# Retired,, can we stay for 6 months?..



## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

Hi,,, I have to admit I am a bit confused about the stay limit. We will be retiring in a few years and our plan is to stay in Spain by means of rental property for minimum of 3 months but are hoping to extend it to 6 months a year coming back to England for 6 months. We would be driving as we have two dogs,,,,, is this possible or do we need to get our minds set to only being able to do it for 3 months ..????

Thanks x


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

vonnieron said:


> Hi,,, I have to admit I am a bit confused about the stay limit. We will be retiring in a few years and our plan is to stay in Spain by means of rental property for minimum of 3 months but are hoping to extend it to 6 months a year coming back to England for 6 months. We would be driving as we have two dogs,,,,, is this possible or do we need to get our minds set to only being able to do it for 3 months ..????
> 
> Thanks x


If you stay here over 6 months 183 days you will be tax resident, no choice in the matter, better to stay 5 months !


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## marty7 (Aug 5, 2014)

extranjero said:


> If you stay here over 6 months 183 days you will be tax resident, no choice in the matter, better to stay 5 months !


How long do you need to be out of Spain before you re-enter with no tax conditions?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

marty7 said:


> How long do you need to be out of Spain before you re-enter with no tax conditions?


The rule is that if you are in Spain for more than 182 days in any calendar year, then you are tax resident.

This does NOT have to be in one chunk.


(long term) property rentals are for 6 or 12 months - if they are legal. Any shorter and you may be charged holiday prices.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

vonnieron said:


> Hi,,, I have to admit I am a bit confused about the stay limit. We will be retiring in a few years and our plan is to stay in Spain by means of rental property for minimum of 3 months but are hoping to extend it to 6 months a year coming back to England for 6 months. We would be driving as we have two dogs,,,,, is this possible or do we need to get our minds set to only being able to do it for 3 months ..????
> 
> Thanks x


:welcome:
As extranjero says - there's the issue of tax residency which is triggered at 183 days in a calendar year - so as a one off, if you came say from September to March that wouldn't be an issue

If you then came the following winter, and from Jan to March you had stayed 88 days, you would have 94 days to play with by the end of December

The other issue is that the Spanish govt expects you to register as resident if you are here 3 months or more. Of course many 'snow birds' don't bother (not that I'm in any way suggesting that you shouldn't ) . You need to be aware that if you came to the attention of the authorities there is a chance of a fine, if you haven't registered.

And then there's healthcare.......... for the first 3 months you can use your EHIC - that's the recognised 'holiday period' for which you are covered. After that you could find it refused - every time you use it, it's recorded on a central computer. Since as far as Spain is concerned you are a resident after 3 months, & the UK won't pick up the EHIC tab for residents of Spain, you'll need private healthcare.


If you do decide to register as resident, as you should, unless you get a state pension from the UK, you'll need to prove sufficient income & healthcare provision. If you do have a UK pension, then your pension will count as income & you would need to get S1s from the DWP in Newcastle.


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

oK so worst would be we have to rent for 6 months and lose the last rental month ? What about our vehicle would that be ok ? Thanks for your reply

what does the residency involve,,, ie us only being there for 6 months and UK 6 months,,,, ? This is the part that confuses me as we have no intentions of staying longer as much as we would like too due to finances x


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

vonnieron said:


> oK so worst would be we have to rent for 6 months and lose the last rental month ? What about our vehicle would that be ok ? Thanks for your reply


After 90 days you are resident and should have registered as such (in theory).

As a Spanish resident, you have 1 month to matriculate your car. If you don't, then it may be scrapped!


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

For the 3 month holiday stay status,,,,, how long do you have to be out of Spain and come back to be classed as separate holiday ?..


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

vonnieron said:


> For the 3 month holiday stay status,,,,, how long do you have to be out of Spain and come back to be classed as separate holiday ?..


well.... just a day really.....

you'd need to be able to prove that you had left & come back


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

well thanks for all the help,,,, seems it all points to only being able to stay for 3 months maximum for winter let ,,,, disappointing x


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

So you could drive to France border or night in Gibralter and keep proof and your classed as a new holiday ?...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

vonnieron said:


> So you could drive to France border or night in Gibralter and keep proof and your classed as a new holiday ?...


strictly speaking yes..........

