# Americans retiring to Spain - Correct Visas??



## Jypter Gypsy (May 24, 2020)

My husband and I live in the US (Seattle area) we are retiring from our jobs and want to expatriate to Europe for several years and live is many different cities. 

Our first stop is Barcelona for 6 months starting in Oct 2020. We have an apartment lined up, sufficient financial means and we have retiree medical coverage with our former employer.

I reached out to the Spanish Embassy in Seattle and he sent me to the San Francisco Embassy. I think a Residence Visa for Retirees is the right Visa for us but it sounds like we would have to fly to San Francisco for the in person interview. 

We were thinking of doing a Tourist Schengen Visa for 90 days starting Oct 1st and obtain our Long Term Visa while we are living in Barcelona. 

Any advice would be helpful for those that have done this process would be greatly appreciated? Are the two Visas we are planning to do a good plan? (Schengen Visa and then a Retiree Visa)

Thank you for your help


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

You can't apply for long-term visa in Spain. You have to get one in US first. And 3-month Schengen stay cannot be extended.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

As Joppa said, you can't apply for a residency visa from within Spain. You have to apply from your current place of residence before coming to Spain. And the 90 day Schengen visa is only for tourists and can't be extended. 

The visa you'll need to apply for is called a non-lucrative visa. Yes, you'll have to go in person to the consulate to apply.

Your time-line seems a little tight. You'll need to get an appointment, and then once they accept your application they have up to 90 days to get back to you. Keep in mind that the consulates might not be fully operational at the moment, as they all closed down for months due to Covid. So I think you'd need to be flexible. 

Once in Spain you'll have to apply for a residency card. Spanish bureaucracy is slow, and it could take you months to complete that process. At the moment I don't think the Barcelona Foreigner's Office is even open for new applications (due to Covid). So what I'm saying is that a plan to move on after 6 months in Barcelona might not work out. Again, you'd have to be flexible.

A thought about health insurance - be sure the policy you use has 100% coverage from the first moment, with no co-pay and no usage limit. There are specific Spanish policies available for foreigners applying for residency that give this coverage, and they're extremely cheap by American standards. 

Hope this helps! Good luck!


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## Ramalamadingdong (May 26, 2020)

Sadly you will learn that you will have to jump through any hoops immigration say. Jobs worth has 3 stripes and you have none. They are likely to want everything translated into Spanish and certified for a residence visa.


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## Jypter Gypsy (May 24, 2020)

Thanks everyone for the quick responses and the good advice. Sounds like we need to push our date our a bit and we going to start the process for a Non-Lucrative Residence Visa. Seems like the Non-Lucrative is a better choice than the retiree Visa.


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