BRIEF GUIDE FOR FOREIGNERS ON RESIDING IN SPAIN.

Transcription

1 Breve guía sobre la residencia en España para personas de origen extranjero BRIEF GUIDE FOR FOREIGNERS ON RESIDING IN SPAIN. If you are in Spanish territory and if you are not a Spanish citizen, you have the RIGHT AND THE OBLIGATION to possess documentation proving your identity in Spain. In this guide you will find the basic information to obtain residence in Spain, the process, deadlines, and places to that you have to go to. Bear in mind that in Spain ALL PEOPLE MUST ALWAYS CARRY IDENTIFYING DOCUMENTS. If you do not, you may be sanctioned.

2 Residence for citizens of countries that are members of the European Union, European Economic Space, and Switzerland If you belong to any of the following countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Malta, or Cyprus, you have the right: To circulate and to freely remain in the Spanish territory. To participate in any type of business or professional activity, either self-employed or working for others, and to provide and to receive services. To live in Spain with your family, no matter what their nationality is. In these cases, it is not even necessary that you ask for a resident identity card, though you can if you want. However, your relatives (spouse, children, dependent parents/grandparents) will need to do so if they have other nationalities. Residence for citizens of countries that are not members of the European Union When you come to Spain with the purpose of living or working here, your status can either be considered administratively and legally to be: 1. Regular status for stay, temporary residence, or permanent residence. 2. Administratively irregular status. What does STAY mean for foreigners? It refers to the stay in Spanish territory for a period no more than ninety days (for example, when you are authorised to live in Spain with a student visa or while you are a tourist). When this period ends, you must leave the country, unless you request an extension of stay or a residence permit. What does RESIDENCE mean for foreigners? You have residence when you possess authorisation to reside in Spain. Residence can either be: Temporary: when you are authorised to remain in Spain for a period of more than 90 days and fewer than five years (3 rd renewal). Permanent: when you are authorised to reside in Spain indefinitely and to work on equal terms as European citizens. People who have had temporary residence for five continuous years have right to permanent residence. In general, in order to obtain residence, you will need to have entered Spain with a residence visa. Once here, and in the period of one month, you will need to apply for a foreigner identity card. Once you are in Spain, you must request in person, within the period of one month, the foreigner identity card.

3 How can I obtain authorisation to reside in Spanish territory? If the foreign citizen has irregular status in Spain Once you have irregular status in Spain, the routes to obtain a residence permit or a work and residence permit are limited unless you are in the category of residence for exceptional reasons. There are two types of exceptional reasons: Established roots (for social or employment reasons, or because your mother or father was originally Spanish). Humanitarian reasons (For being the victim of gender violence or of workers rights violations with the aggravating circumstance of racism or xenophobia, because you suffer a disease which came on suddenly and seriously and of which you could not be treated in your country, because you can prove that returning to your country poses a risk to your safety or that of your family, for collaborating with the Administration of Justice, or for Public Interest). 1.1 Residence Permit for Social Reasons A residence permit can be requested by those foreigners who prove: Continuous stay in Spain for a minimum of three years. No criminal record in their country of origin and in Spain. A work contract signed by the worker and the employer for a minimum period of one year. Family connections to Spanish citizens or other foreign residents with regular status (spouses, parents/grandparents, and direct descendants). Not having a family connection can be waived by a Report on the integration in the city issued by the City Hall where you are registered. This Report can also state that a work contract is not required if they think that you have sufficient funds. 1.2 Residence Permit for Employment Reasons You can ask for an exceptional residence permit if you prove that you have been living in Spain for at least two years and that you have worked at least one of those years. To prove the existence of this employment of one year, it must appear in a Work Inspector s Record or a Judicial Resolution. 1.3 There is a third way to prove roots, this one is for those children whose father or mother was originally Spanish.ç If the foreigner is not yet in Spain with irregular status or s/he is returning to his/her country If you do not have irregular status in Spain, or, if you do and you want to return to your country in order to obtain a work and residence permit, there are different procedures that you should know. Although there are other types, the General and the Contingent types are the most common.