I'm not sure I'd want to put it to the test as far as using the EHIC, or registering a car is concerned, though


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

I read somewhere recently that the 'odd day here or there' will be ignored. So maybe the 'day out ' will not help you avoid the rules.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

larryzx said:


> I read somewhere recently that the 'odd day here or there' will be ignored. So maybe the 'day out ' will not help you avoid the rules.


You could be correct.


Just be careful with all this hopping about - you need to keep below 183 days per calendar year in total.


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

We wouldn't be more than the 183 days,,,,, its the car that worries me the most as cant keep switching it over for Spain then UK ,,,, the health insurance we could cover with private insurance so thats ok. How can we also register as Spain residents then come back to UK and be UK residents ?... Surely you cant do that can you?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

vonnieron said:


> We wouldn't be more than the 183 days,,,,, its the car that worries me the most as cant keep switching it over for Spain then UK ,,,, the health insurance we could cover with private insurance so thats ok. How can we also register as Spain residents then come back to UK and be UK residents ?... Surely you cant do that can you?





Absolutely correct and this is where it's all VERY stupid. If we truly are one united EU, then this sort of stupidity has to be sorted.


I know what I would do in your situation (but I can't say - it would involve the registration here ...  )


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Yes its a problem but what you are asking that the rules should be changed to suit your arrangements and whilst one might be sympathetic they probably will not make an exception..

My wife is Asian we too get problems when we want to do something which is outside the rules. Example. When we go to Malaysia I get 3 month entry visa my wife gets one month only. But if we go to Vietnam she gets a 3 week entry visa, I must apply before we arrive there
.

But that's life.


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

i am not asking for any rules to be changed,,,, If we could afford it we would become spanish residents and buy there but we cant !!! I am trying to find out the rules as Brits renting for 6 months because they seem to be mixed,,,,,,,

i.e. On the government uk site it states this:::

Can I keep my UK registered car in Spain?
Yes, but you can only keep it and drive it in Spain for a maximum of 6 months – after that you will have to get it registered onto Spanish plates. Remembering that throughout that time you have to ensure that the car remains fully legal with a UK MOT, road tax and insurance for the full period you intend to stay. If you decide not to put it onto Spanish plates then you have to remove the car from Spain as you are allowed only to drive it in Spain for 6 months in any calendar year on UK plates.

On another site I read:
'We own a property here in Spain and this year have been able to spend a significant amount of time here. 
We brought our UK registered car across on the ferry earlier this year and when we return to the UK with it shortly, it will have been here just short of 6 months.
From all my research before bringing the car over this year, I understood that foreign registered cars could be legally driven on Spanish roads for up to 6 months, provided they are fully legal in their own country.
Imagine my surprise when I was stopped by the Guardia yesterday whilst driving my UK car. I was informed that because I own a property here in Spain, I can only drive my car on Spanish roads for a period of no more than 30 days. When I asked about the 6 month period, I was informed that this did not apply to anyone who owns property here. I was then issued with a notice informing me that I must re-register my car here in Spain within the next 30 days, or remove it from the country.
Due to the significant amount of UK cars I see on Spanish roads (both taxed or otherwise), I am aware that many people flout both the 30 day and the 6 month rules and this message is not aimed at them. But there must be many others in Spain who are totally unaware of this information and it is to those people that this message is aimed. Fortunately, we return home soon, so we will not be inconvenienced, but if we had been stopped earlier this year, we would have been in a very difficult position'.

plus to be registered as resident you need to own property, which we wont be doing , we will be renting on 6 month lease x


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Von, I think you are at risk of getting mislead by posts from people who think they know the rules but maybe don't.

That a person gets stopped by one police officer does not mean that they understood was what was said, or that if they did that the officer was well informed.

On a few occasions I have asked the National Police questions on law and they do not know the answer, at times if there has been more than one officer I have been given several different answers. Possibly all wrong.

If you really want to know go the the office that should know. For example If its about cars, Traffico in Spain, about residence then the National Police Documentation/immigration office.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

vonnieron said:


> plus to be registered as resident you need to own property, which we wont be doing , we will be renting on 6 month lease x


you don't have to own property to register as resident - we're registered as resident & have lived here nearly 11 years - we've been renting that entire time...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

larryzx said:


> Von, I think you are at risk of getting mislead by posts from people who think they know the rules but maybe don't.
> 
> That a person gets stopped by one police officer does not mean that they understood was what was said, or that if they did that the officer was well informed.
> 
> ...


no-one here is misleading him

as far as I can see, everything posted on this thread by regular posters has been correct


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> no-one here is misleading him
> 
> as far as I can see, everything posted on this thread by regular posters has been correct


Sorry, I was not mentioning any particular forum, but he that what Von said in his last post.


