UPDATE: THERE’S A HAPPY ENDING TO THIS, SO READ THIS POST AND UNLESS YOU WANT TO READ A LOT OF REPLIES ABOUT TAX, SKIP TO BOTTOM FOR HOW IT WAS RESOLVED 😊

I need some good ideas people, thinking caps on….

I’ve lived in Granada, Spain for 3 years, I’m English, I’m non-resident and have a extranjero number just in case it’s needed. I do webdesign freelance and am registered self-employed in the UK. My Canadian girlfriend is moving to be with me, we’re serious and got together in 2004, we’ve been aching to be together and finally her studies and work is over and it can happen. If we finally get to live together and then she has to leave because of bureaucracy on VISAs etc I will just deflate like a balloon!

So, brainstorming time… here’s what I have so far as possibilities, I’d LOVE to hear constructive thoughts on these or (and even better) more ideas:

1. Marry her and apply for an English passport for her (assuming she can live in Spain because an English passport covers the EU, doesn’t it?). Downside is I want to marry for the right reasons and not to have others assume it’s for a VISA.
2. Become autonomo in Spain, employ her as my housekeeper (because that is the lowest form of social security needed and I don’t have to prove she’s the best person for the job). Downside is she wants a “real job” and life here, of course. Also that she’d have to be back in Canada waiting for the VISA. She has two degrees and wants to do something with them!
3. Find a “real” job here and get the employer to get her a VISA, same downside of having to go back to Canada to wait for it - very unlikely, there’s not nearly enough jobs for Spanish in Granada, why would they employ outsiders?
4. Every 90 days get a plane to England or Morroco or somewhere outside the EU (the EU passport wise - I believe it’s fine going to England and returning to refresh another 90 days no-visa stay, does anyone know)? Then get her a job that’s pay under the table. Downside is the stress of it all and of course it won’t be a “real job”.

I think that’s all I can think of as possibilities.

I’ve seen so many unanswered questions in this forum, I really hope some of you can help - I’m 100% dedicated to making this work and just don’t know what to do. Many thanks for taking the time to read this and if you post, many more thanks for caring!

Tobz

You may want to be careful as I`m no expert but if you as an EU resident spend more than 90 days in an EU country your legally required to register and pay tax, your automatically a resident in Spain if you stay more than 90 days a year.Although many don`t register or bother, but come unstuck once the UK tax man realises had phones Juan.

If you haven`t looked into it and covered your back you may well open up a bit of trouble tax wise yourself.

If you`ve been living in Spain for 3 years you may well owe some cash to Spain as well as UK.

Santi - not quite true - you are not automatically a TAX resident after 90 days - it is after 183 days (ie 6 months) that you should organise your tax affairs and declare in your new country. But there also exceptions to this as well.

What would be the exceptions?

I “mostly” work here in Spain, but I’m back in the UK for meetings, my clients are 90% English, paying in Sterling - it seems silly to “go Spanish”. Right now I simply give my Spanish clients paying in Euro my UTR (unique tax reference) that the HM revenue and customs provided me so their accounts can process the invoices, as self-employed I’m not complicated with VAT, IVA is non-applicable, the Spanish clients may have to pay this to the Spanish government but I am in no way involved with that. As far as I can tell, I’m not doing anything illegal or wrong.

I’m interested to hear thoughts, especially fact-based ones 😉

Thanks, Tobz

I added this because there are always some! ie Those of government pension who can only pay tax in the UK. Take professional advice if in doubt.

I thought the 182 day rule was from the UK tax authorities not the Spanish ones.

As i say i`m no expert my Gestor sorts out my stuff.

But anybody who spends more than 90 days in any EU country becomes a resident.

No I think the tax rule is more widespread than that and I am not sure that the 90 day residency rune applies everywhere.

ROBI - 01 July 2008 11:56 AM

No I think the tax rule is more widespread than that and I am not sure that the 90 day residency rune applies everywhere.

I know the 90 day rule as my Gestor informed me, never asked about the 182 though, probably because it dosn`t apply to me.I`ve only every noticed it on the UK HM Customs & robbers site. 😝

It seems an age since I made my original post but though I would do an update on everything for those still stumbling across this thread:

Here’s what happened
- We overstayed her 3 month grace by nearly a year without leaving, she worked here and there for cash.
- We went to Gibraltar and married under UK law in their quaint registry office and had a great honeymoon in Estepona.
- We needed passports, birth certificates and my wife needed a signed doc from the Canadian Embassy (Malaga) declaring she was unmarried.
- We approached border control at La L?nea in our wedding finery and smiled and asked politely in Spanish for an entry stamp as we were just married and must have one for our paperwork. They did as we asked fortunately.
- We had the wedding certificates sent, then translated officially to Spanish.
- We went to our local police station and applied for “residencia de familiar de cuidadano de la uni?n” (Family reunion visa of 5 years).
- I already had an NIE (numero de extranjero), however, I needed empadronamiento too (registering where I lived with the local census office), which is a certificate saying where I live.
- My wife was issued with an extranjero number to start
- We went back to the local census office and got her an empadronamiento cetrtificate too for our address.
- We then submitted EVERYTHING for the family reunion visa. I recommend you photocopy everything twice and take everything: Photos, Passport, Padr?n certificate, NIE, copy of wedding certificate in english and spanish AND take photocopies of all these, originals just need to be seen, copies are kept.
- We then waited around 1.5 months and voila… 1 extranjero residency card for my wife to live here and work here for 5 years til next renewal.

We’ve been married for nearly a year now (happily) so it’s nice to post a reply that shows other people it’s not impossible and it can happen!

P.S. It’s funny looking at this thread as all I was asking for help on was legalities of being with my Canadian partner yet it was hijacked as a thread about bloomin’ tax! The update on this is that I am still UK sole trader paying tax to the UK, after 2.5 years. I have what is called an E101, permission to work abroad from the HMRC, I don’t pay some ridiculous social security fee every month, I just pay a few quid on national insurance and the tax owing on my earnings - very simple 😊

Hi Tobz! This is really great stuff! Sorry that your thread got hijacked, but that was quite a while ago. Can you suggest that you re-port your above note, with a suitable title, so thte work permits/visas category of the forum again? It’s just that I know your post is going to be very helpful, so I’d like to highlight it and refer to it the information in it easily over the next few months.

Congrats on your marriage and the residence stufff. That’s really awesome!

Hey don’t we all love a happy ending.

Feeling guilty I was a (thread) high-jacker. I will try and keep these tendencies under control in the future.