Who is elegible to apply for spanish nationality under the Grandchildren law?

1. Children and grandchildren of of Spanish mother, father or grandparent who are considered, under the Spanish regulation, originally Spanish.

 

2. The daughters and sons of Spaniards whose nationality of origin was recognised by virtue of the right of option in accordance with the Historical Memory Law (Seventh Additional Provision of Law 52/2007 of December 26) or of the present Democratic Memory Law.

 

3. Spaniards born outside of Spain to Spanish women who lost their Spanish nationality by marrying a foreign citizen before the entry into force of the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

Finally, this law has provisions for those who are already spanish nationals and would like to upgrade their nationality to a Spanish nationality for a of origin. If you have a Spanish birth certificate, it would be worth it to review the marginal notes about how you obtained your Spanish nationality to confirm if you are eligible.

Scornik Gerstein LLP has successfully assisted Spanish descendants in the process to reclaim their Spanish nationality under this law. If you would like to assess your circumstances, please contact us.

How long can I stay in Spain with the DNV?

DNV holders can stay in Spain for up to 5 years.

Does the DNV include family members?

Yes, foreign nationals who benefit from the DNV, can bring to Spain their spouse and children under 18 and over 18 provided that the applicant is able to show that they are still financially dependent on the applicant (for example, the children are in their university studies or suffer from any mental or physical incapacity that prevent them from making a living for themselves).

Where should Digital Nomads pay their taxes?

Digital nomads can pay their taxes either as Spanish tax residents or as a non-Spanish tax residents (under the so called Beckham Law). The “Beckham Law” consists of an optional special tax regime that enables foreigners who move to Spain to pay their income tax as non-Spanish residents, despite becoming de facto tax residents.

Spanish tax residents pay taxes at a progressive tax rate from 19% to 47% depending on the amount of their worldwide income. In addition, depending or their place of residence, they are liable for the Wealth Tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) or the new tax of the Great Fortunes (Impuesto de las grandes fortunas) whereby by a flat 1,7% is applied to their worldwide assets worth betwen 3 and 5.3 millions of euros; 2,1% to assets valued between 5,3 and 10,6 millions of euro, and of 3,5% to assets valued in excess of 10,6 millions of euro.

In contrast, Spanish non-tax residents - and therefore those within the scope of the Beckham Law - will pay taxes at a flat rate of 24% of their employment or professional gains made up 600,000 Euros and of 45% for any amount above. Any other income not raised within Spain will be outside the taxable scope. In addition, they will not be liable for the Wealth or Great Fortune Tax on their assets located outside Spain.

It should be noted that if the taxpayer is under this special tax regime, double taxation agreements will not apply. Therefore, to consider which system (resident or non-resident) benefits the most, it is necessary to assess the circumstances of each case.

If you want to be updated about this topic, send an email to london@scornik.com and you will receive the latest news.

Written by Laura Gallego Herráez.

Read more about Immigration.

The new Digital Nomad Visa, will however allow them to work under the following conditions:

• Be Non-European Economic Area (EEA) citizens.
• Be able to show that his professional services or work is suitable to be carried out remotely.
• If employed, only by a non-Spanish resident company for at least the last 3 months and which has been trading for more than 1 year.
• If self-employed, be able to show that has been providing their services for at least the last 3 months, to non-Spanish clients and up to a maximum of 20% of his activity to Spanish resident clients.
• Have a University or professional or business training degree or more than 3 years of professional experience.

The Spanish Start-up Law visa will last for a year or 2 years if the applicant is already residing in Spain and can be renewed if the above conditions are maintained.

When will be possible to apply for the new Spanish Digital Nomad Visa?

On the 10th of December 2021, the Spanish Government submitted for debate and approval to the Spanish Parliament a draft of the Start-Up bill and with it, a new employment visa category, the “Digital Nomad” visa category. Although it was expected to be aproved by the end of the year 2021 / beginning of 2022, it was firstly delayed to summer 2022 and, as of writing this, has been delayed again to September 2022.

If you want to be updated about this topic, send an email to london@scornik.com and you will receive the latest news.

Written by Laura Gallego Herráez.

Read more about Immigration Law.

The persons in charge of conducting the interview will inform the applicant on how to make the application, and will help the applicant to complete it, providing the applicant with the basic information related to it. Likewise, they will collaborate with the applicant to establish the relevant facts of the request.

The filing of the application for international protection will be communicated to UNHCR, which may be informed of the status of the file, be present at the hearings with the applicant and submit reports for inclusion in the file. For this purpose, they will have contact with the applicants, including those who are in border offices or in detention centers for foreigners or prisons.

