# Spanish vs EU Permanent Residence



## kingkongx (Oct 25, 2015)

Greetings to all who read this post!

I have now completed 5 years of residency in Spain.
I am now eligible to apply for both Spanish and EU Permanent Residency. However, I have been unable to find any information on google comparing advantages & disadvantages of both options.

I am leaning towards applying for EU permanent residency. Is there disadvantage of this I should be aware of?
I plan to apply for Spanish citizenship after 5 years.

Thanks!!
Puneet


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## Phil Squares (Jan 13, 2017)

In reality, there is no difference.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

I'm not even sure what 'EU permanent residency' is supposed to mean, where are you being offered such a choice?

5 years legal residency in Spain entitles you to permanent residence in Spain, it does not bestow that priviledge in any other country or in the EU as a whole.


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## Phil Squares (Jan 13, 2017)

Actually, it does, as long as you comply with the rules of the gaining EU country. I am not sure if there is a formal EU permanent resident card, but the acquisition of Spanish permanent residence allows you the right of free movement.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

The point I'm trying to make is that term 'EU permanent residency' suggests there is some sort of alternative residency card which permits it holder to switch their residence to another country without going through the due processes and would appear to be what's prompted the OP to ask about the relative advantages and disadvantages.

I have no knowledge of any such card which is why I asked the OP what or where they were being asked to make a choice, sight of that should enable us to clear up the confusion.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

kingkongx said:


> Greetings to all who read this post!
> 
> I have now completed 5 years of residency in Spain.
> I am now eligible to apply for both Spanish and EU Permanent Residency. However, I have been unable to find any information on google comparing advantages & disadvantages of both options.
> ...


Like the others, I wasn't aware that there was an 'EU resident' option - just being a resident of whichever EU country you live in. 

Please come back & let us know where you've heard of this & who is asking you to make that choice.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Under Council Directive 2003/109/EC, a third-country national who is a long-term resident of a member state can exercise limited freedom of movement in other EU states, so for example, a US citizen with permanent resident status in France can move to Spain to exercise similar rights there. UK, Ireland and Denmark had opt-outs so didn't implement the directive. The question is what will be the status of UK nationals who have or will obtain permanent resident status under the withdrawal agreement in Spain when they wish to move to France, Germany, Italy, Portugal etc? I don't think this question has been addressed yet and so it will be subject to further negotiation and agreement between UK and EU.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

xabiaxica said:


> Like the others, I wasn't aware that there was an 'EU resident' option - just being a resident of whichever EU country you live in.
> 
> Please come back & let us know where you've heard of this & who is asking you to make that choice.


The advantage of the EU long term residence is that is somewhat portable from one EU country to another.









Long-term residents


Directive on the status of non-EU nationals who are long-term residents sets the conditions under which non-EU nationals can obtain the status of long-term residents, which grant them a set of uniform rights, similar to those enjoyed by EU.




ec.europa.eu


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

ALKB said:


> The advantage of the EU long term residence is that is somewhat portable from one EU country to another.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



When I lived in the Czech Republic I applied for and received a Certificate of Residency entitling me to reside in the CR.
When I came to Spain I applied for and received a Certificate of Residency entitling me to reside in Spain.
There is no such thing as 'EU Residency'.
Each EU member state requires you to register if you wish to be resident.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> When I lived in the Czech Republic I applied for and received a Certificate of Residency entitling me to reside in the CR.
> When I came to Spain I applied for and received a Certificate of Residency entitling me to reside in Spain.
> There is no such thing as 'EU Residency'.
> Each EU member state requires you to register if you wish to be resident.


Yes, except that under the Lisbon Treaty, unless opted out, permanent resident in one member state can transfer it when moving to another. So you should have received permanencia when you moved to Spain if you had lived in Czech Republic 5+ years.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

What the OP seems to be confused about is the possiblity of a transfer of his newly acquired pemanent residence in Spain to another member state and _not_ a choice between two different versions of residency.

To benefit from such a transfer the application must be made from the state of residence, you cannot just up sticks and move then claim a right of residency in a second member state.

It's probably not yet known whether WA beneficiaries, only made non EU citizens by Brexit fallout, would in fact qualify for such a transfer.

All told then interesting to know but complete red herring!


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## kingkongx (Oct 25, 2015)

xabiaxica said:


> Like the others, I wasn't aware that there was an 'EU resident' option - just being a resident of whichever EU country you live in.
> 
> Please come back & let us know where you've heard of this & who is asking you to make that choice.


I have added links to both permanent residency options below. From what I gather, with EU permanent residency it is easier to obtain work and residence permits in other EU countries

*Residencia de larga duración-UE*





PORTAL DE INMIGRACIÓN. Residencia de larga duración-UE


PORTAL DE INMIGRACIÓN - Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones: Ciudadanos no comunitarios. Información de interés




extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es





*Residencia de larga duración*





PORTAL DE INMIGRACIÓN. Residencia de larga duración


PORTAL DE INMIGRACIÓN - Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones: Ciudadanos no comunitarios. Información de interés




extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es





I am planning to apply for EU option as there doesn't seem to be any disadvantage.


