In 2016, a lot of people thought about moving abroad. You know what I’m talking about! My wife and I had already moved to Kuwait to teach abroad before the election. In 2018, we bought our first property in Spain and later that year gave birth to our first child in Spain. Ever since then, we have been trying to get to Spain, but obtaining a teaching position - that handles all immigration formalities - is a bit difficult.

Due to the economic situation in Spain with roughly 20% unemployment, the government has enacted employment protection laws for nationals. As such, the employment hierarchy is Spanish nationals, then EU citizens, and then British nationals for all the British schools; this leaves little room and intense competition for Americans trying to break into the market.

Being persistent, we have pursued alternative avenues for immigration. We scheduled a consultation with a immigration lawyer in Barcelona. We asked the following questions regarding securing a work visa and obtaining citizenship (and passport) for our Spanish born son.

Work Visa Options

• As an American teaching couple, is it possible to obtain a working permit to be eligible to apply for some international teaching positions?

• My wife is currently working as a high school college counselor, but can provide therapist services including in the specialized area of art therapy. My wife has a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) license from California, USA.

  • If we did start our own practice, could we theoretically qualify for the entrepreneurship working permit?

Spanish Born Dependent Citizenship Options

• If possible, what would we need to do to get our son Spanish citizenship?

  • If our son received Spanish citizenship, would it be easier to get a working visa?

While your circumstances could be very different, maybe our experience and the information we’ve obtained could be useful.

Counsel confirmed our Spanish born son can apply for citizenship to obtain a Spanish passport after one year of residency, but it can take up to 2 years to receive the passport. Please note that at age 18, he would have to reject citizenship of either the USA or Spain per law. In practice, people would declare rejection of USA citizenship to the Spanish government, but would not submit a declaration of rejection of USA citizenship to the USA government.

Based on our background information, we could pursue 3 out of 5 possible immigration paths.

1. Student Visa

2. Non-lucrative Visa

3. Work Contract/Business Plan Visa

The other two are immigration by marriage to a Spanish national or an investment of €500,000 into Spain.

Student Visa

The easiest option is the student visa approach. The thresholds for approval are as follows:

• Enrolled for 20hrs credits per week

• Sufficient funds of €15,000 in a bank account

This visa would be applied for, in person, through your domestic consulate location.

Non-lucrative Visa

Another viable option is the non-working visa; this option is valid for 1 year and can be renewed or modified with a work contract/business plan. The threshold for approval are as follows:

• Sufficient funds of €50,000 in a bank account for the last 6 months

  • The amount cited considers two adults and one child.

    • Another child would require an additional €8,000.

This visa would be applied for, in person, through your domestic consulate location.

After 1 year, the visa can be modified pursuant to the work contract/business plan visa path in Spain with better chances of approval (per counsel experience). The reason is the local Spanish authorities provide approval at this point, rather than the more stringent domestic consulate location. Refer to business plan thresholds below for relevant information.

Work Contract/Business Plan Visa

Given the economic situation of Spain and the almost 20% unemployment rate, this path has a lower probability of success when applied outright from abroad (per counsel experience). Apparently, there is a list of industries (ie solar energy) where work contracts can be approved, but education is not one of them. The thresholds for approval are as follows:

Work Contract

• Contract approved by the government

Business Plan

• Sufficient funds of €50,000 in a bank account for the last 6 months

  • Per law, total funds can include all assets (ie home, credit cards, etc.), but better chances of approval with full cash amount.

• Establish a legal Spanish business entity

• Rent an office (not required; can use home office)

• Obtain 5 potential clients

• Any required licenses for business operations.

This visa would be applied for, in person, through your domestic consulate location unless you have already entered Spain with a non-lucrative visa.

Counsel services for immigration are roughly €1,000 per person and includes assistance before and after arrival to Spain.

BALCELLS International Lawyers Group

Rambla de Catalunya 124 1-2

+34936315139

www.immigrationspain.es

Cristian Balcells Navarro

International Law Department

+34619493131

cristian.balcells@balcellsgroup.com

From our experience, none of the current options seem viable given our situation. We will continue to submit applications to the hyper-competitive, private international education market. We may consider the Business Plan Visa in the future. And, we will revisit immigration options if Spain develops a “digital nomad” pathway for remote works.