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RESIDENCY PERMITS

Residency to visas: What are the costs of Spanish bureaucracy in 2023?

Almost all residency applications, ID cards and authorisations in Spain have a fee attached which you must pay, along with submitting all the relevant paperwork. Here are all the prices for each process in 2023.

Published: 19 May 2023 15:50 CEST
Residency to visas: What are the costs of Spanish bureaucracy in 2023?
Prices of fees for residency processes in Spain. Photo: Gabrielle Henderson / Unsplash

Once you have been granted your visa or residence in Spain, there will be yet more documents you’ll need to apply for once you’ve arrived. These may be foreign ID cards or residency certificates. Likewise, when your visa or temporary residence card expires you’ll need to pay for extensions or renewals. 

The Spanish authorities require you to pay a small fee each time you do one of these residency processes or submit your application. Each one ranges in price from just over €3 for some to €80 for others. 

Foreign identity cards and residency authorisations:

The TIE stands for tarjeta de identidad de extranjero and is an ID card for non-EU foreigners who live in Spain. There are various reasons you can be granted a TIE and some of them have different processing fees. For EU citizens, they will need to apply for an EU green residency certificate instead, which again has a different cost. 

TIE: For temporary residents or cross-border workers who stay in Spain for a period of more than six months – €16.08.

TIE: To renew your temporary residence authorisation or extension for cross-border workers in Spain for a period of more than six months – €16.08.

TIE: For long-term residence authorisation or long-term EU residence. Your initial TIE will be issued for a period of five years, after which you can apply for a long-term TIE card and renew it for another five. – €21.87.

Green EU residency certificate: For EU residents who move to Spain or for a family member of an EU citizen. This card must be applied for within three months of moving to Spain. – €12.

READ ALSO: Do you always have to carry ID with you in Spain?

Visa extensions:

Extension of short-term stay without visa: For those who need to extend their stay in Spain, but don’t have a visa. The cost is €17.49, but this base amount will increase by €1.06 for each day the stay is extended. 

Extension of short-term stay with visa: For those who have a short-term visa to stay in Spain and need to extend it due to one of the reasons under article 34 of the Regulation of Organic Law 4/2000 – €31.22.

Temporary residency authorisations for exceptional circumstances: 

Temporary residence authorisation for exceptional circumstances: Due to international protection, humanitarian reasons, collaboration with authorities, national security or public interest according to the Regulations of the Law Organic 4/2000 – €38.28. 

Processing of residence and work authorisations for exceptional circumstances: For victims of gender violence and human trafficking according to articles 132 and 144 of the Regulations of Organic Law 4/2000 – €10.94.

Transit visas or border processing fees:

Processing of applications for authorisation or transit visa at the border: For citizens of countries who need a transit visa for a stop over at a Spanish airport. Application for these visas must be submitted in person no more than 90 days in advance of your trip and at least 15 days before. – €80

Processing of applications for authorisation or transit visa at the border for minors: The same as above, except for children over 6 and under 12 years of age – €40

Processing of visa applications at the border: For those who need their visas processed upon arrival at the Spanish border – €80

Processing of the applications for a visa at the border for minors: The same as above but for children over 6 and under 12 years of age – €40

Processing of applications for a visa at the border for a national of a country with which the EU has signed a Visa Flexibility Agreement. These include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine – €35

Other documents you may need: 

Return authorisations: For when you need to travel out of Spain and then return while your ID cards or residency documents are being issued or renewed – €10.72

Assignment of Foreign Identity Number (NIE): For when you need a foreign identity number. You will need this number for everything from buying a property or a car to paying your taxes. Residents and non-residents can be issued with this number. – €9.84

Authorisation to issue a letter of invitation or Carta de invitación: For when a non-EU citizen, either friend or family member comes to stay with you in Spain – €75.05

Letter of invitation: Getting the letter of invitation itself requires a further fee of €6.54

Certification for documents related to the letter of invitation: If you need any documentation certified along with your application for a letter of invitation it will cost you an additional €1.09 for each document.  

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For members

WORKING IN SPAIN

Can you work outside of Spain on the non-lucrative visa?

The non-lucrative visa is a popular choice for non-EU citizens who want to come and live in Spain, but there’s long been confusion over whether or not you can work outside of the country or not while you’re on it.

Published: 19 September 2024 10:24 CEST
Can you work outside of Spain on the non-lucrative visa?

The non-lucrative visa or NLV as it is often referred to, is a residency authorisation that allows non-EU foreigners to live in Spain.

As the name suggests, however, it’s non-lucrative, so it doesn’t give you the right to work here, instead you have to demonstrate that you have sufficient savings for yourself, as well as any family members you’re bringing with you. 

Many people claim that if you’re not actually working in Spain while on the visa, and if you’re work comes from abroad then it’s fine, but is it actually legal?

Online searches reveal many conflicting results with several sources saying you absolutely cannot work on the visa at all under any circumstances and others saying that you can and authorities simply turn a blind eye.

It used to be a big grey area because Spanish law didn’t specifically mention remote working. Spain’s General Immigration Regime stated that, while staying on the NLV:

  • You mustn’t work for a Spanish company
  • You mustn’t work for a Spanish employer
  • You can’t open your own business in Spain
  • Nor can you open a branch office in Spain

In terms of remote working specifically, the law did’t actually address it.

READ ALSO: Does Spain check if you’re working on the non-lucrative visa?

But, authorities seemed to suggest that you couldn’t work on it at all, under any capacity, due to their rulings and decision making.

According to Barcelona-based law firm Balcells: “During the pandemic (from 2020 onward), the vast majority of consulates started to reject applications from foreigners who clearly stated they wanted to start working remotely”.

“Or if the consulate sees that remote work is what you have been doing for the past months/years, your application may even get rejected too”.

In 2023, a Madrid court denied a Venezuelan national’s application for the non-lucrative visa because they continued to advertise their professional services on sites like LinkedIn.

These all support the fact that working, even remotely for another country is not allowed.

The amount of savings you have to prove for the non-lucrative visa in 2024 is €2,400 per month, which must come from passive income such as return on investments and rental income, rather than physically working.

READ ALSO: Non-lucrative vs digital nomad visa: Which one should you choose to move to Spain?

There is now even stronger legal evidence to support the theory that you can’t work remotely while on the NLV, with the introduction of Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa or DNV in early 2023.

The whole point of the DNV is to allow non-EU remote workers and freelancers to be able to live and work in Spain, so it would defeat the entire purpose of this visa if you were allowed to work remotely on the NLV.

The DNV in fact has many requisites to ensure the way in which remote workers can legally work here. For example, they have to have worked for the same employer for three months or more and any company they work for has to have been in existence for more than one year.

To apply for the DNV in 2024 you have to prove a monthly income of at least €2,646. While this is slightly more than the NLV, it does mean that you can continue working. 

READ ALSO: Does Spain accept savings for the digital nomad visa if earnings aren’t enough?

Many remote workers may have used the NLV option in the past, but today there is no excuse, you may as well just apply for the DNV instead.

As authorities are cracking down on NLV applications, it’s simply not worth the risk having your application denied if you plan to continuing working. If you’re found out and are not declaring your income properly too, you could end up with a hefty fine and be unable to renew your visa in the future. 

Therefore, if you want to work remotely for company outside of Spain, it’s best to forget the NLV and go straight for the DNV, which will ensure what you’re doing is truly legal.

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