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## incatalunya (Nov 16, 2020)

I haven´t a clue what the OP is talking about. Are you British?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

What OP is talking about is the difference between permanent residence under the EU rules for EU citizens and permanent residency under the Spanish national immigration law for non-EU citizens. As UK citizens will become third country nationals from 1st January, they can only obtain PR under the local law if they move to Spain from January. If they are beneficiaries of the withdrawal agreement, they will obtain modified PR, whose acceptance in other EU states hasn't yet been decided and is subject to further negotiation between UK and EU.


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## incatalunya (Nov 16, 2020)

That has all been decided. It´s just the Trade Deal they are talking about now.


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## incatalunya (Nov 16, 2020)

Macron can go and sling his hook in French waters...not British waters....


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

incatalunya said:


> Macron can go and sling his hook in French waters...not British waters....


Please use the 'Reply' option so that we know to whom you are replying!


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

incatalunya said:


> Macron can go and sling his hook in French waters...not British waters....


And I'm sure your Spanish neighbours wished you would sling your hook back to British waters too!!


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## incatalunya (Nov 16, 2020)

Does it give you a superiority feeling to be so obnoxious?


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

incatalunya said:


> Does it give you a superiority feeling to be so obnoxious?



I take that is what Macron said to you?


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## incatalunya (Nov 16, 2020)

I see you are looking for free university tuition in Scotland for your son. You want the best of both worlds do you?
The word Hypocrite springs to mind.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

incatalunya said:


> I see you are looking for free university tuition in Scotland for your son. You want the best of both worlds do you?
> The word Hypocrite springs to mind.



Not sure how returning to Scotland makes me a hypocrite.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

Now that playtime is over Joppa has nailed the question.

The page on *Residencia de larga duración-UE* mentions council directive 2003/109 which is what the rights of residence in the Withdrawal Agreement are based on, the page on *Residencia de larga duración *makes no mention of it only to Spanish law and decree.

In practice this means that a WA TIE is by default a *Residencia de larga duración-UE *

I'm still curious to know where the OP is being offered the option or what gave rise to the question, it's also perhaps important to note that both pages are dated Jan 2016, before any notion of Brexit and possibly putting a question mark over both.


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## expat16 (Jun 11, 2016)

I had the same 'choice' when I acquired permanent residence in NL. The way NL does it is that if you qualify for the EU permanent residence (long term residence per directive 2003/109) they will give you that one. I think this is because the EU one gives you more rights.

Without the EU permanent residence I would not have been able to settle in Spain (I'm from outside the EU). With this residence I was able to apply directly (and obtained) permanent Spanish residence when I settled here.

So, like someone mentioned above it is a type of portable EU-wide residence (with some countries excepted like Denmark and Ireland, and formerly when it was part of the EU the UK had also taken exception from the scheme) which makes it easy for the third country national to settle in a different EU country from the one where the residence was originally established.

This, in my case, meant that to settle in Spain (and get permanent Spain residence once my application was approved) all I needed to show was sufficient funds for one year (in the form of a job offer or bank account). This means that your employer gets to skip the test where they have to show that no local can do your job - this made it impossible for me in the past to settle in Spain. I had in the past received an offer from a Spanish company but the immigration office was not satisfied that no local could do my job, hence I did not get a visa on that occasion.

So, basically, your application to settle as a resident in the second EU country is granted as a matter of right, as long as you have the funds or the job offer.

Each of the countries that participates in the scheme has their own requirements about what conditions must be met by the EU permanent residence holder, but in my research most are basically the same as the Spanish route (you will see the particular option in Modelo 11 - where it says Tarjeta EU larga residencia to residencia nacional España larga duración).

So, in sum, it does give you more rights, and it is ideal for people who are not happy in the country where they have obtained the original European residence. That was my case as it was easy for me to get a job and visa in The Netherlands, but my dream was always to settle in Spain. As soon as I obtained my EU permanent residence I started the process of immigrating to Spain.


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## expat16 (Jun 11, 2016)

MataMata said:


> Now that playtime is over Joppa has nailed the question.
> 
> The page on *Residencia de larga duración-UE* mentions council directive 2003/109 which is what the rights of residence in the Withdrawal Agreement are based on, the page on *Residencia de larga duración *makes no mention of it only to Spanish law and decree.
> 
> ...


That makes sense because at least in my experience and all the research I did when I had to apply, there is really no reason why a person would qualify for the lesser one (the national, more restrictive one) and not the other. As I mentioned in my previous post, in NL by default they will give you the EU one.

When I got my card (and status) it said EU larga duración-NL - so (at least in NL) it mentions the specific country where you got it.

ETA: To answer your question about where the choice is given: I'm assuming s/he is filling out the application form for residence in Spain, which, if it is the same one I used (Modelo 11 or something like that) it has like 10 different options - and you simply check the box for the trámite that you want.

I imagine their lawyer let them know they had a choice between those two options. Here is a screenshot of all the options in the Modelo 11 de extranjería.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

It would seem then that the OP is not an EU national and if so it might have been helpful to have mentioned it!


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## kingkongx (Oct 25, 2015)

expat16 said:


> That makes sense because at least in my experience and all the research I did when I had to apply, there is really no reason why a person would qualify for the lesser one (the national, more restrictive one) and not the other. As I mentioned in my previous post, in NL by default they will give you the EU one.
> 
> When I got my card (and status) it said EU larga duración-NL - so (at least in NL) it mentions the specific country where you got it.
> 
> ...


Yes, you have summarized it succinctly. 
My lawyer has suggested the EU permanent residency option..


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