Hola
We have been living here in Spain for 4 years. We arrived with our visa, issued in the USA from the Spanish Consulate, had it stamped, register with police department etc etc. First year went fine, we renewed on our own and for the next two years not a problem. We had heard some Americans were having difficulty with renewals so we decided to have an attorney assist us with our second renewal. The attorney felt everything was fine, all our paperwork in order, current, officially translated etc. It was rejected twice,,,  reason??  The person who processed it feels that anyone who is not 65 cannot be on a retirement visa. We are not authorized to work and have not attempted to work,,, there is no age requirement for a retirement visa, we meet the financial requirements for Spain and provided everything. Our attorney is now saying that if we appeal in front of a judge and rejected, they will begin the expulsion process.  He is going to have us resubmit as “arriaga application” to avoid the appeal process with a judge.

Anyone have suggestions or ideas? We own three properties here we have a mortgage and have more than demonstrated our ability to live and have met all the financial requirements,,, it is now a matter of our age!

costahombre,
what exactly was the answer given to you in spanish?
you might consider getting another lawyer.

Reply was that because we are not 65 and therefore not eligible for a pension in the USA until that time, there is the possibility we could one day be a financial burden to Spain,,,,, which is strange since we have zero rights to anything here,,,, we meet all the legal requirements and are being rejected based on age and type of visa. They said no one at our age should be retired.  There are 3 other Americans in our village who are facing similar situations

costahombre,
you do not have to be a retiree to get the so called permiso de residencia sin trabajo.
one of the requirements is
“Documentos que acrediten medios de vida suficientes para el periodo de residencia que se solicita, incluyendo en su caso, los de su familia.”
your source of income determines the duration of the residence permit.
if the civil servant does not believe you are not a retiree because you are not yet 65, show them that you receive pension from the usa.
even in spain some people receive pension before they reach 65, it is called “jubilaci?n anticipada”.
as holders of “residencia sin permiso de trabajo” you enjoy the rights enumerated in the “alien law” recently published.
how did you enter spain? what kind of visa were you issued? were you issued residence cards?

Hola

we obtained from the Spanish Consulate in Miami Florida.  We had the visa stamped as instructed when we entered the country. We then went to the Police Station and registered and 6 weeks later we received our residence card. 

After one year we took our paperwork back in and after three appointments with the office of extranjeros, we received our second residencia card that was valid for two years.

This time, because of the scrutiny on renewals, we used an immigration attorney, who asked us to obtain certified statemtns from our Spanish banks and our USA bank accounts.  we do NOT nor have we ever received a pension. We receive money twice a year from a trust, we also collect interest from our savings in the USA. The amounts of savings exceed the requirement of 75,000 USD per person. Our certificate from our Spanish bank showed an average daily balance of 5,000 Euro.  Our recent rejection is based on that we are “jubliado” but do not collect a pension and that our income fluctuates and is not a set amount each month,, like a pension. 

The American Embassy in Madrid just said they have heard many horror stories of unjust denials and there is nothing we can do but work with the system.

We are going to appeal with Arregada Social… it is our last ditch effort ,, otherwise we have to sell all three properties and leave Spain for 6 months.

Have any suggestions or ideas?

Would something like registering as an autonomo change the situation, or just make things even more complicated?

It would makes things very complicated and almost a sure way to get denied.  We want to be viewed as contribution to the Spanish economy and not taking anything away from a Spaniard.  Since we are not part of the EU, we can not work autonomo but rather an Investment Visa which is expensive, risky and time related.  Thank you for the suggestion though

Goodness gracious!
I do, however, understand the desire not to be seen as taking something away from a Spaniard. I have a great fear that I may face the same difficulties in the future.

Best of luck!

Gracias,,,,, and for all the complaints I have about the system,,,,,, it is also what makes Spain charming,,,  sigh

costahombre,

i think the reason the civil servant gave you ( not jubilado) would not stand in court because the law only requires that you have medical insurance plus money to support you during your stay (you even have a house) and the rest of the requirements are also met. and the civil servant should give the duration of the permit that would correspond to your income. judges would normally stick to what is written in the law.

i think the civil servant wants to show that he can deny applicants from both third and first world countries.
he’s just being anti usa.

but if you go for the arraigo social first and get denied try going to court. the expulsion process can also be appealed.
anyway goodluck.

Thank you for the words of encouragement!  Very much appreciated!