Working remotely while on a non-lucrative visa. Here is what we know:
As many as you know, there is a type of residency called the non-lucrative residency. Many people know this residency as the ¨non-lucrative visa,¨ however, it is not a visa, it is a residency, which are two different things.
The non-lucrative residency is also referred to as the retirement-visa, but there is no such thing.
As you may already know, the non-lucrative residency, if approved, grants the person one year of legal residency in Spain. However, the person is NOT allowed to work in Spain while they are on this residency.
Some of the requirements in order to be able to apply for this residency include enough economic resources in order to support yourself during you stay.
There have been many mixed opinions on whether someone can work remotely while they are living in Spain with their non-lucrative residency since the law DOES NOT address remote work.
In the past, we have seen many cases of people who have said to the consulate that they will be working remotely and did not have any problems obtaining their non-lucrative residency.
We also have seen cases in which people have gotten their residency approved when they did not meet the financial requirements.
Unfortunately, the outcome of your application sometimes may depend on the consulate that you go to and their interpretation of the law, especially since remote work is not addressed.
We have recently learned that many consulates, especially in the United Stated, have been denying non-lucrative applications because the person who is applying does have plans to work remotely. (This is something that has been happening in the last couple of months and does mean that the consulate is right to deny these applications).
We receive daily question such as,
Can I work remotely from Spain?
Can I work for a remote company in a different country?
Is it ok if I am making money from online work?
The real answer is, that many consulates are denying applications when they learn that you have plans to work. Let´s remember that one of the requirements clearly specifies that you do need enough economic resources to support yourself during the time of the residency, because you are not supposed to be able to work. Most importantly, the law does not say anything about remote work.
We would like to also add that we have seen many denials lately because of this reason.
We want to warn everyone who is applying or will be applying for a non-lucrative visa that this has been happening for a couple of months now.
Lastly, we want to share with you this information that has been shared with us,
The picture above shows the comment of a person whose application was denied and also, this person attached an information slit from the Los Angeles consulate in the U.S.
This information clearly says ¨we would like to inform that after further discussion with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have been advised NOT to accept any non-lucrative applications from applicants that will be involved in any type of professional or lucrative activities.¨
It is very hard to determine or to say whether the consulates have the right or not to deny or approve applications since the law is NOT clear.
If you have any questions or would like help from our lawyers, do not hesitate and contact us to make an appointment for a consultation.
You can call us at +34 911 270 920 or send us an email to info@sternaabogados.com