Long stay visas to Spain, as they are also called, Spanish national visas category D give the right to stay in Spain for more than 90 days. First of all, we are talking about resident visas issued as part of obtaining a residence permit in Spain. In this article, we will tell you about the main types of long-term visas to Spain.
Resident visas to Spain
A residence visa is issued when applying for a residence permit in Spain. There are several reasons for obtaining a residence permit in Spain, depending on which the list of documents to be submitted varies:
- family reunification with a Spaniard / EU citizen or a citizen of another country permanently residing in Spain based on a residence permit for at least 1 year;
- moving to Spain without the right to work;
- moving to Spain to work under a contract;
- studying in Spain or conducting scientific research.
A resident visa is issued for 90 days. During this time, you must enter the territory of Spain, and within 1 month, but no later than the expiration of the visa, submit documents for a resident card. Initially, a resident card is issued for 1 year. After a year, you can apply for a residence permit extension and a new resident card already in Spain without the need to travel to your home country.
Visa for investors and property owners
In this case, we are talking about a “novelty” in migration legislation, so we conditionally singled out this visa into a separate category. The Law 14/2013 allowed the granting of a residence permit to foreign citizens investing more than 2,000,000 euros in Spain, or when buying real estate in Spain with a value of 500,000 euros or more (for each owner in case of a joint purchase). This visa can also be obtained by foreign citizens planning to open a company in Spain, and highly qualified specialists.
This resident visa is issued for 1 year, while a resident card is not required. After the expiry of the one year, if the circumstances that served as the basis for the issuance of the visa have not changed, you can apply for a residence permit in Spain. In this case, the applicant must confirm that during the first year he entered the territory of Spain at least once. After receiving a positive decision, you must issue a resident card.
Long-term study visa to Spain
A long-term study visa entitles you to reside in Spain for up to 180 days. Unlike a package of documents for a resident study visa, in this case, it is not required to provide two certificates, which, as a rule, take a lot of time and money to process:
- a recent medical certificate with a translation into Spanish or by an officially recognized sworn translator in Spain issued no earlier than 3 months before applying for a visa.
- a certificate of no criminal record, recent, apostilled, with a translation into Spanish or made by an officially recognized sworn translator in Spain, issued no earlier than 3 months before applying for a visa by the competent authority of the countries where the applicant has lived for 5 years preceding the filing of the application.
This visa cannot be extended in Spain. If it is planned to study for more than 180 days, then you must apply for a resident study visa (initially issued for 1 year).
Spanish Non – Lucrative Visa
It is also called “residence based on confirmed income.” In this case, for a D visa in Spain, you do not need to invest half a million euros. It is enough to buy any housing or conclude an annual rental contract. The receiving party will ask to show funds in the account for € 28,000 per year (+ € 7,000 additionally for each family member as of the beginning of 2021).
You cannot work in Spain with this visa. This is how local authorities attract investments to the country while protecting local specialists from foreign employment. Usually Visado de Residencia no Lucrativa is issued for one year, but if you want to extend it, you must stay in the country for at least 183 days a year.
There are currently nine legal ways to obtain a Spanish residence. This can be a student/work visa for a period of study or employment contract, marriage with a Spanish citizen, start-up visa, refugee, and much more.