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

Ive been looking on the spanish site and it seems to say that as an EU subject and no visa required from England than i can stay for up to 182 days but have to register at local town hall/police station (cant remember which if intend to stay longer than 3 Months),,,, which makes sense to me. 
Still have to find out about the UK Gov sites information which was updated on Feb 2014 that states as a visitor can drive legal UK vehicle for 6 months in Spain.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

vonnieron said:


> Ive been looking on the spanish site and it seems to say that as an EU subject and no visa required from England than i can stay for up to 182 days but have to register at local town hall/police station (cant remember which if intend to stay longer than 3 Months),,,, which makes sense to me.
> Still have to find out about the UK Gov sites information which was updated on Feb 2014 that states as a visitor can drive legal UK vehicle for 6 months in Spain.


I think it was June that the rules changed but then this may still be a proposal.


The town hall is for your padron

The extranjeria (normally at the *national *police station) is to sign on the list of foreigners (register as resident or get your 'residencia').


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> I think it was June that the rules changed but then this may still be a proposal.
> 
> 
> The town hall is for your padron
> ...


Pooh naughty-Larryxz will have you for that!


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

No problem, I am sure Von, just like snikpoh, understands all the facts about that and will not be in the least confused !


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

Lol im really confused as everything is contradictory to the gov.uk site,,,,


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

vonnieron said:


> Lol im really confused as everything is contradictory to the gov.uk site,,,,


the car....

at the moment, if you are a resident of Spain, you cannot drive a foreign plated car - the only exception being one that you have brought over yourself & then you have 3 months in which to register it

as far as Spain is concerned you are resident after 3 months (even if you don't register)- then you have 3 months to re-register the car - hence the 6 months on the UKinSpain website

if you are leaving before that 6 months is up you can forget about it


HOWEVER - several months ago steps to change this law began - once the proposals are passed into law you will have 30 days in which to re-register the car, from the point at which you become resident - so a maximum total of 4 months - that is what snikpoh was talking about

it isn't _yet _law though


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

o k thanks,,,, looks like we wont be coming for longer than a 3 month winter stay holiday then ,,, shame x


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

vonnieron said:


> o k thanks,,,, looks like we wont be coming for longer than a 3 month winter stay holiday then ,,, shame x


Just think of the hassle you 've saved yourself.
Spain without the pain!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

vonnieron said:


> o k thanks,,,, looks like we wont be coming for longer than a 3 month winter stay holiday then ,,, shame x


Why not come for two three-month periods and stay in the UK for a couple of weeks at Christmas?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

xabiachica said:


> no-one here is misleading him
> 
> as far as I can see, everything posted on this thread by regular posters has been correct


There is a lot of confusing information from different sources as Goldeneye has demonstrated, some of it potentially very harmful.
In my experience, the worst offenders are those who think they know it all because they've been around a long time. Then there are the Brit bar bores. Then there are the 'a friend told me' spinners of yarns.
When you've been on this Forum a few years you get to know whose opinions and information you can trust...but even those few would happily admit they sometimes get it wrong.
In my limited (six years in Spain) experience, officialdom can be very helpful and forgiving of unimportant errors. Public beheadings for not having filled in documents correctly are rare in Spain.
A smile and a little Spanish go a long way here.


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## vonnieron (Aug 7, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> Why not come for two three-month periods and stay in the UK for a couple of weeks at Christmas?


Unfortunately funds wouldnt allow travel in car x 2 a year x


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

vonnieron said:


> Ive been looking on the spanish site and it seems to say that as an EU subject and no visa required from England than i can stay for up to 182 days but have to register at local town hall/police station (cant remember which if intend to stay longer than 3 Months),,,, which makes sense to me.
> Still have to find out about the UK Gov sites information which was updated on Feb 2014 that states as a visitor can drive legal UK vehicle for 6 months in Spain.


Please can advise us of the URLs of these websites so that we can contact them to correct their erroneous information.


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