How do you prove that you have enough economic resources?

Hi there! we got out non-lucrative visas from the Spanish Consulate in Chicago. I think every Consulate handles things differently, but I can tell you about our experience. On the Consulate website there was a pretty detailed list explaining exactly what was needed. For your questions(in our experience):

1. I am not sure what "'updated bank certification" means, but for us, we submitted the most recent bank statements we had - not translated. That was sufficient.
2. All of our money was in American banks at the time. We did not yet have a Spanish bank. When we moved here, we opened a bank account here, but still kept the ones in the US
3. We did not have to translate bank statements to Spanish. We did have to translate other documents to Spanish, and we obtained a list of certified Spanish translators from someone on this forum. I will be happy to share that list with you if you need it. I believe we translated our Social Security benefits letter.
4. On the list of requirements on the consulate website, it stated how much was needed to prove financial stability -- it was a certain amount for the main applicant, and then a different amount for each additional applicant.

I hope this helps.

Hello zurlita,

Thank you for sharing all this information with us.

I hope our other members find it meaningful as well

Cheers,

Yoginee

Expat.com team

@Zdravich

Hi Zdravich,

Thank you so much for your detailed and helpful answer! I don't know why I don't get notifications when I receive answers from you. It's the second time when this happens, but - curiously enough- I do receive notifications about posts on other forums.

Since both - my husband and I - are EU citizens as well, I learned that it's better to apply for Certification to register as an EU citizen when we will be in Malaga. However, the condition of proving the financial means is the same if  we are neither employees or a self-employed.

I've searched online and found different lawyers' offices providing different information on this topic. Some ask for bank statements for the last 6 month, others for the last 12 months, but none of them explains what a "certificacion bancaria" means.

Many thanks again for being so prompt in answering my questions. It's funny to see that we selected the same avatar...

Best wishes and enjoy Malaga!

Zurlita M.

Hi Zurlita,

I have US/an EU dual nationality, and am in the process of getting Spanish residency here in Spain, without starting anything in another country. Spain only recognizes one nationality, so I'm going with the EU one for this.

I wish I could help you with a clear answer, but I can't. My experience so far has been that what will be requested or accepted on any given day will be determined by which police station you have to go to, and who is working there that day. What that person says can be drastically different from what another person in the same station says. But everyone agrees that getting residency with an EU passport is the easiest.

"Certification bancaria" probably means a document with a signature and a stamp from your bank. You can get it from your Spanish bank. Good luck trying to get that from an American bank!

What might be best is to open a bank account in Spain and arrange to have at least 2,200 euros a month automatically transferred into it for at least three months - longer and more would be better. Then you can show your Spanish bank statements (stamped and signed!) proving your income. For some reason this seems to be the easiest. I wish I had done it. My plan is to show I have more than sufficient funds in the US, but the problem seems to be the stamp and signature issue.

The good news is that my lawyer tells me that passing the 90-day limit for staying in Spain is not an issue as I have an EU passport. An unusual glitch with my NIE slowed things down (now happily solved), but now getting an appointment with Policia is dragging out the process.

Maybe things will be easier in Malaga! Good luck!

@Al SAmD

Hi Al SamD,

Thank you very much for your advice and for sharing your own experience.

Indeed, the bank statements in the US do not have a stamp and signature. I was thinking to travel to Spain next week for a few days in order to open a bank account there. I called several BBVA and Santander banks in Spain and they said that I need a NIE if I am not a resident in order to get an account for foreigners. Searching for the conditions to get a NIE, I found out that NIE is automatically granted with the Certificate of being an EU citizen registered in Spain. But, in order to get this certificate, I need to prove the economic means. So, it's a vicious circle: I need a NIE in order to get a bank account for proving that I have enough economic means, but in order to get the NIE, I need to demonstrate that I have enough economic means...

As you very well said, it depends on who works on my application at the Oficina de Extranjeria in Malaga.  I've read the law in Spanish and it's very vague, leaving a lot of room for interpretation. It says that proving these means depends on the personal situation of the applicant. Then the law mentions several types of documents that are accepted for this purpose, like for example, "recent certified bank statements". "Recent" is unclear. Some lawyers say it's 3 months, others, that it's 6 months, while others, one year.

