How Much for a Visa?

Q.- Readers have received varying information from Spanish consulates in Manchester, London and Edinburgh about how much income they need to apply for a Spanish residence permit now that the UK is out of the EU.

A.- All of the consulates, however, agree on one thing.  They insist that a visa applicant appear in person at the consulate and that each application will be individually judged on its merits.

Some people have regular pension income and others may have no regular income at all but hold capital assets or own property in Spain.

Here is my recommendation: Do what they say.  Contact your nearest consulate and make an appointment. Take the documents that justify your income or assets and they will tell you.

Unless you have a job you will apply for a one-year permit, which you can then renew for a longer period.  You must show you can support yourself for one year.

I offered last month my own rough estimates of about €13,000 a year, which is the Spanish minimum wage, and about €22,000 for a lump sum. This will need to be deposited in a Spanish bank account. These amounts can vary and can be substantially less.

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana and Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090