# Want to move to Spain with my wife and two children



## ostrich101 (Jul 28, 2014)

Hi all, 
I am new to the site and I am looking for some information and some answers to my questions.

For a few years I have wanted to move abroad. After a couple weeks holiday in Spain my wife has decided that it would be a great idea for us to move as it would be a better way of life for us all.

My worries are that when we move over I need to make sure that we have healthcare if needed and also that our children can get in to a school and that it doesnt cost anything for their education other than the usual bits like uniform and books etc.

Another reason for moving is that when I was younger I got into a bit of trouble and would love it it I could start a fresh life without being found by anyone. Is it possible to get residency at one adress in spain then move without telling anyone and just find a house to rent where i can pay cash for the rent and it includes bills.
I dont mind getting a house for six months to get residency and then moving to another house.

The main thing is that my children can get into a school and that we have some sort of health care.

Please dont ask questions about my past. I am not a criminal and I have no debt whatsoever and anyone with a twisted mind I am not a nonse.

I need to know what I need to do to move over there. Is it just a case of jumping on a plane and going. How do I get residency in spain. How do I enroll my kids at a school. How do I set up healthcare. Do I need to do anything with my driving licence to drive in spain when I eventually buy a car over there.
I really have no idea where to start. I dont speak much spanish so my wife and I have booked evening classes so we have some more knowledge of the language before we go.
My aim is to be on our way by april next year.

Please help!!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

ostrich101 said:


> Hi all,
> I am new to the site and I am looking for some information and some answers to my questions.
> 
> For a few years I have wanted to move abroad. After a couple weeks holiday in Spain my wife has decided that it would be a great idea for us to move as it would be a better way of life for us all.
> ...


:welcome:

you'll find the answers to your questions in http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...-living-spain/2725-faqs-lots-useful-info.html

I don't understand the point about registering as resident & then moving..... when you move you have to re-register on the padrón at the very least ( & you have to be on the padrón to get the kids into school) .... so everyone would still know where you are - you sound as if you're planning to hide from something.....

when you register as resident with the National Police, you will have to prove that you have sufficient income to support your family (about 650€ per month per person is the usual requirement - into a Spanish bank account) & that you have healthcare provision

you will be issued with NIE numbers - & again, you are traceable through that number

if you have contracted work or are registered as self-employed here in Spain, you will have access to state healthcare - if not you'll need private health insurance


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

ostrich101 said:


> Hi all,
> I am new to the site and I am looking for some information and some answers to my questions.
> 
> For a few years I have wanted to move abroad. After a couple weeks holiday in Spain my wife has decided that it would be a great idea for us to move as it would be a better way of life for us all.
> ...


There are numerous forums, websites. Information sites.
Just google moving to Spain, or forums for people moving to Spain, a Spanish driving licence etc, and you will be overwhelmed with information.
Spend lots of time looking through them.
Contact DWP about health, benefits etc.
You won't be able to claim child benefit as you do in UK
Healthcare, schooling and taxes will be your main concerns
Make sure you can meet the criteria for residency, 600 per person per month, and 6000 euros in the bank.
Plus you will need to have enough money to last you for at least a year.
You will need private health over for one year, then you can pay into the Spanish NHS, 60 euros per person per month .
School expenses can be quite high, even in a state school.
How will you live here, will you look for work?You will find it hard to get any work unless you provide a service, not currently provided.
If only it were as easy as jumping on a plane and going!
It is a very major life change, not to be undertaken lightly, especially with children of school age , as it can have a very disruptive effect on their education.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Having a criminal record doesn't affect whether you are eligible to become a resident in Spain. It's not like the USA! All they are concerned about is that you have enough income to live on.

It probably is possible to live entirely with cash, a lot of elderly Spanish people don't have bank accounts.

But as others have said, you need to be registered with the local council to get your kids into schools, and to get medical care. You can't be "invisible".


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## castaway06 (Jul 25, 2014)

As Alcalaina said its impossible to be invisible in Spain as soon as you need to engage with any state provided service, the NIE number links back to everything.

That said the UK and Spanish systems are not very well connected and generally don't interact unless you start moving moderate sized sums of money around (5000 euros I think), or tell them information about your identity in the other country. You are not required to to fill in the residency stuff here if you are from an EU country.

It depends why you want to be invisible. A competent private detective that knows you are in spain will find you quickly, likewise the boys in dark suits from the government. Apart from them or unless you owe huge sums of money, with a little planning its quite feasible to live "under the radar".

