Benefits of Residencia

[fyfin]

We have done everything legal right from the start and having reached 65 I have even applied for my over 65 card but a friend and his wife who have been here now for nearly 2 years has not applied for a residency certificate. He will be 65 soon and should be sent S1 forms for himself and his wife (He has no official UK address and the DWP are aware he lives in Spain.
He has been talking to other Expats who told him there's no need to register and he has asked me what are the advantages in registering.

I must admit I couldn't come up with anything apart from it is the right thing to do and as the UK tax office is aware then he is already a Spanish fiscal resident anyway, and should be doing Spanish tax returns but as regards benefits - what are they.? He is already registered on the Padron and will have his pension paid into a Spanish bank account. He drives a Spanish car and is not one of the usual suspects pulling the usual stunts of pretending they're living in UK and driving UK registered cars with no tax or insurance. I think he wants to do the right thing but would like to know how it would help him.

I'm advising him to register now as, since he intends to live here permanently, it might just be a bit trickier after Brexit comes into force.

[gerryh]

Perhaps I'm missing something but how has your friend got a Spanish car, pays tax, registered on the padron etc without having a NIE number?
The only way of getting a NIE number is to have a "residency certificate".
Cheers
Gerry

[Enrique]

Hi gerryh,

"The only way of getting a NIE number is to have a "residency certificate"."..............is that a new requirement.........

I think you can still get NIE by itself...............from recent Posts on A.com

[Free at Last]

Anyone buying a holiday home in Spain or inheriting property or other assets in Spain has to obtain an NIE number, even though they will never be resident in Spain, so obviously it is possible to obtain one independently of registering as a resident. Only a few weeks ago I was at the Extranjeria in Torre del Mar helping an Australian citizen obtain one.

However, in response to the OP's question, my memory may be failing me but I am pretty sure that when we registered our S1s with the INSS we were asked for our "residencia", so isn't it a pre-requisite to have registered as a resident before being able to register for state healthcare?

[costakid]

The only way of getting a NIE number is to have a "residency certificate".
Cheers
Gerry[/quote]

Since when ??? We've both had an NIE for 15 years and are not registered and do not have residency. We come and go as and when and are completely legal.

[gerryh]

OK I've got it wrong.
Old age and a failing memory has caught up with me.
It's over 13 years ago I went thought the process of NIE and residencia.
I thought they were the same.
Cheers
Gerry

[elusive]

Yes he will need residencia to registar his S1 also if he does it legit re getting a spanish driving licence you need to show it aswell. There was the previous issue of inheritance tax but the law changed on that.mind you whether they follow that law change is another thing.

Add in all the possible issues with brexit and coming into spain as a "tourist" as you dont have residencia even though you live here.

[El Cid]

It is a legal requirement to register after 90 days. If you do not, then strictly speaking, you are an illegal immigrant! However, it is almost impossible for them to throw you out and the fine for not registering is minimal (not that they bother).

That said, depending on what agreements are made during the Brexit negotiations, that could all change and you might well get deported like any other Non EU immigrant.

When you have been registered in Spain for 5 years, you gain rights to permanent residency, which Brexit cannot change.

Apart from the other reasons already noted, he would be well advised to register immediately.

Sid

[costakid]

People were visiting Spain long before we were all in one jolly club. I am sure the Spanish are not going to stop the biggest spenders of all from coming into the Country. You may need a visa or something similar if you are staying longer than a normal holiday maker but it will be sorted. They definatley can't afford for Brits to stop coming and spending.

[El Cid]

You are confusing "coming to" and "staying". Before the EU you could not live in Spain without going through similar restrictions. The "free movement" EU rules apply only to moving between EU countries. The requirements for living there are different.

Sid

[fyfin]

I thought you didn't need residency to register S1s since to get residency you would need to show you had health cover and the S1 would do that. I have to admit I have forgotten exactly how we did things but I thought I remembered registering the S1s first and then using those as evidence of health cover to obtain our residence certificate.

[Miro]

I think he wants to do the right thing but would like to know how it would help him.

Simple answer then really, as Sid has already pointed out: it's a legal requirement.
Simple question for him: Why not register? What's the problem?

[fyfin]

Good point Miro, which is what I am advising him and pretty sure he will do but too many bar room experts around giving duff advice.

[Free at Last]

I thought you didn't need residency to register S1s since to get residency you would need to show you had health cover and the S1 would do that. I have to admit I have forgotten exactly how we did things but I thought I remembered registering the S1s first and then using those as evidence of health cover to obtain our residence certificate.

We were registered as residents long before we got our S1s, but as I said earlier, we did have to supply our "residencias" in order to register the S1s with the INSS and get healthcare.

I believe the way it goes is that you supply the S1 to the Extranjeria to prove that you will satisfy the requirements regarding healthcare, register as a resident and then go to the INSS to register the S1 with them.

[elusive]

Yeah thats what we did. You show your S1 at the police station to prove health care and get your residencia. Then you take your resdencia card and copies to the social security as they require proof of residencia to registar your S1's and put you on the health system.

[ashtondav]

I can understand why people dont register. For anyone with a decent income and a few hundred grand in ISAs Spanish tax is a NIGHTMARE INCREASE. I will never stay more than 183 days. Spain is an appallingly high tax economy unless you breed kids for a living.

Having said that, the law is the law. Although if in rented accommodation there is a snowball's chance in hell of ever being detected.

[Miro]

I can see that too, but then why has the individual in question registered on the padrón, and advised HRMC / DWP that he's living in Spain? Not that I'd ever condone it, but wouldn't he have been better off flying completely under the radar and living in a caravan in Benidorm? I don't really see how you can mix 'n' match which bits of living in a foreign country you want - you're either in, or you're out.

And I'll just add, apart from the fact that you shouldn't really be able to register on the padrón unless you are registered first as a resident, what "benefit" has this individual gained by doing so? Why did he register as a resident of his town, but is balking at registering as a resident of Spain? Furthermore, there have been far more instances when I've needed a residency certificate than a padrón certificate.

[Manchesteral]

I will reiterate, sorry Gerry, and anyone else, but, I have had an N I E number since 1994, I only needed my passport to obtain this, I have never been a resident,tax or otherwise, merely a ,visitor, have the rules changed ??

[flyeogh]

Manchesteral two years ago non resident brit walks into police station in Aviles, Asturias. 20 minutes later had a non resident NIE. So my experience is as yours. He has had no problem using it and is now a house owner in spain but remains non resident. So the rules hadn't changed in Asturias in October 2015.

[knowal]

What SHOULD happen and what ACTUALLY happens are 2 very different things in Spain, as most of us who have lived here a while know too well.