Hola!
We are an American couple (married) who have owned property in southern Spain (Olvera & Pruna) for 10 years now, traveling and spending a month or two each year there. We want to apply for permanent residency in Spain under the “visado de jubilado” program.
Unfortunately, we are required to apply through our designated consulate (Chicago), the only consulate of Spain in the USA with especially specific regulations: Every other consulate simply requires us to document that we have sufficient financial means to live in Spain without being a burden to the Spanish economy, but the Chicago consulate requires that we demonstrate an annual pension: “€ 25,560/annually (or its equivalent in USD) plus € 6,390/annually (or its equivalent in USD) per each additional family member.”
My annual Social Security and pensions total approx US $26,000, so we don’t meet these criteria ... although we have sufficient income from bank accounts, real estate, etc., apart from (annual) pensions, to live comfortably in our small Spanish town.
We have consulted other consulates of Spain in the USA, and several Spanish lawyers in Spain … with very different responses: We’ve been told that Spain will look at our tax returns (which DO show sufficient income to quality for a 5-year initial residency visa) … that Spain will take into consideration all of our income-producing assets (real estate, bank accounts, etc.) in addition to my pensions … and that, since we own property in Spain, we will receive special consideration. I note here that, nowhere in any of the consular requirements for visa applications are U.S. tax returns mentioned or considered.
Can anyone help us determine -- definitively -- what actually will be required, financially, to qualify for a “visado de jubilado” and Spanish residency?
Muchas gracias y unos saludos desde Wisconsin en los EE.UU.