Non-Profit Residence - no employment purposes.

If this is your case, do not worry and continue reading this post in our blog, since our recommendation will be to think about how to obtain the well-known non-lucrative residence or also called residence without labor purpose. This residence authorization will allow you to live in Spain together with your family members if you can prove that you have sufficient economic means for your maintenance and stay, without having to carry out any work or professional activity. 

 

In this sense, it is necessary that we know what is the non-profit residence? It is an authorization that allows non-EU foreigners to stay in Spain for a period of more than 90 days without performing work or professional activities when they can prove that they have sufficient economic means for themselves and, if applicable, their family members (spouse and children). 

 

It should be noted that the duration of the initial non-profit residence is 1 year from the date of entry into Spain (art. 49 of Royal Decree 557/2011, of April 20, hereinafter referred to as the Immigration Regulations). However, it should be noted that the first and second renewal of the non lucrative residence authorization has a duration of 2 years. At the time of the third renewal (after 5 years of legal residence), the foreigner may apply for a long-term residence, which is for an indefinite period of time, even though this card must be renewed every 5 years (art. 51.7 and 150.1 of the Aliens Regulation). 

 

At this point, we consider it necessary to mention the multiple advantages of this non-working residence permit, among which we highlight the following:

 

 

• The applicant does not depend on another person or a company to obtain the residence permit, since most permits are obtained under the general regime through third parties in the case of family reunification where the non-EU citizen always depends on the reuniting relative or through job offers (as long as they are within the general budgets or the exceptions of art. 40 of Law 4/2000, as in the case of Highly Qualified Professionals). 
  
  

• Another advantage of this temporary residence is that the holder of the non-profit residence, if he/she wishes to reside in Spain together with his/her family members, will be able to do so from the first moment, on the other hand, in the general immigration regime, the right to regroup his/her family members can be exercised once he/she has one year of residence in Spain and has applied for the renewal of his/her residence authorization (art. 56.1 of the Immigration Regulation). Non-profit residency may be granted simultaneously to both the applicant and his family members if they can prove financial means for their maintenance.
  
  

• It is also of utmost importance and relevance for foreigners who are holders or beneficiaries of this non-lucrative residence, is that the time spent in Spain is computed for the purpose of obtaining Spanish nationality by residence.
  
  That is to say, the persons who have a non-lucrative residence permit, if they will be able to opt for the nationality due to the fact that they have been in residence situation, and in accordance with the provisions of article 22.1 of the Civil Code for the acquisition of the nationality, for example, the citizens of Latin American countries with only 2 years of residence can already present the application file for Spanish nationality, in other cases, the general rule of 10 years to apply for it will be applied, all this taking into account the country of origin of the legal resident.
  
  

• In addition, this is a very good way to obtain legal residency, in case you cannot apply for another type of residency such as those contemplated in Law 14 of 2013, of September 27, of support to entrepreneurs and their internationalization, as is the case of investors for the purchase of real estate for a value of 500,000 euros, or for business activity - entrepreneurs, which are intended to attract foreign investment and in turn create sources of employment in this case for Spain. As it is observed, to be an investor it is necessary to count with a quite high disbursement of money, on the other hand to obtain the non lucrative residence it is not necessary to invest in Spain, only, it has the obligation to demonstrate that it has the sufficient economic means for its maintenance and stay, so that it is not an economic burden for the State Spain, on this point we will mention later on.
  
  

• As it has been evidenced there are many advantages that this residence has, moreover we can make allusion to another one that is that it allows to study and to realize university practices, even if they are remunerated, it is known that the foreigners in Spain not only can study if they have a study visa. In fact, those who are residents through this type of residence (non-profit) may also study, and may even perform paid university internships, since, in accordance with the provisions of art. 2.3 of Royal Decree 592 of 2014, of July 11, it is considered that university internships have a purely formative nature and therefore are not of a labor nature. 
  
  

• Now, we consider it pertinent to point out that although the non lucrative residence does not allow working in Spain (at least during the first year, since it can be modified to residence and work), it does allow the foreigner to continue developing certain economic activities in other countries, such as in the country of nationality, as long as this does not force the foreigner to leave the Spanish territory continuously, since the residence could be affected by absences from the Spanish territory.
  
