Thread: Help needed please advise

Hi All

I just want to find out, I want to apply for residency this year. In April I am going to Spain to have a look at a few properties and also to open a bank account. My idea behind this is to deposit funds into my Spanish account so that the powers that be are aware of movement in their country. Is this a wasted attempt to gain residency easier and with less complications?

Comming from outside the EU will in itself bring the odd hiccup. EU to EU is no problem but South Africa is a different kettle of fish. I must admit that the beaurocracy in Spain is horrendous but nothing that cannot be sorted with a bit of effort. I hope the transition from SA to Spain is a good one and wish you all the luc¡k in the world.

Hi JeanPierre,

It's not too difficult to move here from outside the EU since they changed the residency laws last year, it all depends whether you will be looking for work/wish to start a business or if you have your own means of support financially.

The government have tightened up the tax laws on purchasers and sellers of property but slightly relaxed the residency laws and unless you have a specific wish to become a Spanish resident in terms of re-newing your Passport or driving licence then our local Police do not issue a residency card these days.

I have some friends who have just moved here from outside the EU and they hired a Spanish lawyer to get to the bottom of all the red tape and the outcome was that there was infact very little as they had their own source of income and private health care.

There is an extremely good lawyer in the province who speaks fluent English if you would like her contact details just let me know.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by musketeera

Hi JeanPierre,

It's not too difficult to move here from outside the EU since they changed the residency laws last year, it all depends whether you will be looking for work/wish to start a business or if you have your own means of support financially.

The government have tightened up the tax laws on purchasers and sellers of property but slightly relaxed the residency laws and unless you have a specific wish to become a Spanish resident in terms of re-newing your Passport or driving licence then our local Police do not issue a residency card these days.

I have some friends who have just moved here from outside the EU and they hired a Spanish lawyer to get to the bottom of all the red tape and the outcome was that there was infact very little as they had their own source of income and private health care.

There is an extremely good lawyer in the province who speaks fluent English if you would like her contact details just let me know.

Good luck.

Hi Musketeera

Thanks for the advice. I would appreciate the contact details for the lawyer you talking about. I am thinking of starting my own business once in Spain. I own a company here in South Africa, so I shall recieve monthly payments into my spanish account as long as I still hold shares, so hopefully that will make things easier as well.
Also I would like to buy property over there, but I would first like to stay for a year to investigate further. Will it be easier for me if I do own property there?

Thanks for the advice

Jean

Originally Posted by musketeera

Hi JeanPierre,

It's not too difficult to move here from outside the EU since they changed the residency laws last year, it all depends whether you will be looking for work/wish to start a business or if you have your own means of support financially.

The government have tightened up the tax laws on purchasers and sellers of property but slightly relaxed the residency laws and unless you have a specific wish to become a Spanish resident in terms of re-newing your Passport or driving licence then our local Police do not issue a residency card these days.

I have some friends who have just moved here from outside the EU and they hired a Spanish lawyer to get to the bottom of all the red tape and the outcome was that there was infact very little as they had their own source of income and private health care.

There is an extremely good lawyer in the province who speaks fluent English if you would like her contact details just let me know.

Good luck.

Hi Musketeera

Thanks for the advice. I would appreciate the contact details for the lawyer you talking about. I am thinking of starting my own business once in Spain. I own a company here in South Africa, so I shall recieve monthly payments into my spanish account as long as I still hold shares, so hopefully that will make things easier as well.
Also I would like to buy property over there, but I would first like to stay for a year to investigate further. Will it be easier for me if I do own property there?

Thanks for the advice

Jean

Originally Posted by JeanPierre

Hi Musketeera

Thanks for the advice. I would appreciate the contact details for the lawyer you talking about. I am thinking of starting my own business once in Spain. I own a company here in South Africa, so I shall recieve monthly payments into my spanish account as long as I still hold shares, so hopefully that will make things easier as well.
Also I would like to buy property over there, but I would first like to stay for a year to investigate further. Will it be easier for me if I do own property there?

Thanks for the advice

Jean

jeanpierre
i have lived here for a year and rented, this would be advisable as we are moving again in feb for the 3rd time as we have tried 2 other houses and areas and now hope fully have found the area we like and suits our needs ie schooling and local amenities so many people buy here and regret where they have bought
plus in the next year the property prices are due to fall darmatically so you may pick up a bargain in the future
best of luck to ya its a big move but we love it here
dixondrew

Hi Jean Pierre,
If you are shipping household good over here, make sure you have all the relevant documents or you will be liable for import duty, as I found out to my cost when I moved from Hong Kong. Get a valuation for the contents of your shipment, which should be as low possible (i.e. alow second-hand price and not what you paid for the goods) as this will lower any import duty payable.Make sure the shipping company are aware of your need to have a copy of the manifest before the shipment arrives and get them to investigate what documentation you will need from the South African Government to prove you were a resident there and the length of your stay there. Contact the Spanish embassy and enquire there as well. (you can also apply for your NIE from the embassy). If all the documentation is in order you will not have to pay import duty or VAT, but if not your shipment could be held at the port until the matter is cleared by Spanish customs, whch can involve costly storage and demonage on the container. Don't do as I did and rely on the shipping agents to do all the paperwork for you (no matter how much they assure you that they can handle it) Check it is all in order before leaving and where possible, have several copiesof each document.

William

Originally Posted by JeanPierre

Hi Musketeera

Thanks for the advice. I would appreciate the contact details for the lawyer you talking about. I am thinking of starting my own business once in Spain. I own a company here in South Africa, so I shall recieve monthly payments into my spanish account as long as I still hold shares, so hopefully that will make things easier as well.
Also I would like to buy property over there, but I would first like to stay for a year to investigate further. Will it be easier for me if I do own property there?

Thanks for the advice

Jean

Hi Jean,

Most people in the area where I live (Granada Province) start off with renting a property first just to see whether they'll like the heat or winter snow! Renting in Spain is easy if you haven't got small children - The Spanish love their children but are a little reluctant to love anyone elses, but it's not impossible and any good estate agent will sort you out with a short or long term rent all you need is the cash.Inland prices for a family sized house 250 - 350 Euro per month furnished.

If you do have children of a school age remember to check out the schools first because they do vary tremendously even within a few Km's of each other for instance our village school is very sporty and the next village school is very musical.

If you'd like to send a text to my works mobile 0034 619 492 158 I'll text Paula's contact details to you rather than putting it on the forum - I'd probably get my wrists slapped for advertising or something.

Must dash - Grumpy dog needs walking before it gets dark