Types of permanent residence permits in Spain

The types of Spanish permanent residence permits can be divided into three major categories:

• Residence permit. A holder of this type of visa is not permitted to be officially employed or to conduct any professional activity in the territory of Spain;
• Work and residence permit in Spain;
• Student residence permit that allows one to live and study in Spain, as well as to carry out scientific research or participate in a studying internship with the possibility of working no more than 20 hours per week.

The Spanish permanent residence requirements depend on the motives of the applicant (such as property or real estate purchase, investments, marriage, etc.). Visiting Spain is the general condition for maintaining a permanent residence status in Spain.

Spanish permanent residence without job authorization

This type of Spanish permanent residence permit is the easiest to obtain, and it is an ideal option for affluent people who can submit the financial affidavit form to confirm their significant income source outside of Spain. It is crucially important to demonstrate to the Spanish authorities that one does not intend to occupy the scarce job opportunities inside the country. The conditions for meeting these residence requirements are as follows:

• It is necessary to prove that you have a place to live in the territory of Spain;
• Apart from the evidence of a steady income abroad, you will also need to present information about all financial values and a bank statement confirming a substantial sum of money. In other words, you will have to ‘convince’ the Spanish government that you not only have a lot of money, but that you have it in excess.
• The minimal sufficient income per family member per month is defined by the IPREM index (El Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples/public income index), and in 2017 it constitutes 532.51 euros. For Spanish permanent residence applicants without a job authorization, the required sum is 400% of the indicator (for the family minors it is 100%).
• To acquire a permanent residence without job authorization, it is not mandatory to own the property of residence in Spain, although it can be a significant advantage in the application process. Also, it is possible to obtain a permanent residence permit based on a rental contract (signed for at least one year).
• Initially, a permanent residence permit without job authorization is issued for 1 year. After 1 year, one may prolong the permit and present proof of continuous stay in the territory of Spain for 6 months. After the first renewal of the permanent residence permit, one can obtain the permit for 2 years.

Ways to obtain the Spanish permanent residence permit with job authorization

The requirements for a permanent residence application with job authorization are stricter, although they offer multiple options for moving to Spain. One can qualify for job authorization within the Kingdom of Spain in one of three cases:

1. Moving to Spain based on a job offer issued by a Spanish company. If this is the goal, one should begin to look for a job in advance and start preparing the documents for permanent residence application only after the official job offer is issued. In this case, the employer carries out half of the procedure on the employee’s behalf (including the work authorization request). The applicant only needs to apply for the work visa. The difficulty with obtaining this type of permanent residence in Spain is due to the current problems with the Spanish labor market, in which unemployment rates exceed 20%. For this reason, Spanish employers are not in a hurry to offer vacant jobs to the citizens of other countries. Nevertheless, if one succeeds in finding a job in Spain, the permanent residence would then be valid during the term of the job contract (and would need to be extended yearly).
2. Obtaining Spanish permanent residence based on investments. Since 2014, the territory of Spain has observed the law, “On Supporting Measures for the Entrepreneurs and Their Internationalization,” which has cleared a way considerably for non-EU investors to enter the Spanish markets. By investing a certain amount of funds into the Spanish economy, one automatically obtains access to the “golden visa” (including job authorization and legal residence in the country, provided that one stays in Spain one day per year). Main conditions:
• The investment amount into the shares of the resident companies in Spain must be at least 1 million euros;
• Deposit in the Spanish bank also must be at least 1 million euros;
• One can also obtain Spain permanent residence by purchasing government bonds in the sum of 2 million euros and more;
• Starting one’s own business is also considered to be an investment activity in Spain. In this scenario, it is necessary to confirm the efficiency of the business plan and the creation of new jobs.
• Spanish permanent residence based on the purchase of residential or commercial real estate is also covered by the new legislation. This residence type can be issued provided that the object cost constitutes at least 500 thousand euros. The property prices in Spain are increasing, and tourist rental is very popular. Thus, there are many benefits to obtaining the Spanish permanent residence permit in this way.
3. The Spanish permanent residence permit for students grants an official right to combine work with studying. There is only one condition: the student’s work or internship should not interfere negatively with the studying process. Thus, the total number of working hours per week should not be more than 20. One must extend the student’s card every year for the duration of study. This option offers a significant advantage: one can qualify for full-fledged employment opportunities upon completion of his or her studies.