  In relation to the above, the Supreme Court (STS dated March 22, 2012, R No. 299/2010) has stated that: "it is not that the applicant of this type of visa does not perform any work, but that he/she does not perform it in Spain. It is not true that temporary residence in Spain is a situation "essentially" foreseen for wealthy pensioners seeking a temperate climate to comfortably prolong their old age, as the judgment of the lower court states in a reductionist manner and without any normative support whatsoever. On the contrary, it is possible that a person who is not necessarily retired may take up residence in Spain because he has businesses in his country of origin that provide him with sufficient income and income to live off them without the need to work in our country and without the need for a continued presence in his country of origin to attend to the running of those businesses. The fact that this person travels periodically to his country of origin to attend to his business is irrelevant as long as he maintains what really matters, the effective residence in Spain, as corresponds to the requested authorization", especially when the foreigner is interested in maintaining the temporary residence and correctly requesting the Spanish nationality by residence.
  
  

Having mentioned the advantages, what are the requirements?

REQUIREMENTS: Article 46 of RD 557 of 2011

 

1. Not to be in Spanish territory irregularly, this point refers to the place where the application must be made, it is specifically requested from the country of origin or residence, and it is presented to the Spanish Consulate or Diplomatic Mission - consular section. 

 

2. In the case that the applicant is of age criminal, lack of criminal record in Spain and in the previous countries where he/she has resided during the last five years, for crimes provided for in the Spanish system, this document must be Legalized or Apostilled. 

 

3. Do not have a prohibition of entry to the Schengen territory, that is to say, do not appear as rejectable in the territorial space of countries with which Spain has signed an agreement in that sense.

4. Having sufficient financial means to meet their living and living expenses, including, where appropriate, those of their family, during the period of time for which they wish to reside in Spain, and without the need to develop any work or professional activity, in accordance with the provisions of this section. At this point, the IPREM (Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples) for the year 2018 is taken into account, it is of, 537.84 euros, and it is required to prove for this residence the 400% IPREM, that is, 25,816.32 euros for the year of residence. In addition, for each family member who is in charge of the applicant foreigner, it will have to be demonstrated that they have (an amount that represents monthly in euros 100% of the IPREM, or its legal equivalent in foreign currency, amount to be accredited additionally).

 

Likewise, it is clear that the amounts may vary depending on the number of people who intend to benefit from the residence authorization. 

 

To comply with this requirement, art. 47 of the Foreigners Regulation, gives us 2 options, which are: 

• Have sufficient financial means for the requested period of residence (e.g., 26,500 euros in a bank account is the recommended amount).

• Proof of a source of regular income (it could be the income earned from renting a house, or retirement, among others).

5. To have a public health insurance or a private health insurance arranged with an insurance company authorized to operate in Spain.

 

6. Not being, if applicable, within the period of commitment not to return to Spain that the foreigner has assumed when returning voluntarily to his/her country of origin.

 

7. Not suffer from any of the diseases that may have serious public health implications in accordance with the provisions of the International Health Regulations 2005.

 

8. To have paid the fee for processing the procedures (Form 790, Code 052 2.21).

 

Finally, the procedure to be followed to apply for this residency is very simple, and we always recommend to be accompanied by expert lawyers in immigration law, since there will be several processes to be carried out:

• Application for non-profit residency at the Spanish Consulate General or at the Diplomatic Mission.

• Decision of the authorization (not visa) of non-profit residence by the Government Delegation or Subdelegation.

• Decision on the non-lucrative residence visa by the Spanish diplomatic mission or consular office.

• Collection of the visa at the Spanish diplomatic mission or consular office, many consular offices provide postal mail service.

• Entry to Spanish territory and;

• Applying for and obtaining a Foreigner's Identity Card.

 

At MOLINARES ABOGADOS we can offer you a complete and comprehensive service in terms of file preparation, file review, follow-up of the visa application before Consulates and Embassies, reception in Spain, fingerprinting and obtaining the residence card. 

 

If you would like more information about this procedure at Molinares Abogados you can contact us through our free web consultation link, or by scheduling an appointment directly with us in person, by phone or skype (video-call).