Rights and Obligations of The Applicant

The applicant for international protection, once has submitted the application, has the following rights:

• To stay in Spain until the request is resolved, unless a claim from another country of the European Union or from an International Criminal Court is made;
• To be documented as an applicant for international protection;
• To legal assistance, free of charge if necessary;
• To the assistance of an interpreter in a language that is understandable to the applicant;
• To forward the request to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Spain;
• To the suspension of any process of return, expulsion or extradition that could affect the applicant;
• To know the content of the file at any time;
• To health care in case of need and to receive health benefits;
• To receive specific social benefits.

Applicant’s duties:

• To cooperate with the Spanish authorities in the procedure;
• To submit, as soon as possible, all those circumstances that, together with the applicant’s own declaration, contribute to substantiate the request. Among others, the applicant may produce the documentation that the applicant may have at hand about age, past - including that of related relatives -, identity, nationality or nationalities, places of previous residence, previous international protection applications, travel itineraries, travel documents and reasons for those who request protection;
• To provide fingerprints;
• To allow to be photographed;
• To allow his statements to be recorded provided this has been previously informed to the applicant;
• To inform about the applicant's address in Spain and any change of the said address;
• To inform the competent authority or appear before it, when so required in relation to any circumstance of the request.

Effects of The Submission of The Application

Once the international protection has been requested, the foreign person may not be subject to return or expulsion until the request is resolved or it is not admitted.

The request for protection will give rise to the beginning of the calculation of the periods foreseen for it’s processing.

The applicant may be entitled to receive benefits if he/she qualifies.

Read more about Immigration Law.

What about UK nationals and their families who arrive in Spain during the transition period?

In this case, the rights of UK nationals and their families will be derived from the application of EU law with the exception of the right to vote and stand in elections to the European Parliament and the exercise of the EU Citizen Initiative.

UK nationals arriving in Spain will have to request a certificate of registration, or green certificate, and their relatives will have to request a card of a relative of an EU citizen to the Offices of Foreign Affairs and Police Stations.

Since they will also be able to benefit from the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Spanish government and the European Commission are currently working to introduce a Foreign Identity Card that explicitly states that the holder is a beneficiary of the agreement. This will facilitate administrative procedures as well as any crossing of the external European Union border.

For now, having a registration certificate guarantees UK nationals and their families’ rights as residents in Spain.

What will be the situation of UK nationals and their families living in Spain once the transition period ends?

The Withdrawal Agreement stipulates that once the transition period ends, UK nationals and their families will maintain their rights of residence, work, study and Social Security. That means that they can continue to work in Spain without any additional permit.

Registration certificates of UK nationals and ID cards of family members obtained before the end of the transition period will serve to prove their legal residence in Spain.

Additionally, once the issuance of a Foreign Identity Card is available, UK nationals and their family members will also have to request this card.

For now, having a certificate of registration guarantees UK nationals and their families’ rights as residents in Spain.

What about British citizens and their families who begin their legal residence in Spain after the transition period?

The rights of British citizens who decide to begin their legal residence in Spain after the transition period as well as those of their family members, will be established by the agreement regulating future relations. If there is no such agreement, the general provisions governing foreign residents in Spain will apply.

Written by Lucía Fernández Yaipén

Read more about Immigration Law.

We will refer to the European Union as the 27 countries that constitute the political and economic union, plus Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland. So, if you are planning on travelling to the EU after the transition period is over you should check a few things beforehand.

The first thing that you should do is check when your passport expires, since on the day of your travel your passport must be less than 10 years old and have at least 6 months left till it expires. If your passport does not meet these requirements you will be not be able to travel to the EU. Therefore, you might have to renew your passport a process which usually takes around 3 weeks.

These rules do not apply if you are travelling to Ireland. You can continue to use your passport as long as it’s valid for the length of your stay.

The second thing worth checking is your travel insurance coverage since once the transition period is over the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) will no longer be valid and UK citizens will have to pay for their medical bills.

Another thing to check is your driving documents since you might need and international driving permit to drive in some countries. If you are travelling with your own vehicle, you might also need a ‘green card’ or valid proof of insurance and a GB sticker.

When travelling with pets you should start organising and contacting your vet at least 4 months before starting your journey, as from the 1st of January of 2021 the existing pet passport scheme will suffer modifications.

Additionally, it might be important to find out the roaming charges, if any, of your phone operator. As from the 1st of January of 2021 the guaranteed free mobile phone roaming throughout the EU will end.

Lastly, when travelling to the EU as a tourist you will not need a visa. You will be able to stay for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. However, you might need a visa or permit to stay longer, to work or study, of for business travel. You may also be required to show, at border control your return or onward ticket and demonstrate you have enough money for your stay.

These are the main things that should be checked before travelling to the EU. However, these may change as the final negotiations between the UK and the EU take place.

