# Bank accounts for residency



## Timskywalker (Nov 22, 2020)

Hi, we are late to the residency application process but hope to have everything in place by the end of December. One of my questions is around whether you need to have a spanish bank account as part of your application? If so why and why wouldn't another international or UK bank/building society be proof of funds etc? Thanks in advance.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Timskywalker said:


> Hi, we are late to the residency application process but hope to have everything in place by the end of December. One of my questions is around whether you need to have a spanish bank account as part of your application? If so why and why wouldn't another international or UK bank/building society be proof of funds etc? Thanks in advance.


When we first did our residency application (7 years ago) the alicante area authorities insisted we had a Spanish bank account with regular monthly income payments being made which were enough to support ourselves and not become a burden on the state. I understand that is still the case in the Alicante area. 

Some authorities want to see your income and regular payments being made to utility companies through a Spanish bank account, for the previous three months, to prove that you actually live in Spain before its acceptable for a residency application. 

Perhaps another poster will give a different opinion but that was my experience. 

Steve


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

tebo53 said:


> Some authorities want to see your income and regular payments being made to utility companies through a Spanish bank account, for the previous three months, to prove that you actually live in Spain before its acceptable for a residency application.


Yes normally they do insist on it. It isn't legal as any account under EU Single European Payment Area ( SEPA) scheme is acceptable.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

In Malaga Province, foreign bank account with translated statement will be acceptable (6 months), or pensions statement with translation.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

As said, a bank statement from anywhere is supposed to be acceptable - but it must be officially translated by an official translator. 


It's certainly easier with a Spanish bank account, & I imagine that some offices/funcionarios insist upon it working on the premise that if you actually live here you need a local bank account!


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

With applications now being handled at central offices as opposed to regional police stations the only valid answers to your question surely have to be from those who have successfully applied for their TIEs at those.

Anything else is historical or speculative.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

We put our application in for residency last week.
This is a first application not someone who has been here and just wants the TIE. This is now done online only for the first part. Once approved the next appointment in face to face but can take up to 10 weeks.
All of your documents have to be scanned in including EVERY page of your passport.

In Alicante. Three months bank statements stamped and signed and a letter stating how long you have had the account.
The statements HAVE to show day to day living, not just water, SUMA, electric. But from supermarkets, fuel for the car etc..

No Uk ones no digital ones, our solicitor said that these have been refused and they wont entertain them.
I provided my pension statement and the money in the Premium Bonds and they were removed by the application department in Alicante.

Other parts of Spain have different requirements.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Barriej said:


> The statements HAVE to show day to day living, not just water, SUMA, electric. But from supermarkets, fuel for the car etc..


No they don't they are making it up. All that has to be shown is a bank account with regular income OR a lump sum equal to the amount of a non -contributory spanish pension, which isn't much over 5000 euros.
Once it has been shown for 1 person the money can even be moved & used for a partner.
You won't find a gestoria telling you this or even willing to argue the point as it is there living & they have a vested interest in not being black balled. Anyone doing it themselves & proficient in spanish can argue the point /ask for the complaint forms.

I've had a spanish bank account for nearly 20 years but over the last few years I have rarely used it except for the standing orders/direct debits . The charges have continually increased to the point that it was the equivalent of 3 months s/o's & dd's just in charges. I used my Revolut account to pay for everything day to day.
I changed the ten or twelve dd's & s/o's over the last 10 days to Revolut bank now that the Licence is EU again & not GB. Only one slight problem with one water account but they found out that there are more than spanish IBAN's & modified there system to accept other EU accounts.


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## Phil Squares (Jan 13, 2017)

Just a quick input but first a disclaimer. There is a wide variance concerning what each area wants in terms of paperwork for residency. So, what works in one area might/might not work in another. 

We went through the residency process almost 5 years ago. We used a solicitor in Madrid. We used a UK bank and a US bank to show income. Had three months of statements and the corresponding Spanish translation. Perfectly acceptable!


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## rtho100 (Oct 21, 2009)

Hi,

I applied for my residency using a lawyer in August, went to the interview in September and just got it approved on paper. I still have to do the biometrics and then pick my card.

I applied in the Balearics as I have an apartment there that I have registered as my main residence. This I had to do prior to applying for the residency. I used a lawyer and I had to show funds of at least €6,500 with 3 months of bank statements stamped by the bank and I had to provide proof of full medical insurance (no copay) and upto date payments also stamped by the bank for that private Spanish medical insurance. I had to go into my local Spanish branch for these documents. I got a Spanish bank account as part of my mortgage as well as private health insurance and must add that I already had an NIE (also established as part of purchasing property.) Also all pages of passport had to be photocopied and handed in with the forms. The latter was organized by my lawyer.

I believe that one can use an overseas bank account but all statements etc must be officially translated into Spanish as should all other documentation. I would think that all of this would be difficult to do in the UK right now given the restrictions. My Spanish bank account shows the direct debits that pay the mortgage, bills etc for the apartment but I did not need to prove that any other money was being withdrawn from the account on the daily. During this period I actually used my English bank card for living expenses as I wanted to insure that the €6,500 was present in the account at all times during the wait for approval.

The approved residency was actually backdated to September when I attended the one on one interview. One could hardly call it an interview as I didn’t actually speak but they wanted to insure that my passport matched the person sitting in front of them.

I don’t know the purpose of your wish for residency, but my wife and I do intend to live in Spain and in turn pay tax there as soon as possible. Naturally Covid is causing a few issues and has delayed our plans by a year but am glad to have got the first approval so to speak. My approval took approximately 2.5 months which is apparently pretty normal. They can take upto 3 months.

I would recommend finding an English speaking immigration lawyer who knows the facts and ask them to assist directly with your application. I know for a fact that I’d still be waiting if i hadn’t. I hope that this recent information is useful for you and wish you good luck.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

As has been pointed out different area, offices, persons will all do things slightly differently. At this late stage you need a local gestor or lawyer who is familiar with the process in that area. They will tell you exactly what is required. Normally a Spanish account is used as it is easier for all involved to understand plus it indicates that you are least here in Spain and not actually living elsewhere.


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## Alinaga (Sep 11, 2017)

Hello everyone,
I have a question to Barriej as I am going to apply for a residence in Alicante. Why your pension statements were removed taking into the consideration to proof a certain income? Did you transferred your pensions then to a Spanish account? Seems illogic that the department in Alicante deleted the information about savings too. Does this approach mean that one has to transfer regular incomes to Spanish bank?


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

Alinaga said:


> Hello everyone,
> I have a question to Barriej as I am going to apply for a residence in Alicante. Why your pension statements were removed taking into the consideration to proof a certain income? Did you transferred your pensions then to a Spanish account? Seems illogic that the department in Alicante deleted the information about savings too. Does this approach mean that one has to transfer regular incomes to Spanish bank?


I have had a Spanish bank account for the last 2 years, we purchased the flat in March 2019 and Alicante want 3 months worth of Spanish bank statements and a letter confirming you are the account owner (it has your NIE or passport number on)

As to the other documents, I maintained the €9000 in both the accounts (again something that Alicante require) no matter what anyone else says. 
That is a fact NOW, whatever happened 1 or more years ago has no relevance to what is happening today. 

So they decided that my pension (which is in the Uk and will be paid from Jan 2021) and the lump sums in premium bonds were not needed. 
I only included them as here in spain you might as well, because you never know what they will ask for.


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## Alinaga (Sep 11, 2017)

Thanks for your explanation. I think now that it is better to have all documents ( and pension's statements translated), just in case.


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