Spanish legalese is notoriously convoluted and when it comes to residency matters, it definitely applies. This unfortunately has the unintended consequence of confusing the general population, and foreigners even more so.
We’ve seen this in action with the common mix-up surrounding the terms NIE and TIE, the foreigner ID number and the ID card for non-EU residents.
READ MORE: The differences between Spain’s NIE and TIE
This time round we’ll be looking at the differences between long-term residency (residencia de larga duración) and permanent residency (residencia permanente).
In the majority of cases, both the long-term and permanent residency cards are granted to foreigners who have lived legally and continuously in Spain for five years.
During these initial five years of residency, they have had either one or several temporary residency cards.
Both long-term and permanent residency cards give holders the right to live and work in Spain (same rights as Spaniards), but not across the EU. In both cases, they also grant the right to apply for Spanish citizenship after ten years of residency in Spain.
As for the actual biometric cards – the Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE) – permanente and larga duración look exactly the same except for what’s written under the tipo de permiso (type of permit) section.
So what are the main differences? Who is eligible for the long-term card and who gets the permanent one?
Long-term residency cards
Tarjetas de Larga Duración are issued under what’s called the Régimen General, which generally refers to migration rules applicable to non-EU nationals.
Foreigners who get long-term residency cards rather than permanent residency ones will have had more than one temporary card over their initial five years of residency in Spain.
For example, non-EU nationals who during a period of five years were issued one-year and two-year temporary residency cards (usually 3 cards total) as a result of having a work visa, a non-lucrative visa, a study visa or a digital nomad visa.
As stated above, long-term residency gives the same rights to work and live in Spain as permanent residency, but the long-term card has to be renewed every five years rather than every ten, as in the permanent card’s case.
You will also have to prove you are working and have healthcare coverage when applying for the long-term card, whereas for the permanent card there’s more of an emphasis on proving financial means.
When it comes to the risk of having your long-term residency rights revoked due to time spent outside of Spain, an absence of 12 continuous months from the EU could cause this, whereas with a permanent residency card it’s two years outside of Spain.
If you want to read the official Spanish legal document where the conditions of the long-term card are stipulated, it’s Ley Orgánica 4/2000, which deals with the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration.
Permanent residency cards
Tarjetas Permanentes are issued under what’s called the Régimen Comunitario, which generally refers to migration rules applicable to EU nationals and their family members.
Foreigners who get permanent residency cards are often non-EU family members of Spanish or EU nationals as well as UK nationals who were living in Spain prior to Brexit and therefore have Withdrawal Agreement rights (including for their family members).
Under the TIE card’s section on tipo de permiso (type of permit) on the front, it may read “RÉGIMEN COMUNITARIO FAMILIAR CIUDADANO UNIÓN” or “PERMANENTE ARTICULO 50 TUE”.
After five years of temporary residency, these people can apply for a tarjeta permanente, which lasts ten years and can then be renewed again for another ten years, and so on.
Proving financial means, even those of the EU family member through which you got residency, is enough proof to apply for the permanent card, and in some cases they won’t even ask for this.
You can spend two years outside of Spain without risking losing your permanent residency status, whereas with long-term residence it’s 12 consecutive months outside of the EU.
If you want to read the official Spanish legal document where the conditions of the permanent card are stipulated, it’s Real Decreto 240/2007.
Conclusion and one other residency card
Overall, the long-term and permanent residency cards are very similar, but the fact that the permanente lasts ten years and time spent outside of Spain can be longer makes it slightly more beneficial.
There is however one other residency card that’s worth mentioning, the Tarjeta Larga Duración UE (Long-term EU card).
Much like the other two, it can be applied for after five years of residency in Spain and gives full work and living rights (card renewal after five years, absences of up to 12 consecutive months).
However, in return for showing a stable income of at least 150 percent of Spain’s IPREM index for a family of two (approximately €900 a month, 50 percent extra for each family member) you can be given access to a residence permit or residence and work permit in any other country of the European Union. Neither the larga duración or the permanente cards offer that.
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