Self employment Visa and the 100k
Posted: 19 July 2011 01:22 AM  
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Hi everyone,

I am doing research on moving to Spain well in advance, by a year! My husband is self employed (with no other employees) via the internet in the States right now and earns over $3000USD a month.

Neither of us has a visa right now. My grandmother is a UK citizen, but I don’t think I can get citizenship through her, from what I have researched. I believe the self employment visa is what we will apply for, only I am worried about the $100k in savings part.

If my husband can prove that he makes $3000+/mo of foreign income (via internet sales) is that enough? Is the 100k only for those investing in a company, or needed for all self employed people applying for that visa?

Any information on the self employment visa, and how it differs if the business is taken care of online with no employees would be helpful!

Thanks so much,

E

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Posted: 19 July 2011 01:53 AM   [ # 1 ]  
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Requirements: ***for USA Citizenship Only **** via a Spanish embess in USA

1.- Schengen Visa application form, filled out in print and signed, and three photocopies.

2.- 4 recent original passport photographs. Staple one picture to each application form.

3.- Regular passport, or travel document, still valid for 6 more months, with at least one blank page to affix the visa.

ALL DOCUMENTS LISTED BELOW MUST BE SUBMITTED ORIGINALS AND 3 PHOTOCOPIES:

4.- Non-US Citizens: Alien Registration Card or notarized copy of it, or Residence Visa, or Reentry permit or other BCIS (Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services) document allowing return to the US.

5.- Official Work Authorization approved by pertinent Labor Authorities in Spain, or

a.- Declaration of specific type of activity or occupation to engage in;

b.- Proposal of a projected business to engage in, with market analysis and feasibility study showing sufficient investment;

c.- Diploma of education degree required for proposed activity, validated by Spanish Authorities;

d.- Bank statement from a bank in Spain showing a minimum balance of $100,000 or certificate by the Direction General of Foreign Transactions that applicant has investments in Spain for said amount, or Public Deeds showing investments in Spain for same amount, or a combination of all three for the same established amount.

6.- FBI Background Check notarized and legalized by the “Apostille of the Hague” (Local police background checks are no longer accepted as of June 15, 2010). If the applicant resided in a country other than the U.S., then you must present Certificate (s) by Police authorities of ALL PLACES where applicant resided during the more than six months during the last five years, as to absence of police record. If the country is not the U.S., the certificate must be legalized by the Spanish Consulate in that country. See example

7.- Medical Certificate: a doctor?s recent statement, on doctor’s or medical center’s letterhead, indicating that: “the applicant has been found to be free of any of the illnesses that may have serious public consequences, as described and established in the Intenational Health Regulations of 2005”.

8.- Valid health/accidental insurance with full international coverage with a minimum coverage of $37,000.

9.- Non-refundable visa processing fee

IF RESIDENCE VISAS WILL ALSO BE REQUESTED FOR THE FAMILY OF THE APPLICANT, THE APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AT THE SAME TIME. EACH FAMILY MEMBER MUST PRESENT ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS LISTED ABOVE, EXCEPT #5, AND:

FOR SPOUSE: Marriage Certificate. If the country is not the U.S., the certificate must be legalized by the Spanish Consulate in the country where the document was issued.

FOR CHILDREN: Birth Certificate. If the country is not the U.S., the certificate must be legalized by the Spanish Consulate in the country where the document was issued.

v PLEASE NOTE: Residency visas require special authorization from Spain; therefore, they take an unspecified period of time to be processed.

v     For applicants that do not have an official work authorization, all documents (except for the visa application) must be translated into Spanish.

v     Make sure marriage and birth certificates have the Hague Convention Apostille that can be obtained from the Secretary of State of your State.

v   All documents in English (except for the visa application) must be translated into Spanish.

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Posted: 19 July 2011 02:34 AM   [ # 2 ]  
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Thanks for the quick response. So I guess there is no way around that $100,000 than? I thought I saw an older post about it not being necessary. I will continue to look into other options for obtaining a visa.

thank you!

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Posted: 19 July 2011 02:48 AM   [ # 3 ]  
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if you ask at your spanish embassy , usa rules would be diffrent to out place around the world

the tow of you are self employed by who ? some one has to pay you so you getting a wage from where ? whos payying your taxes ?

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Posted: 19 July 2011 02:49 AM   [ # 4 ]  
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Well, if they’re self employed then it’s not considered a “wage.” It’s considered revenue, and that can be from many sources or from one (like Google Adsense).

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Posted: 19 July 2011 02:51 AM   [ # 5 ]  
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The $100k isn’t a hard rule. I’ve heard that people are getting it with a lot less than that too, (~50k) but the more, the better shot you’ll have of success. Since there are two of you, $50k is probably too low.

I suggest talking to an abogado. I always recommend http://www.strongabogados.com. They’re run by a US expat and his wife and they’ve got a lot of experience helping foreigners set up businesses in Spain, often with visa implications.

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Posted: 19 July 2011 02:57 AM   [ # 6 ]  
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Alright thanks. I am planning on talking to a lawyer as the date becomes closer. We are planning to move late summer or early fall of 2012. He designs websites for clients and also sells webdesign (templates) online. Pretty newly self employed, but sucessful already. The goal is to work toward only selling the templates, less client work and he can set his own deadlines.

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Posted: 19 July 2011 03:07 AM   [ # 7 ]  
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Does he sell Wordpress templates?

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Posted: 19 July 2011 06:55 AM   [ # 8 ]  
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Yup, he sells wordpress and another type too, I believe.

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Posted: 20 July 2011 01:07 AM   [ # 9 ]  
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What’s the other type?

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Posted: 20 July 2011 07:53 AM   [ # 10 ]  
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HTML email templates, I believe. Although, he
is focusing on Wordpress now, since they sell for more.

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