The whole Costa Del Crime thing is old hat. It used to be all the Mr Bad's lived out in villas in the sunshine because bizarrely there wasn't an extradition treaty with the UK. There is now so I guess they've moved on somewhere else.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

castaway06 said:


> As Alcalaina said its impossible to be invisible in Spain as soon as you need to engage with any state provided service, the NIE number links back to everything.
> 
> That said the UK and Spanish systems are not very well connected and generally don't interact unless you start moving moderate sized sums of money around (5000 euros I think), or tell them information about your identity in the other country. You are not required to to fill in the residency stuff here if you are from an EU country.
> 
> It depends why you want to be invisible. A competent private detective that knows you are in spain will find you quickly, likewise the boys in dark suits from the government. Apart from them or unless you owe huge sums of money, with a little planning its quite feasible to live "under the radar"


But not to be recommended!
The OP has intrigued us about his past. If it 's not a serious crime why is he so worried about people knowing where he lives? Why even mention it on this forum?
As for the residency "stuff" a certain amount of personal info IS required when applying for residency, plus the OP should inform HMRC and DWP if he is moving here, as misleading these organisations as to where you live is considered fraudulent


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## castaway06 (Jul 25, 2014)

Yes, vey intriguing 

Yes lying to HMRC and DWP would be a bad thing, but you don't need to tell them where you've gone, only that you've left the country, and it depends on what income/assets etc you leave in the UK. If you aren't due a refund or owe back tax then all they do is close/suspend your files. Form P85 boxes 15 are 16 are the relevant ones and you could put "Spain" in 15 and write "Not yet known" in 16. Which would be factually correct.

The wrinkle will come at pension time when, if you want your full entitlement, you have to join the two systems together to make up the number of years required.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

castaway06 said:


> Yes, vey intriguing
> 
> Yes lying to HMRC and DWP would be a bad thing, but you don't need to tell them where you've gone, only that you've left the country, and it depends on what income/assets etc you leave in the UK. If you aren't due a refund or owe back tax then all they do is close/suspend your files. Form P85 boxes 15 are 16 are the relevant ones and you could put "Spain" in 15 and write "Not yet known" in 16. Which would be factually correct.
> 
> The wrinkle will come at pension time when, if you want your full entitlement, you have to join the two systems together to make up the number of years required.


People who want to operate under the radar, paying cash for everything, always do seem to want their full entitlement (including education for their children, and healthcare for themselves and their families, not to mention emergency services when they need them and roads to drive on) without contributing to them, don't they? Funny that.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

ostrich101 said:


> Hi all,
> I am new to the site and I am looking for some information and some answers to my questions.
> 
> For a few years I have wanted to move abroad. After a couple weeks holiday in Spain my wife has decided that it would be a great idea for us to move as it would be a better way of life for us all.
> ...


Firstly, moving here to live after a couple of weeks holiday is, frankly, plain daft. I had visited Prague for over thirty years, several times a year. Nine years ago I went to live there. After three years I'd had enough and moved on to Spain. Living somewhere is nothing like a holiday.

No way is it a case of 'jumping on a plane'. Nether should it be. As you've been told, you need to prove you have sufficient assets and healthcare in place BEFORE you arrive. 

No way will your Spanish be good enough to get work after a few evening classes. In some parts of Spain unemployment is running at over 33%. Working 'on the black' is getting more and more difficult and I doubt you'd make enough working illegally to support a family.

I couldn't give a toss what you've done why you're in a hurry to get out of the UK. There are more real criminals and undesirable types in banks, boardrooms and Parliament these days. But I can tell you now that you will not be able to be invisible. Every flight you take is monitored by the UK DWP and information passed on where it's thought necessary. That I know because I have a friend who works for the DWP. They are currently actively pursuing benefit fraudsters in Spain.

Neither can you exist in a cash economy. You will need contracts for rent, electricity, gas, internet, phone....at some point you will have to show proof of a bank account.
In fact, you have to show income into a Spanish bank account before you can get residence here.

There are very close links between all kinds of agencies in the EU...police, tax, traffic authorities. You won't be able to buy a Spanish car without a NIE and you can't drive a UK -plated car here. It's illegal if you are resident.

If you really want to live under the radar for whatever reason, Spain is not the place for you. I suggest you try Bulgaria, Romania, even the Czech Republic as their procedures are less efficient than those of Spain, which has had a lot of experience in putting undesirables of all nationalities into the hands of their police forces.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

castaway06;4757434. said:


> That said the UK and Spanish systems are not very well connected and generally don't interact unless you start moving moderate sized sums of money around (5000 euros I think), or tell them information about your identity in the other country. You are not required to to fill in the residency stuff here if you are from an EU country.
> 
> .