Thank you and good luck in Spain!

Zurlita M.

Hi Zurlita,

You can also get an NIE by visiting a Spanish consulate. There is no need to prove economic means. Here's the government link for the NY consular office, and it seems the other offices have the same information. It explains everything. https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/nuevayork/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/NIE.aspx

(Note about form 790: you don't need an NIE it fill it in; you can use your passport number. The form is just for paying the corresponding fee - they use it for many things.)

You can also apply for an NIE through the cita previa system with the police in Malaga when you come, but the timing might not work if you're there just a few days. You don't need to prove economic means there, either, if you just want the NIE.

@Al SAmD

Hi Al SAmD,

I checked the website of the Ministerio del Interior in order to get information from the main source about NIE and CUE (Certificate of Registration as an EU Citizen). Yes, I know that I can apply for NIE directly in Spain and it takes five days to get it. At the Consulate in New York I can get it in three weeks.

I am curious about how you got your NIE. If you got it as an US citizen, have you had any problem when you applied for CUE? I am asking because you mentioned a glitch with your NIE.

I can apply for NIE at the Spanish Consulate in New York, but then, I am afraid to be put on track of the non-EU citizens when I go to Spain to apply for CUE.  As somebody explained to me, every digit of all ID type of documents symbolize something (gender, day, month year of birth or valability, etc. ). I don't know, but maybe one of the NIE's digits makes the distinction between the EU and non-EU citizens.

On the website of the Ministerio del Interior they say that NIE is automatically granted with CUE (actually it's printed on CUE as part of it).  If I get my NIE in the US, before going to Spain to apply for CUE, I am afraid that Spanish authorities will consider me further as an US citizen only and I won't benefit of my EU citizenship. If you say that Spain doesn't recognize double citizenship, I would rather prefer to use my EU citizenship for all legal matters since all procedures seem to be much easier for the EU citizens.

Thank you so much for all your answers; they are really helpful as your situation with double citizenship (EU/US) is similar to mine.

Best wishes and I hope you enjoy Spain. I can't wait to be there...

Zurlita M.

@zurlita

I'm a bit confused, as you're asking about the No Lucrativa Visa... but later I read "since both - my husband and I - are EU citizens". If you have a EU passport, then you don't need any kind of visa to move to Spain. So I would suggest you simply move to Spain (or any other EU country) when you want to... and then it's probably easier to do whatever you need to do when you're there. (For example, you'll still want a NIE... and probably a local bank account... and maybe a rental contract for a place to stay... and EU citizens are required to do an "EU citizen registration", but this is just a formality.)

Hi Zurlita,

Yes, do everything with your EU passport, including your NIE. It will definitely make the process smoother. Just tell them you are European and leave out the American citizenship. This is the approach my lawyer is using for me.

(I got my NIE in 1985 through work and as a US citizen. Things were different then. My recent glitch was that I needed the NIE in the most recent format - a letter instead of my little old card - for car registration, and the local police said they wouldn't issue it because the number was old and inactive. This was blatantly untrue - the NIE is for life, and I've been using it for things like paying taxes, opening accounts, buying a house, etc.  Returning on another day and dealing with another person solved the problem. Not only did the new person immediately produce the letter format, by showing my EU passport, she changed my nationality on the NIE. It wasn't a problem at all. But the glitch wasn't to do with nationality; it was a formatting - and uninformed employee - issue.)

Good luck! I'm sure it will all work out!

@Al SAmD

Thank you, Al SAmD, for clarification! I will apply this week for NIE at the Consulate in New York in order to get it by December, when I hope to be able to travel to Spain. Unfortunately, something intervened and I am no longer able to do it this week.

Many thanks.

Zurlita M.

@gwynj

Hi Gwynj,

Thank you for your reply!

