# Leaving Spain



## Claf (May 26, 2018)

Hello,

I've been working in Spain for a year, my wife came to live with around November last year. She made the Empadronamiento then, got her NIE in January and then registered for the CatSalut.

Now she wants to leave Spain in a couple of months, to take care of her sick sister.

She didn't have a job here.

Does she need to unregister from everywhere? We don't speak Spanish well at all (just a little bit) and don't know what to do or how to fill any forms if needed.

I was thinking:
- City hall - cancel Empadronamiento?
- CAP center - cancel health card?
- Police - de-register as a resident?
- Agencia tributaria - de-register as fiscal resident? Is she even a fiscal resident for 2017?

Is this it? How do we make appointments for these, and in what order?

Does she need any documents to present anywhere? I hear Agencia tributaria may ask some proof that the tax residency changed, which we have no idea how to prove - the point is she is leaving the country and going back, she just wants to cancel everything here.

Will she be a fiscal resident for 2018 since I will still be working here? As in, will she need to pay taxes here as well if she takes a job in her home country? (within EU)

Thank you


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I wouldn't de-register from anything if there is a chance she will return in future.

Otherwise padron, health card and residencia. If she only arrived in November last year she won't have done a tax return, so I wouldn't worry about that. Regardless of what you are doing, she is only a fiscal resident if she spends more than half the year here in person.


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## Claf (May 26, 2018)

Does she also need to de-register at agencia tributaria so they won't count her as a tax resident for 2018?

She will probably start work in autumn in her home country, so she will pay the taxes there. She doesn't want to pay taxes here as well, especially since they are fairly complicated for foreigners.

I will continue working here, at least this year.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

When I left, I tried to deregister from the EU residents list, but in Extranjería they advised me not to.

This is technically incorrect however, becasue you are supposed to deregister.

I didn't deregister as tax resident because that happens automatically when you start filing non-res returns as I did. But I believe that you can formally communicate your change in status if there will be no other way of Hacienda knowing.


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## Claf (May 26, 2018)

What do you mean by "filling non-res returns"?

Why do you have to file anything if you leave and close everything (end it) with a certain country?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Claf said:


> What do you mean by "filling non-res returns"?
> 
> Why do you have to file anything if you leave and close everything (end it) with a certain country?


If you still own a property in Spain, then you have a tax liability here.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Claf said:


> What do you mean by "filling non-res returns"?
> 
> Why do you have to file anything if you leave and close everything (end it) with a certain country?


I was just explaining that there are two ways of informing Hacienda that you are no longer a tax resident.

I will explain further:

Scenario 1 (which I assumed, maybe incorrectly, would apply) is that she still has some tax liability here, maybe joint owner of a property with you, or has a bank account in her name etc.

If that is not the case, and hence there is no need to file non-res returns in her name, then she should simply advise Hacienda of her move, just to be on the safe side.

To be fair, you are asking complex tax questions and giving little info, so no-one will be able to give you reliable advice.

But based on what you say, yes, she will be a tax resident in 2018 and if she works in another country during what remains of the year, that income will have to be declared in Spain in the 2018 tax return.


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## Claf (May 26, 2018)

snikpoh said:


> If you still own a property in Spain, then you have a tax liability here.


We don't have any properties.



Overandout said:


> I was just explaining that there are two ways of informing Hacienda that you are no longer a tax resident.
> 
> I will explain further:
> 
> ...


I don't think she has any tax liability. She came late January, had no job, no bank account or phone or anything. Just the NIE, empadronamiento and health card. Only I have a bank account here and I already filed my taxes for 2017.

I am not sure what other info I should give, but I will gladly give it I knew what it was you needed to know.

Why will she be a tax resident here for 2018? I'm afraid I do not understand. She doesn't even have a bank account here, even less a job.


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## Claf (May 26, 2018)

Sorry for double posting. I managed to figure out the City Hall website and made an appointment.

But for the police station where she got the NIE - I have no idea how to make an appointment.
Also when she got the NIE, she had to file a form and pay 10 euros at the bank. Does she need to do any form or pay anything in advance now?

Can she just go early to the police station without an appointment?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Claf said:


> We don't have any properties.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sorry if I came across as being harsh, but this post is a good example of what we don't know.

You say "I don't think she has any tax liability". OK, you don't think so, we cannot know. You really need to check this with a professional, not on an internet forum!

If you do not tell us exactly when she will leave Spain, w cannot know if she will be tax res in 2018 or not. Also, any trips she has made outside of Spain during the calendar year count, so we cannot possibly know this.

But, assuming that she has been in Spain since 1st January without leaving, she must leave Spain before July 2nd, otherwise she will automatically be tax resident.


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## cermignano (Feb 9, 2017)

She does not need to get rid of NEI. It is a bit like your NI number. She can keep it in case she if comes back


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

cermignano said:


> She does not need to get rid of NEI. It is a bit like your NI number. She can keep it in case she if comes back


I keep seeing this comment and do not agree - it's nothing like an NI number. In Spain that's your Social Security number. We don't have the equivalent to an NIE other than, perhaps, our passport number.

Anyway, some people say they have an NIE when they mean that they have the green residency card/certificate which has their NIE on it. If this is the case, then one must complete form EX18 again and 'baja' their residency.


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