Not true. All EU banks exchange full information on account holders these days.
My dil who has an executive post in a leading UK bank tells me that this has now extended to the US.

But I agree with the rest of your post.


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## castaway06 (Jul 25, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Not true. All EU banks exchange full information on account holders these days.
> My dil who has an executive post in a leading UK bank tells me that this has now extended to the US.
> 
> But I agree with the rest of your post.


Yes, as of last year when Spain and the UK signed a financial information treaty the banks do exchange account information. However unless a specific request is made there are "threshold" limits under which they don't bother. This is simply because there are too many transactions going on and to monitor them all would eat up too many resources for too little gain. So what they do is basically ignore stuff below a certain level, and I'm fairly sure that the 5000 euro point for an international transfer was where the Spanish bank had to notify the tax authorities. 

The cash transaction limit in Spain is 2500 euros which is also the point where if you paid in more than that into your bank in cash they would tell the authorities.

As an aside many years ago I used to know the manager of my local UK bank (both manager and bank now dead!), and he told me that when they were processing paid in cheques in branch they didn't bother to check signatures on cheques for anything under 1000 pounds for the same reason. 

My point was not that they don't talk, but that it was possible not to arose their interest in you.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Spain is probably the first place people assume someone has gone to if they go missing abroad.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

castaway06 said:


> Yes, as of last year when Spain and the UK signed a financial information treaty the banks do exchange account information. However unless a specific request is made there are "threshold" limits under which they don't bother. This is simply because there are too many transactions going on and to monitor them all would eat up too many resources for too little gain. So what they do is basically ignore stuff below a certain level, and I'm fairly sure that the 5000 euro point for an international transfer was where the Spanish bank had to notify the tax authorities.
> 
> The cash transaction limit in Spain is 2500 euros which is also the point where if you paid in more than that into your bank in cash they would tell the authorities.
> 
> ...


The automatic exchange of information between EU countries which will come into force next year goes well beyond reporting transactions over a certain limit, and all financial institutions will be required to provide this information whether an individual is suspected of tax evasion or not:-


The End Of Financial Privacy


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Having a criminal record doesn't affect whether you are eligible to become a resident in Spain. It's not like the USA!


Just to clarify: You are referring to EU citizens. For the rest of us, Spain requires police records going back 5 years.

As far as I know, the U.S. only asks you to tick a box swearing that you are not a convicted felon.


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## martinwells (Jul 29, 2014)

Not long ago the British Embassy in Madrid issued this notice regarding healthcare for British. Hope this helps!

A campaign to explain how British citizens in Spain should use UK-issued European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) has been launched by the UK Department of Health and the Valencia Health Authority.

The EHIC Campaign aims to greatly raise awareness among British citizens and Spanish healthcare staff in the Valencia Autonomous Community over the next 15 months. The innovative partnership between a UK government department and a Spanish regional authority has been recognised by the European Union, which is funding the campaign.

Launching the campaign in Alicante, David Pennington, Head of the Department of Health’s International Healthcare team, said:

“Many British citizens living in Spain are confused about how to access state healthcare and many use their EHIC cards when they should be accessing healthcare in another way. This campaign explains who can use a UK-issued EHIC and what it’s for. It also tells people about other ways to access state healthcare in Spain, depending on their circumstances.”

What you should know about the UK European Health Insurance Card

The UK European Health Insurance Card should only be used to access medically-necessary state treatment during the course of a temporary stay in Spain. It does not provide access to all state treatment but for those in Spain on a temporary stay, it is the correct way to access state healthcare.

However British citizens who live mainly in Spain should change the way they are registered, because for them the UK European Health Insurance Card is not the correct form of health cover. The new EHIC marketing and advertising campaign will explain how to do this.

The campaign will also explain to the administrative staff of the Valencia Health Authority how the UK covers its citizens in Spain and how the UK reimburses Spain for the cost of medical care provided to British citizens.

British citizens can find comprehensive information on the use of EHICs at . An extensive radio and newspaper advertising campaign will further promote the correct use of EHICs, and leaflets will be distributed through health centres and at public events.

There will be 18 public talks, starting in Denia on 27th February and in Orihuela Costa on 28th February. More details can be found on the website.

Some two million British tourists visit the Valencia region every year and there are an estimated 300,000 British residents in the region, some 40% of the total in Spain. Although the campaign is centered on Valencia, much of the information is relevant to British citizens across Spain.


healthcareinspain DOT eu


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