I do have double citizenship (EU/US), but now I live in the US. All foreigners who intend to live in Spain without working are required to prove that they have enough means for living in Spain, no matter if they are EU or non-EU citizens. While the EU citizens must apply for CUE (Certificate of EU registered citizen), the non-EU citizens must apply for non-lucrative visa, but both of them must prove their means.  I asked about non-lucrative visa because my financial assets are in the US and I see that most of the participants on this forums are either Americans or British.  So, even though I will apply as an EU citizen, my case is more similar to that of an American who apply for non-lucrative visa because my money are not in an EU bank.

Thank you and good luck in Spain!

Zurlita M.

@zurlita

Thank you for the clarification.

I would suggest your dual citizenship and location of your funds are red herrings. All that matters is your EU citizenship.

You are indeed correct, that proof of financial resources is required by all. However, there are critical differences:

EU Citizens (as you are) enjoy "freedom of movement" and can relocate to any EU country for any reason. Hence the "EU citizen registration" (which is done in the country) is merely a bureaucratic formality, and EU countries are directed to "facilitate" this process (and the EU Directives govern the process so it's harmonized across the EU). Many EU citizens don't bother to register (so it's a "should", rather than a "must"), and it's not like there are penalties, or you can be stopped from entering the country or working there. However, without the citizen registration, you might not be able to register for social security (or income tax) in the new country, or apply for "family reunification" for (non-EU) family members. The Spanish registration certificate has your NIE on it, so you don't even have to apply for it separately.

For citizen registration, the only proofs required are address, health insurance, and funds. Moreover, the amount of money required to support an EU citizen registration is lower, with more flexibility over the type of proof. For example, in Bulgaria, as an EU citizen, my proof of funds was merely a notarized declaration that I was financially independent and would not ask Bulgaria for any support, together with a copy of my debit card. Typically, the financial requirement is the minimum wage for the country (x 12 months).

Meanwhile, non-EU citizens don't have a right of unlimited entry, they either need a visa, or their passport grants them visa-free travel, but only for a limited time (typically up to 90 days in 180 days). Overstaying your visa / visa-free period is a serious issue, and you can't legally stay longer (or work) without obtaining a long-term residence visa / residence permit. Hence this is a genuine "must", if you want to relocate, and you must apply for it, at your local Spanish Embassy, BEFORE relocating. Countries can make immigration this way as tough as they like, it's entirely up to them how they set the rules.

In the case of the Spanish NLV, this is specifically a class of residence for those that are "financially independent" and WILL NOT WORK in Spain. The non-working aspect is a substantial restriction. And as financial independence is the main justification for this visa, the rules about demonstrating it are much stricter. So, I believe you need to show more funds (I think Spain says 400% of IPREM, a big difference). And, often, you might be expected to have these funds already in a Spanish bank account, and provide an official (bank-stamped) statement. Like the citizen registration, you need proofs of address, health insurance, and funds. But you might need additional documents such as a medical certificate or a criminal record check.

Hope this helps.

@gwynj

Hi Gwynj,

Thank you for your detailed response. Before asking on this forum, I've read the Spanish legislation and then, I contacted the US Consulate in New York and also, the Oficina de Extranjeria from Malaga. The US Consulate told me about  400% IPREM for the principal applicant plus 100% IPREM for each additional family member. The Oficina de Extranjeria gave me a vague answer and told me that I can prove my economic resources in many way. None of them told me what "certificacion bancaria" means, but - thanks to several participants on this forum - I found out that it's a stamped and signed bank statement.

I know that, as an EU citizen I have the right to work in any EU country.  I do speak, read and write in Spanish and I could eventually work, but I'm not in a hurry and I don't know how quickly I would be able to find a job. That's why I prefer to be considered by the Spanish authorities as an EU citizen who is neither self-employed, nor an employee. 

Anyway, thank you for your help. I am asking questions in order to learn from the experience of those who have been in a similar situation. I want to do my homework well and before the deadline in order to be fully legal in Spain.

Best wishes,

Zurlita M.

@Zdravich Hi there - I'd be really grateful for a copy of your translators list, as just applying for NLV.  Many thanks. Carmen