4 2.1 General This is for those foreigners who have a firm job offer and that do not have irregular status in Spain. The future employer must hand in all the documentation. S/he is the applicant. To grant the request, the Administration will bear in mind: the economic solvency of the employer, the absence of tax or social security debts, social order sanctions, and the current national employment status except for exceptions (natives of Chile, Peru, confidence positions, spouses and children of foreign residents in Spain with renewed authorisation, foreigners who have Spanish ascendants or descendants, or who are the children or grandchildren of people of Spanish origin). The evaluation of the national employment status is the verification that difficulties exist to cover the position that is offered to Spanish, European, or foreign resident workers. To this effect and with a quarterly character the INEM (Employment office) publishes lists of ACTIVITIES DIFFICULT TO COVER. If the activity that is offered is included on this list (catalogued by province) it is understood, the work permit is considered correct. If the offered activity is not included on this list, the company and the employer should check with the Employment office which can certify the result of said process. The Administration will grant the work permit if it fulfils all of these criteria (request presented by legitimised person to cover a position which is difficult to cover with the job seekers of the province and by the employer who has the economic capacity or is a solvent company without debts or sanctions. Bearing in mind that the employee does not have a criminal record, visa restrictions, or diseases that require quarantine). The resolution will be sent to the company or employer. If it is negative, it is possible to appeal in the period of one month (optional appeal of reinstatement) or of two months (contentious administrative appeal). If the resolution is positive, it will state that the employee has a period of one month from the day following receipt of the notification to request a work visa in the Spanish Consulate of his/her country. To fulfil this requirement, an appointment must be requested in person and, once applied for, the requirement has been met. The Consulate will need you to submit a certificate of your criminal record, a medical certificate stating that you do not need to be quarantined for a disease, the authorisation of the work permit, and a recent photograph. Once the visa is granted, the employee will travel to Spain and s/he will have a month, upon entry for the Company/employer to finalise the hiring process and the Social Security obligations before the foreigner can ask for a residence card. The card granted will have a duration of one year and may be limited to the employment sector that motivated the authorisation and to the geographical area of such. It is necessary to request renewal two months before this period expires. The limitations will be eliminated after the renewal. 2. Contingent This allows hiring workers who are not in Spain, for long-term work. This procedure can be approved annually by the Government on the basis of the labour needs detected in Spain. The offers are preferentially directed at the countries with which Spain has signed a previous Agreement. In this procedure, the offers are generic (the employer asks for "workers" in general, not for a specific worker.) Those who are interested must apply with the Spanish Consulate in their country of origin or residence. Within the Contingent there are several modalities:

5 The Contingent (employment offers for several activities and provinces, that are unable to be covered by Spanish, European, or foreign residents are published abroad). Visas for Employment Search (three-month visas for certain activities. During the Contingents of 2003 and 2004, these visas were limited to the domestic service sector. In this modality the offer can be nominative as long as the employee has already worked for this employer before in the country of origin. In the future, these offers may be extended to activities typical of Small and Medium Companies (for example: the hotel and catering business). Visas for an Employment Search directed at children and grandchildren of Spaniards (It enables them to search without limits on certain activities, for three months. As in the previous modality, if a job is found, the work and residence permit is formalised; if one is not found in this period, they must return to their country of origin. If this obligation is not met, they will not be able to obtain a new work permit for a period of two years). IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION OR IF YOU ARE GOING TO SOLICIT SOME TYPE OF APPLICATION, seek assistance with Social Services or an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) with legal advice programmes. Elabora: Colabora: Concejalía de Familia, Salud, Servicios Sociales y Consumo Consejería de Familia y Asuntos Sociales Foro Municipal para la Inmigración de la Ciudad de Alcalá de Henares