Question
I’m self employed. How do I prove I won’t work under a Spanish non lucrative visa?
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“You must request a cessation of taxes through your accountant from the tax office.”
“I was also self-employed and applied through the Los Angeles consulate in November. I wrote a letter promising not to work while in Spain, had it translated, and notarized. The letter was accepted without any issues.”
“I am also self-employed, but different consulates are different and the DC consulate didn’t require anything along these lines. Nonetheless i wrote a statement promising not to work in English and Spanish and had it notarized, just like someone else above did. They accepted it even though it wasn’t required. I haven’t found out yet if I’ve been approved, though.”
“You will need to show letter from your accountant to show you have ceased employment and contact HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs – UK) to ask them to send proof you are no longer self employed.”
“We got our accountant to write a letter saying I’d retired on headed paper.”
“Filled in HMRC online form for cessation of self employment. The letter takes around 3 weeks to arrive .”
“We sent a letter swearing that we won’t work and had it notarized. Don’t be surprised if they ask for copy of you tax return when you renew.”
“I do very occasionally work in Uk via my company, it’s Uk work nothing in Spain, no intention of doing any work in Spain not a chance just want to live there, what’s the issue to the consulate if you have no chance of impacting on the Spanish job market, and spending Uk earned sterling in 🇪🇸 why do they care or even check. I’m not thinking of applying for the DNV as the income will cease v shortly.”
“I just continued to work through my UK company. A UK company is a completely separate legal entity. Effectively the relationship is that of a shareholder and director. A shareholding can bring regarded as an investment, whilst a directorship is regarded as an employment. You could extract dividends without extracting a salary”
Related: Is it possible to work remotely on a non-lucrative visa in Spain in 2023?
In conclusion, proving that you won’t work while on a Spanish non-lucrative visa as a self-employed applicant may require different documentation depending on the consulate you apply through. However, some common methods mentioned by Spainguru’s NLV Facebook group members include obtaining a letter from an accountant or tax office showing the cessation of self-employment, writing a notarized letter promising not to work while in Spain, and providing proof of retirement or cessation of employment. Although it may be tempting to continue remote work on a non-lucrative visa, it’s crucial to understand that the visa is designed for non-work purposes, and no consulate will approve an NLV application if there is any indication that the applicant is still working.
