Spain's Golden Visa Application Process
This is a transcript from a webinar recording in November 2023 all about successful applications for Spain’s Golden Visa. The webinar took place with Mark McMillan from Sun Lawyers and Liz Rowlinson from A Place in the Sun. The timings alongside the names, relate to the timings of the webinar which can be viewed here
Liz Rowlinson: 00:03 – 00:09
Welcome. My name is Liz Rowlinson. I’m here with Sun Lawyers this morning. Good morning, Mark.
Mark McMillan: 00:09 – 00:18
Good morning. My name is Mark McMillan. I’ve been working since 2008 for Sun Lawyers and now head our relocation department.
Liz Rowlinson: 00:19 – 00:42
Well, brilliant. We’re here to talk at this point about everything you need to know about the Golden Visa, a really popular option for British people post Brexit. And we’ve got a lot of interesting material to cover, and we hope this will be useful. So, Mark, could you just tell us, why do we need to get visas now? What is the Golden Visa?
Mark McMillan: 00:42 – 01:56
Basically, the majority of our clients are from the United Kingdom, now with a non-EU status, after Brexit, they need to go down a visa process route to relocate to Europe, and specifically for Spain. The basis of this webinar, we’re going to be discussing the Golden Visa. This is something, amongst other types of investments, an investor with at least 500,000 euros bought in Spanish real estate, they can apply either for a golden visa in their passport from a Spanish consulate, which is valid for one year. Or an investor residence authorization whilst they’re in Spain as a tourist.
Liz Rowlinson: 01:56 – 02:15
As you’ve made clear, Mark, with the Golden Visa property, buying a property is one option, but you can also invest money as well into Spain. But we’re here to talk about the property aspect today. So could you tell us the basic benefits of this visa?
Mark McMillan: 02:15 – 03:10
Over the period of the golden visa, you can spend as much time or as little time in Spain as you wish. And it also opens a way for more than 90 day stays in the whole Schengen area. The investor residence authorization, we’re talking about the visa in the consulate or in Spain, the permit application, you’ll be able to get on your family members, your dependent family members, access to a TIE three-year residence permit, be able to legally live and work in Spain and after five years of continuously living in Spain you’ll be able to get the permanent residence status and finally, after a further five years, you’ll be able to get Spanish nationality and as a result EU citizenship.
Liz Rowlinson: 03:12 – 03:21
I think the benefit of this scheme is that you don’t have to become tax resident in Spain. That’s a choice, isn’t it?
Mark McMillan: 03:21 – 03:59
There’s no obligation to commit to the Spanish tax residence. You’re the investor and together with the family members you don’t have an obligation to spend more than six months in Spain during the annual period of the permit, (unlike with the digital nomad and non-lucrative permits.) So, it does open the way for you to be able to keep non-resident status and that may be very beneficial.
Liz Rowlinson: 03:59 – 04:04
Perfect. About the application process, please.
Mark McMillan: 04:04 – 04:50
Well, the Golden Visa application, you’ll need to present the required paperwork at the nearest Spanish consulate in your country of origin. And the process, well, there are also visa process companies as well, such as BLS International now in the UK. Expect about 10 days for that to be approved or processed. For an investor application in Spain, the paperwork is submitted online with an electronic signature and it’ll take about 20 days. After approval, you’ll have 30 days to visit the national police to do the TIE residence permit.
Liz Rowlinson: 04:50 – 05:00
So, is the process that you buy the property in Spain first and you use the paperwork for the title deeds to then make the visa application?
Mark McMillan: 05:00 – 05:37
Exactly. It can take, approximately a month after completion to have the property registered into the investor’s name, but if we can prove that the deeds have been presented to the land registry, we can submit an application. We’ll need a certificate from the land registry of debts and charges, and we’d need to show at least €500,000 in one or multiple properties invested in Spain.
Liz Rowlinson: 05:37 – 05:46
And this could be a property that was purchased five years ago, couldn’t it? It doesn’t have to be one very newly bought.
Mark McMillan: 05:46 – 06:00
Exactly. They’ll consider when the law started at the end of September 2013, all purchases as of then will be able to be incorporated into the investment criteria.
Liz Rowlinson: 06:02 – 06:10
Perfect. Would you be able to tell us about the different pieces of paperwork that you help buyers, applicants get together?
Mark McMillan: 06:10 – 07:54
You’ll need to show evidence that you have sufficient financial means to live in Spain and also your dependent family members. Proof of health care in Spain, that’s public or private health care. A criminal record certificate from the countries where you’ve lived in for the last two years, and also personal declaration from the countries you’ve lived in for the last five years. Proof of the required investment that’s from the from the local land registry and the title deeds. An application in Spain for the permit will need to show that when the applicant legally arrived to Spain, using a Spanish entry stamp in the passports.
For dependent family members, we’ll need to show a certificate of the bond that they share with investors, such as a marriage certificate, birth certificate, or civil partners, they’re included as well. They’ll need to be legally, notarized and translated by a Spanish translator. That’s the basic kind of paperwork. Obviously it varies considerably from individual to individual what we’re going to provide, such as the financial means. But I was going to say funds in Spain, in a Spanish account, we don’t need to translate a lot of paperwork if it’s all in Spanish already. But any paperwork that we’re going to present, such as UK statements, investment portfolios, etc., will all need to be legally translated as well.
Liz Rowlinson: 07:56 – 08:11
You provide a lot of support to applicants in this process. I mean, it sounds quite frightening to manage on your own, to be honest. What are the aspects of the support that you offer in terms of the application?
Mark McMillan: 08:11 – 09:33
Well, it can be quite a technical process. We give a first free consultation at the beginning to confirm your eligibility and the costs involved. We’ll be able to normally discuss with clients about their tax resident status and how it might affect them making a move or getting a residence permit in Spain. I’ll assist with all the preparation of all the paperwork and all at the right time, because some documents expire. I’ll guide you through the whole process, including booking appointments, and submitting documents. I’ll also be able to help them submit all the other additional documents.
We’ll persevere until we can get to a successful outcome, including appealing any rejections or any archival of applications, because it can happen sometimes.
Liz Rowlinson: 09:33 – 09:50
Perseverance is the right thing. And you know exactly the process. So it makes sense for you to manage to get it right first time.
Mark McMillan: 09:51 – 10:32
Well, also I don’t give up. I’m there, you know, with clients. If we do, if something, you know, was missing, we just persevere. I know the deadlines, we can appeal after, you know, up to one month after rejection or archival of an application, we can appeal during that period. And if we still couldn’t comply with that regulation, we can appeal to a court. We are a law firm who is able to give legal assistance as well, with a core judicial appeal.
