Can I reside in an European country while residing in Spain?
By: Antonio Villena
Is it possible to obtain residence in Spain without first obtaining a Schengen visa?
It may be possible to apply for residence in Spain and a Schengen visa.
Antonio Villena explains the case in which it is possible to apply for a residence permit and a Schengen visa without having been in Spain.
Table of contents:
As Antonio Villena explains, it is generally not logical to apply for a residence permit without knowing Spain. However, there are exceptions.
Under certain circumstances, it is possible to obtain residence in Spain without having obtained a Schengen visa.
1.My partner has a permit
The first case in which you can apply for a permit without a Schengen visa is if your partner has a Schengen visa. For example, you have never visited or had a Schengen visa, but your partner has.
When you apply, you apply as a family member, because you are considered one person for legal purposes. Therefore, even if a person has not visited Spain, but their partner has, they can still apply for the permit.
2. Putting down roots in Spain
Another way is to have a number of roots in Spain. A person may have real estate, a bank account, shares in a Spanish company or children who have studied in Spain.
In this case, it is called rooting, which means that you have knowledge of the country without having specifically visited it.
Our team of professionals has handled this and other exceptions and we have obtained residence permits for our clients.
3. Residence Permit and Schengen Visa
If the person has never had a Schengen visa, we start with the residence procedure. We do this with the same documentation, with a validity of three months, obtaining a Schengen visa in the meantime.
It is also possible to apply for residence at the same time as the Schengen visa, which is usually granted much earlier, and with the same documents, which are valid for three months, to apply for residence.
4. We process your residence permit
We have helped more than 1,500 clients since 1987, and since then we have encountered exceptions like this.