6 Months in Spain

[gypsyrose12]

 

Hello, I've been having a laugh at some comments on the forum andthen I thought this might be the place to find an answer to my query, with all you knowledgable people out there.

I've had conflicting information regards visiting Spain long term and can't seem to find the official answer. Does anyone know if you are supposed to register with the authorities for stays of longer than 90 days. I know we don't need a visa, we are resident in the free travel area but I'm sure there is a restriction to how long we can be considered just visitors. All the places I looked including the Spanish Embassy say 90 days as a visitor with a visa, no info on visitors without visas but if you wish to 'stay' longer than 90 days you need to register as a resident? Don't want residencia just to know how long we can tour there? Any ideas anyone please?

[Guest JudgeMental]

Not much help with your question I'm afraid but a bit of perspective

 

I just got back from six weeks there and I can tell you that those I spoke to who have been there 6-20 years have not taken out residencia and live below the radar.

 

I mean so many ex pats living down there on camp sites what are they going to do exactly, is it a problem? I am sure they need the income these long stayer's contribute..Perhaps we will end up sending in the navy to bring them all back *-)

[Guest pelmetman]

JudgeMental - 2012-05-23 7:51 PM

 

.Perhaps we will end up sending in the navy to bring them all back *-)

 

Sorry Judge I've retired from the navy...........so they're on their own :-S..........but more importantly who's going to save me from the Dordogne mozzies 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)................. Help!!!!...........they're sucking me dry *-) *-)............I hope they get poufe or pelmetitas :D

[vindiboy]

You can stay 6 months legally, after that you are supposed to register with the authorities, and also register your vehicle too, almost impossible to register an English spec Motorhome though due to non conformities of spec ie, hab door position, rear view through rear window required etc etc, most people never register  though some have been there for years, you are not checked in or out of Spain ever or we never have been, I understand though that  if you are ever  asked to prove how long you have been in Spain it is for you to PROVE that you have been there less than six months rather than  the authorities  to prove you have been there longer, the six months also applies to  France Portugal Germany etc.

[BGD]

The " Visa" thing is a bit of red herring.

 

Since the original Treaty of Rome which established the freedom of movement between what have since become "EU" member states, the previous Visa system between them has ceased.

Thus there is no such thing any longer as Visas issued by the Spanish Government to enable UK citizens to visit Spain.

You are free to come here simply because you are a UK citizen, and the UK is a fellow member of the EU agreement on free movement of its citizens.

 

Now, for those non-Spanish people living permanently in Spain there used to be something called a "Residencia" (a sort of permission to be here and work here permanently) that you were supposed to apply for after 6 months. This should have gone in the bin once Spain joined the EU, with regard to other EU citizens. But it didn't.

Various Govt Departments would still ask to see you "Residencia" if you wanted Benefits/work/to buy a house or car etc.

Telling them that it was now no longer necessary because Spain had agreed to the EU treaty of Rome just led to blank looks and a repeat demand for your Residencia.

So for maybe a decade Brits etc who lived here kept applying for and renewing their Residencia certificate, as it simply made life so much easier.

 

A couple of years ago, some lawyers representing ex-pats took a test case against the Spanish Government for not properly and effectively ending this illegal-under-the-EU-Agreement treatment of no-Spanish EU citizens.

Spain agreed to remove it forthwith.

And it did indeed do so.

And at the same time it introduced instead a Certifcado del Extranjeros registration process, which amounts to exactly the same thing! This is Spain. Love or hate it.

 

Now this latest registration requirement is also illegal under EU Treaty obligations.

But it is here; it exists, and it'll take a long time to convince the Govt and all it's Agencies to remove it/stop asking for it.

I still regularly get asked for my Residencia at Govt offices, even though that system hasn't existed for years now.

 

 

 

But all the above doesn't really matter in practice anyway; I've lived here for nearly 10 years now, and do not have and have never had a Residencia or the latest Spanish alternative to it.

 

 

 

In practice, don't worry. Be happy.

For visiting, even if for many many months, all you need is your UK passport (and UK driving licence if driving).

 

[josie gibblebucket]

pelmetman - 2012-05-23 8:01 PM

..but more importantly who's going to save me from the Dordogne mozzies 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)................. Help!!!!...........they're sucking me dry *-) *-)............I hope they get poufe or pelmetitas :D

 

 

 

It must be the neat alcohol running through your veins that is attracting them :-D :-D :-D