The Spanish economy is interesting for investors, there is an opportunity to move to study and work, however, unemployment is traditionally high, so you have to compete for vacancies with local specialists.
Instructions for moving to Spain for permanent residence
In most cases, a foreigner moves to the country on a long-term visa D, which is issued if there are grounds for a long stay. For these reasons, already in Spain, a visitor receives a residence permit. To maintain this status, you must be in the country for at least half of each year. An exception is made only for investors.
In general, after 5 years of residence, you can get permanent residence, after another 5 – citizenship. So, what are these reasons, and what steps will be required to immigrate to Spain?
- General documents
- Passport.
- Photos.
- A policy of a public or private insurance company valid in Spain.
- Certificate of no criminal record.
- Marriage and childbirth certificates – when moving with your family.
- For many types of residence permits, you will need to prove the availability of funds to live in the country.
How much does it cost to move to Spain – obtaining a residence permit
So, you have purchased real estate in Spain, and now is the time to think about how to spend more than 90 days here in half a year – this is how much time a tourist visa allows to stay in Spain.
Point number 2 in the move – registration of a residence permit. Here we need the help of lawyers or attorneys. In this case, the price depends on how large the firm you choose. The approximate cost of obtaining a residence permit through a lawyer is € 1000 for the first family member and €100 to €200 for each subsequent one. Therefore, in our example, the family will spend about € 1,300 on a residence permit.
What else do you need to know? It is important to take into account that you will need a translation of many documents and an apostille on them. The average cost per sheet is € 50. Thus, € 1000 – € 2000 should be set aside for translation and apostilization of all documents required for obtaining a residence permit.
The next item of expenses is duties – 60 euros for each family member, i.e., it will be € 180.
The last point is medical insurance. It must be issued by a company that operates in Spain (i.e. not a tourist policy) – from € 500 per person per year. In our example, this cost item would be € 1,500.
Thus, a family of 3 will spend approximately € 4970 on obtaining a residence permit in Spain.
How much money do you need to move to Spain – annual expenses
So, we have legally settled our heroes in Spain, where they will live happily ever after. Let’s see what their annual living expenses will be.
- Property tax
This is an annual tax that can vary from region to region. In Alicante, this is 0.62% of the cadastral (not market) value of housing. On the website of the Alegría company, you can read about what the cadastral value of a real estate is and how to find it out.
The annual fee for the disposal of household waste
In our example, it is about € 28.
- School
Secondary education in Spain is compulsory. The cost of studying in a private school in Spain is about € 7000 per year, however, in our example, the family will send the child to a regular public school, in which case the costs will be about € 550 per year.
- Road tax
It is paid annually and depends on the amount of carbon dioxide that the car emits into the atmosphere and the engine power. The amount to be paid can be calculated using a special online calculator. In our example, this would be around € 60 per year.
- Medical insurance
We have already talked about this above – about € 1,500 for a family of 3 people.
- Car insurance
Around € 300 – € 400, depending on many parameters.
Total: about € 2,590 per year. At the same time, most of the costs are accounted for by health insurance. Thus, if our heroes manage to find a job and get free state health insurance, the costs at this point will be reduced by € 1,500.