When buying holiday money or sending money abroad, many banks and brokers include hidden fees and or a mark-up in the exchange rate.  Not surprising, a recent study into international money transfers and payments found that 75% of consumers do not know about, or do not understand currency exchange rate mark-ups.

In recent years specialised currency exchange companies have broken the monopoly on the supply of currency exchange services.  Banks and high street exchanges are no longer the go to choice for changing currency.

These currency exchange companies deliver much more competitive exchange rates to consumers, more personalised service, and faster transfer times than banks offer. It’s no surprise than savvy overseas property buyers and expats choose these companies to get a better deal.

A high street bank may seem like the easy or convenient option, and may be your choice through habit, however using a specialist foreign currency exchange provider is just as easy and more importantly works out much cheaper!

If you’re not a Spanish citizen and want to live in Spain, you have to obtain Spanish residency.  The process that you have to follow to get Spanish residency depends on your nationality, whether you are from an EU country, and if not, what you plan to do whilst you are a Spanish resident.

Nationals of member states of the European Union and Switzerland, as well as other countries party to the agreement on the European Economic Area, have an unconditional right to reside in Spain.  Nationals of countries aside from these, are able to gain residency based on achieving other qualifying conditions and in most cases need to obtain a visa.

For someone planning to live long term in Spain, temporary Spanish residency is the first step towards getting permanent resident status, which can be applied for after 5 years. Thereafter if someone so wishes, they can apply for Spanish citizenship after completing 10 years of permanent residency in Spain.

Spanish Residency for Citizens of EU Countries

Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa is now available following the passing of the new Startups Law, ‘Ley de Startups‘. This visa which allows the holder to live in Spain and work remotely or online, can be applied directly in Spain, or via the Spanish Consulate in the country in which you currently reside.

A Private Medical insurance policy for Spanish visas and residency has to provide a level of healthcare cover equivalent to that provided by the state healthcare system.  For a lot of private medical insurance providers this will mean taking out their top level fully comprehensive policy.  Co-payments policies that have much lower monthly or annual premiums and you pay a small fee when you need treatment or to see a doctor, are not acceptable.

The general requirements for Private Medical Insurance for Spanish visas and residency are much the same across all the different types of residency, however that are some differences between what’s needed for some.

Private Medical Insurance for the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa

A Private Medical Insurance for a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa, has to pass the equivalent to state healthcare test.  The policy has to be annual most Spanish Consulates expect the policy to be paid in full up front.  Some even insist on there being a full year paid up front from the date you expect to enter Spain with your visa.  When you don’t know exactly how long your Non-Lucrative Visa will take to process, getting the Private Medical Insurance policy start date right can be tricky, and sometimes if there are delays, extra months of insurance have to be paid for added to the end of the policy to make up a full 12 months of cover.

For a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa application, it is best to take Private Medical Insurance with a Spanish provider.  Policies from other countries may provide an acceptable level of cover, but if the policy documents are not in Spanish, it can end up quite costly getting the policy documents translated into Spanish to prove this.

Get a quote for Private Medical Insurance for the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa

Private Medical Insurance for the Spanish Golden Visa & Investor Residency

Along with the general requirements of Private Medical insurance for Spanish visas and residency, a Private Medical insurance for the Spanish Golden Visa and investor residency, has to be from either a Spanish insurance provider or an insurance provider that is authorised to operate in Spain.  So, international or global healthcare policies which may even have superior cover to a Spanish policy, will not be accepted, unless the provider is registered with Spain’s insurance regulator the DGSFP. (Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones).  Foreign insurance companies registered in Spain can be searched on their website: http://www.dgsfp.mineco.es/en/Entidades/Paginas/rrpp.aspx

Get a quote for Private Medical Insurance for the Spanish Golden Visa or Investor Residency

Private Medical Insurance for Spanish Residency for Citizens of EU Countries

The requirements of a Private Medical Insurance Citizens of EU countries applying for their Spanish Residency Certificate, are much the same as for the Non-Lucrative visa, i.e. the policy just needs to meet the general criteria.  Because the EU citizen Residency Certificate application is handled on a municipal level at the National Police station, there are variances from place to place as to what may be accepted, and the proof of insurance documents that will be required.

In most places a certificate of cover for a residency application from the provider along with proof of payment of the policy is sufficient.  In some places however, they insist on a copy of all the policy documents including the lengthy terms and conditions!

Taking Out Private Medical Insurance for Spanish Visas & Residency

Taking out the wrong Private Medical Insurance policy for your Spanish visa or residency application, can end up in a lot of wasted time and money.  We recommend that you use an insurance broker that has lots of experience arranging Private Medical Insurance for Spanish Visas and Residency, as well as knowing which policies are suitable, they will most likely also know a fair bit about the variances in requirements for the different type of visa and residency, the differences from one Spanish consulate to the next, and from place to place.

We handle all the above types of Spanish Visa and Residency applications, and work with a specialist insurance broker to arrange suitable Private Medical Insurance for our clients.  If you need to take out Private Medical Insurance for your Spanish Visa or Residency application, we can help you.

Click the link below and fill in the short enquiry form.

Get Private Medical Insurance for Spanish Visas or Residency

(+34) 951 77 55 44 / (+44) 033 000 10 777

Spanish Residency Certificate for Citizens of EU countries

All EU and EEA (European Economic Area) citizens and their family members have the right to visit, live or work in Spain.  A Spanish residency certificate confirms your status as a resident in Spain. For stays of up to 3 months there is no need to register or obtain any Spanish documentation unless you are going to be working, or for example buying a property, in which case you’ll need an NIE.  After that period, or if you intend to stay more than 3 months, you are expected to register as a resident.

You are given a residency certificate, or ‘certificado de residencia‘, when you successfully register.  The issue of certificates is controlled by the National Police, (Cuerpo Nacional de Policia).

The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa offers residency to British nationals who have the financial means to support themselves without working.  The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa scheme is therefore ideal if you are retired or have passive income, for example from a portfolio of properties or other investments.  The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa is for full-time residency in Spain.

What does the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa Offer UK British Nationals?

There are two ways to check your non-lucrative visa application.  The Spanish Consulate has an online portal where you can check the progress of your visa application, and on the Spanish immigration website you can check the status of your residency application.

There are a few steps involved in the process for registering a car from and EU country in Spain.  Fortunately because of European standardisation, or homologation as it’s known, in most cases, provided you know the steps, it’s relatively straight forward.

The following is a basic run through of the steps and process.

Spanish residency requirements for British citizens / UK nationals changed on January 1st 2021 when the UK left the EU.

British citizens / UK nationals now have to follow the same process as other non-EU national citizens of third countries to get Spanish residency, i.e. there is a requirement to first obtain a visa.

The minimum income required for a British Citizen / UK national to obtain a residency visa, is a lot higher than it was to get residency before Brexit.  In most cases a single applicant needs to have at least €28k per year, whereas previously less than €6k income would have been sufficient.

You also have to obtain a police criminal check report, and medical certificates are also required for most visa applications.

Understanding and planning fiscal residency and Spanish tax is a very important when making the transition to become a resident in Spain.  Tax in Spain is very different to the UK, and has become even more complicated since the UK left the EU as the way certain types of income are treated changed.

Here we provide an overview of the tax related requirements and key points that most need to consider when becoming a Spanish resident.