Spain for 6 months - how?!

[hashen]

Originally Posted by JL321

I am in (and a resident of) a Eastern European country, but not a EU country (I'm in Russia).

I've now found very different requirements for the non-lucrative visa. I think I will just try to go to the Spanish embassy and ask directly the people that I would be applying to what they require. If they are anything like Russian immigration authorities they could have their own ideas (and those ideas could change from one day to the next)!

I'll update if I get anywhere.

Thanks.

We are from Michigan, wanting to get a residence visa in Spain. We can't figure how to get one yet. Please keep us posted I am following your post!
Good luck.

[JL321]

I sent the local Spanish embassy an email this morning asking about the requirements for the non-lucrative visa. I got this reply:

"Non lucrative residence (RES/NLR) visa is intended for applicants who own a property in Spain and show a long standing close link to the country. NLR implies a permanent life in Spain in the long term.
You may stay as a tourist in Spain for 90 days every six months, you may eventually ask for an extensión of your visa at the local police station in the city of your Choice. In this case, you will have to justify your request.
If you wish to receive more detailed information, we can relieve you in the consulate and answer your questions personally (previous appointment is required)"


I will be scheduling this appointment as soon as I can.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by JL321

I sent the local Spanish embassy an email this morning asking about the requirements for the non-lucrative visa. I got this reply:

"Non lucrative residence (RES/NLR) visa is intended for applicants who own a property in Spain and show a long standing close link to the country. NLR implies a permanent life in Spain in the long term.
You may stay as a tourist in Spain for 90 days every six months, you may eventually ask for an extensión of your visa at the local police station in the city of your Choice. In this case, you will have to justify your request.
If you wish to receive more detailed information, we can relieve you in the consulate and answer your questions personally (previous appointment is required)"


I will be scheduling this appointment as soon as I can.

thanks for the update

[JL321]

Update -

I finally got through to the Spanish Consulate here in Moscow (they told me by email that I had to call to schedule an appointment to discuss further, but it took weeks to actually get through!).

When I finally spoke to someone they told me that the nearest available appointment is August 31!!!

The visa application center tells me they don't do non-lucrative visas and I have to schedule an appointment at the Consulate directly.

I am at a loss now. It doesn't seem like I am going to be able to get a long-stay visa for Spain.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by JL321

Update -

I finally got through to the Spanish Consulate here in Moscow (they told me by email that I had to call to schedule an appointment to discuss further, but it took weeks to actually get through!).

When I finally spoke to someone they told me that the nearest available appointment is August 31!!!

The visa application center tells me they don't do non-lucrative visas and I have to schedule an appointment at the Consulate directly.

I am at a loss now. It doesn't seem like I am going to be able to get a long-stay visa for Spain.

never say never..... it might just be that you have to delay your plans a while

[JL321]

Wow!
I sent another email to the Consular section asking if there was anything that could be done to get in sooner than August 31. Much to my surprise I now have an appointment on Wednesday!

[JL321]

I had my appointment yesterday. Unfortunately it was discouraging.

My local Consulate insists that the non-lucrative visa is only for those owning property in Spain. Without this they won't even consider it. They told me to go buy property and come back with all my bank documents proving "about $70,000" on accounting in a bank in Spain (not just any bank) and continued annual income of again "about $70,000." Only after this did they say they would reconsider. Of course I wondered why I would buy property in Spain if it would only get me "reconsidered" and not get me a visa? However, I didn't question this. I did question the continued annual income though. I explained that I could show cash deposits to cover many years of "about $70k" and since the visa would be valid for only 1 year it seemed that might be enough. They simply said to by the property and then bring them all my financial documents and they would look at it.

They also offered me two other variants. One was a student visa, but to get it I had to get a letter from an acceptable school indicating a minimum of 20 hrs/week for the entire duration of the visa. The other option was to go for 3 months without a visa, which I am allowed as a US citizen. Then they said to apply to the local police department wherever I am in Spain and they might grant me an additional 90-day stay. They said this is by no means guaranteed and entirely done on an individual basis.

Then the real issue came out. When trying to explore any other options the Deputy Consular said to me that the US doesn't have visas for Spanish citizens for what I want from them so the answer is no for me too. I responded with saying I know many Spanish citizens living in the US and I wondered how they do it. The conversation was quickly shifted.

In the end I was offered one last option. Go for 3 months, return to Russia or the US, and then apply for a 90-day student visa, which I could get in less than 10 days. They said this would reduce the amount of study I would have to pay for and it would get me my 6 months. It is possible, but not really what I want.

I will consider my options, but I will also start to explore other destinations where it is easier for me to take a 6-month break to enjoy life for a bit.

[Lunar-Tech]

Originally Posted by JL321

I am in (and a resident of) a Eastern European country, but not a EU country (I'm in Russia).

If they are anything like Russian immigration authorities they could have their own ideas (and those ideas could change from one day to the next)!

You've got that right !

[skip o]

"My local Consulate insists that the non-lucrative visa is only for those owning property in Spain. " That is the first time I have ever heard something like that.

I am surprised you can ever try to get a visa in Russia if you are a US citizen. My understanding was that you needed to get the visa in your home country. FWIW, the Spanish consulates in the US do not mention the need to own a property in Spain, you can also have a lease. I have also heard that if you can prove that you are working with an agent to find a rental, that it may suffice.

I have also found a couple of Spanish lawyers who help with this process, but I don't know anyone who has used them. I am not sure if I can post their info here, so pm me if you want it.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by skip o

"My local Consulate insists that the non-lucrative visa is only for those owning property in Spain. " That is the first time I have ever heard something like that.

I am surprised you can ever try to get a visa in Russia if you are a US citizen. My understanding was that you needed to get the visa in your home country. FWIW, the Spanish consulates in the US do not mention the need to own a property in Spain, you can also have a lease. I have also heard that if you can prove that you are working with an agent to find a rental, that it may suffice.

I have also found a couple of Spanish lawyers who help with this process, but I don't know anyone who has used them. I am not sure if I can post their info here, so pm me if you want it.

you have to apply in the country in which you are legally resident, so JL321 has to apply via the Spanish consulate in Russia, since that's where he lives

I'm surprised about needing to own property - what I'm not surprised about is that the consulate there is giving different info to other consulates

even different consulates in the US don't agree


if you can personally reccommend a lawyer, by all means post the website details, otherwise no