Has anyone (non EU) obtained this visa?

I am an american living in the EU with a temporary resident card. I run a small business.
I am planning on moving my EU business to spain and moving my family there also.

I've read many, many stories on this site and others, and amazingly I am still not clear on one or two things.

I understand I need to take steps to register my business in Spain. Next, I need to go my local spanish consulate and apply for this special "resident visa - for investors or self employed."

My question is about this visa itself. It does not seem to be a "normal" visa...like the kind they put in your passport when you travel. This seems to be an all-in-one visa AND work permit AND resident permit. This is what I gather from websites like this:

http://www.spainconsul-ny.org/!consula.doi/!investo.htm

Can anyone confirm this? So, if/when I get this visa, I do not have to do any other processing in spain? Also, when i called my local spanish consulate they said this would be a long procedure. Will they want to hold my passport during this application process?

Any rumors, best guesses are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading my post.

I can't answer the question but can give you a suggestion; go to the front page of that website @ http://www.spainconsul-ny.org/index.html and send an email with your question to that address. I know people who've done this via the Spanish Consulate in Chicago website and got an answer within a week.

I doubt anyone here would could/would want to try to answer that question definitively unless they themselves have recently applied-for-and-received such a visa. Knock on wood! Maybe there IS someone out there who can give their experiences.

Good luck!

Saludos, MadridMan

thanks!

Lila:

I know that Spanish immigration law allows for residence applications if the person making the application opens their own company. I don't know what the specific requirements are but I have read the statute myself and it def. allows for people that have FORMALLY opened a company.

YZYZ, THANKS SO MUCH for your information. A small HOW-TO Guide would be MOST helpful. What's your nationality?

Saludos, MadridMan

YZYZ, did you submit your application TO the Spanish Consulate in Chicago as well? If so, don't you have to personally go to this same consulate to pick up your Visa? If not, where did you submit it?

Saludos, MadridMan

YZYZ wrote: Out of curiosity, yesterday I called the Spanish Consulate in Chicago and spoke to a women who answered all my questions. She said that a few months ago the Residency for the Self-Employed Visa-Getting process had changed. Now, she said, it has been split between two "bodies".

The first body takes the application and verifies all the information - this part of the process takes a minimum of 5 months.

Then, upon their approval, it goes to another "body" and they issue the visa - this part of the process takes a minimum of 2 months. And, of course, there's no guarantee you'll be approved.

* And you still have to go (to Chicago, in this case) personally to drop off and pick up your application.

* They don't KEEP your passport but only look at it/verify it.

* The health/accident insurance you have at the moment of application will not be needed in Spain AFTER you're living/working/paying social security as you'll then be eligible for the nationalized health care.

* And yes, you must have $100,000 in a SPANISH BANK at the time of application. And trust ME, getting/opening a Spanish Bank account is a MAJOR process all by itself.

So, in short, if you have a MINIMUM 7 months (probably more like 9 months considering the time required for YOU to get all the required documents/cash/coverage) and $100,000 lying around - oh, and DON'T have a criminal record and DO have a good health - then you have a BETTER chance of being approved - BUT IT'S NOT GUARANTEED! ($100+ application fee, too)

Saludos, MadridMan

Can you go to Spain and form a corporation that later may employ you? Something like a work visa through your own company. This may be an easier way to get you in Spain legally.

This investor's visa sounds totally unreachable. When you plan on investing that kind of money in a business the last thing you get to do is letting your money sit in a Spanish or any bank for 9 or more months!! (Unless you are a millionaire!). In the meantime how do you get things done in Spain? With more money??

I think another way to do it is by investing 100,000 USD in Spain, e.g., real property, and getting a certificate of investment from the government. But this might not work for every business.

Thanks for that! For those only reading this last *VERY USEFUL* posting, this Non-Lucrative Visa DOES NOT give you the legal right to work in Spain so you won't be paying into the social security system and you won't be able to use the national healthcare system.

Question: When applying, how can you show a residence in Spain if presumably you're not yet living there?

Saludos, MadridMan

Hello. While "living" in Spain under this non-lucrative visa, is it possible to visit for long periods of time another EU country (i.e UK) and not get noticed (basically, still appear as you're in Spain)?