give them the details by phone and they send the completed forms to your Spanish address. Make sure to take a copy as you will need it to get health care during visits to UK.

You then need to complete a form EX21 and make an appointment to process it. Quite daunting if you don't speak Spanish. This is where a good agent comes in who can complete all the forms, make the appointment and accompany you to the foreigner's office or National police station. One way services have been mentioned but there are several around who will do it for you.

Time, though, is running out. There are less than 4 months until UK permanently leaves the EU and things will change dramatically especially with the humming and hahring from Bojo at the moment about the withdrawal agreement. Income requirements, tax requirements and so on will all change.

Good news is that if you apply for residency and have the application lodged that that is your intention before December 31st this year, you will have up until July 1st 2021 to process the application under the same rules. That is why an agent is important as they will know the procedures for doing so.

Residency is not a means to simply have longer holidays in Spain. It is a commitment to actually live here and you should spend most of your time here. If you are not going to make Spain your main residence (with all the implications on owning property in UK, taxation and so on) then you may have to simply limit your stays to less than 3 months at a time for twice a year.

Thanks to everyone for your replies !
My partner and I definitely qualify for the free health care, she receives her state pension, and I can piggy back on that as you said !
I reach pension age (unless they change it again !) in July 2023.
Regarding the income, does the amount you need get reduced if you own your property in Spain outright ?
Also, do they count savings ? we do own our 1 bedroom flat in UK so we would be putting the proceeds from the sale of that into the bank !
We should clear at least £60,000 for it !
The agency "one way services" you mentioned, would you be able to recommend them ? or any other ? also do you know the sort of charges they make ?
I forgot to say, our house is in Quesada !
Once again, thanks for you help.

Kind Regards


Mikey and Stephy

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

I’m genuinely interested in understanding what brought this issue to your attention now, rather than at any other time since the referendum.

I have always assumed that it was common knowledge in the UK that freedom of movement and ease of settling in an EU country was in jeopardy.

I’m concerned for other people who haven’t realised the implications of us leaving the EU.

Hi, I was aware of it from the beginning, I've just been trying to convince my partner to move there, she was happy going for 3-5 months in the winter months, but lets face it, the weather is just bad all year in the UK, and I just don't like Britain full stop !
We both voted to stay obviously, we were due to come back this year on May 6th, but ferry was cancelled and we came back July 24th !
My partner was not too impressed with the hot weather, but its only for 2-3 months max, and what made it worse was, our AC unit stopped working, so we just had the fans on, and as our house is west facing, it gets very hot, we went to one of our neighbors on the other side of the road to say goodbye, and it was so much cooler than our house, so I said to my partner that we could sell the house and look for one either north or east facing !

Kind Regards

Mikey and Stephy.