Written by Sara Caselles Gayà.

Read more about Immigration Law.

Nowadays, the member countries of European Economic Area (EEA) - made up of twenty-seven countries of EU, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - have benefited from the Immigration Regulations 2016. This legislation have allowed European citizens and family members to reside in UK for a certain time (right of initial residency for three months) with the only requirement of having to prove through a valid national ID card or valid passport the belonging to any of the Member States.

Once this initial period of residence runs out, those who want to extend their right of residence in the UK is required to comply with one of the following situations; 1) Job seeking, 2) Working, 3) Self-employed, 4) Studying, or 5) Self-sufficient. According to one of these categories, the residency applicant will be officially named “qualified person”. This “qualified person” could then gain the right of permanent residency after five years of continuous stay. This right of residency grants an indefinite leave to remain in UK.

In order to fulfil this previous period of five years of continuous residency and so to satisfy the right of permanent residency, the applicant must not have been absent from the UK for more than six months in any twelve months period given. This means at least six months per each year of effective residence.

However, following the UK’s exit from the EU, this set of rights has been substituted by the so-called Settled Status. For this reason, in order to protect and safeguard the rights of European people to legally reside in the UK, the EU Settlement Scheme Applications has been set up. It applies to EU citizens from European Economic Area and their family members. This EU Settlement Scheme Applications, which assembles the Settled Status, must be requested by all EU citizens and their family members living in UK who wish to remain working and living in the UK after 31 December 2020. Despite of this regulation, Irish citizens maintain a specific regime and do not need to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme.

Within the Settled Status, there are two fundamental classification categories that are closely linked to the legal situation above explained. First, EU citizens that have been residing for less than five years in the UK will obtain the Pre-settled status at the EU Settlement Scheme Applications. Meanwhile, secondly, those who can prove five years of effective residence in the UK will acquire the Settled status. The status obtained will exclusively depend on how long the applicant has been living in the UK since the time of applying. It is important to mention that civil rights will be different according to the status obtained.

At this point, it should be noted too that the application at the EU Settlement Scheme is voluntary. Moreover, an application is not strictly necessary once obtained the indefinite leave to remain. However, the UK authorities always recommend registering in order to avoid defencelessness, legal uncertainty or being unable to evidence their own residency or that of their family members.

In conclusion, it seems that the UK wants to maintain a certain priority of rights for EU citizens in comparison to other foreigners. Such is the reason for the voluntary EU Settlement Scheme. It grants some certainty to all EU citizens currently residing in the UK. Nevertheless, inversely, all EU citizens who enter the country from the 1st of January 2021, and who expect to remain, will have to accept the whole immigration limitations that British Government has laid down. There will then be no difference between being a EU citizen or not.

Written by Alfredo Serrano De Haro

Read more about Immigration Law.

There are plans of a transition period that will last 21 months, from the 29th of March 2019 to the 31st of December 2021, with the purpose of maintaining the rights of European immigrants during that time.

The British Government published the online procedure that European citizens living in the United Kingdom must follow during the transition period to qualify for the status of settled or pre-settled, depending on whether they have been living there more or less than five years.

Once granted, the applicant can continue living indefinitely and be treated as a British citizen in terms of health care, education, benefits and pensions.

The procedure will be fairly simple and fast and you just have to prove your identity, prove that you are a resident of the United Kingdom, confirm that you do not have serious criminal records and pay 65 pounds.

British diplomacy is trying to lay the foundations of an agreement with the other EU member states. All the proposals of the United Kingdom show the desire to maintain the instruments of cooperation within the EU as far as possible.

If there is no final agreement, the two-year transition period requested by London will not be possible, it will proceed according to the much more limited instruments of the conventions of the Europe Council and the Hague Conference, which means the Brexit and its consequences will advance considerably.

The worst consequences of a Brexit without agreement with the EU are without a doubt:

1. The free circulation of goods between the United Kingdom and the EU would end, since the companies that trade with Europe from the United Kingdom will have to carry out the same bureaucratic procedures that they now carry out with companies from outside the EU.
2. The increase in costs in the use of credit and debit cards in transactions between the United Kingdom and the EU.
3. It would affect the collection of salaries, loan and deposit services and insurance contracts since the United Kingdom would be left out of the EU's payment system.
4. The clients of banks established in the United Kingdom that reside outside the country will not be able to access financial services from those entities. This will happen both to individuals and companies of the European Economic Area and to those of British nationality residing abroad.

The situation is very complicated as the government of the United Kingdom and the European Union must chart a new course of separation and autonomy. We can only wait and hopefully the agreement will be the widest and most beneficial for both parties.

Written by Carmen García.

Read more about Immigration Law.