Find out how to prove your financial means to successfully apply for the family member of an EU citizen visa and avoid getting your application rejected. In this article, we are about to explore the different 3 scenarios in which you could find yourself in and how to meet the economic requirement on each, how to justify that you actually have the required funds, and the specific monetary amount for each case.
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ToggleAbout the economic requirement
This is undoubtedly one of the most common options to obtain residency in Spain.
The family member of an EU citizen visa allows you to obtain residency in case of marriage or partnership with a Spanish or European citizen, as well as help your children or parents obtain this card.
And it undoubtedly offers huge benefits, since it is a 5-year residency that allows you to live and work in the country; in addition to granting the non-EU citizen the same rights that a citizen of the European Union would have when living in Spain.
Thus, as with any other residence permit, obtaining this visa involves fulfilling a series of specific requirements that are different from the rest of the permits.
In this case, we are talking, for example, about the need to demonstrate your family ties with the EU citizen or that you have hired public or private medical insurance, for example. You can find all the requirements for the community card in detail here.
From this list, one of the most important requirements (and one that generates more doubts due to its differences with the family reunification procedure) are the economic requirements and their demonstration.
The Spaniard (or EU citizen) must demonstrate that she has sufficient economic means for the family member who will start living in Spain with her in order to successfully obtain this card.
But what requirements are we talking about exactly? And how much money are we talking about + how can we demonstrate that we actually have it?
Below we see them in detail.
Do you have doubts up to this point? Read on for more information or ask our lawyers:
How to demonstrate you have enough economic means for the EU family member visa
In this case (and this point is very important) it is the EU Regimen the one who establishes in which way we can demonstrate that we actually meet the economic requirements, and it does that in its article 7.
As we have already mentioned, it is important to take this into account since this point creates wide differences with the case of family reunification, which ends up with a similar result (we bring our relatives to Spain) but which is regulated by different legislation (the General Immigration Regime).
Thus, the Community Regime establishes 3 different ways to prove we meet the economic requirements, which will depend on the situation the Spanish or EU citizen finds herself in:
Working and being registered with the Social Security
The first case is that of EU or Spanish citizens who are working in Spain, either for a company or as self-employed individuals.
This mere fact working (which implies being registered with the Social Security) is sufficient proof to justify that there are sufficient economic means for the non-EU family member to obtain his or her 5-year card.
And, in this sense, we must take something into account.
Many immigration offices mistakenly ask for extra requirements in terms of working conditions.
But the reality is that there is neither a minimum period of time that you must have been working in order to demonstrate the economic means effectively, nor is there a minimum salary specified, nor the contract must be full or part-time.
Simply by being registered with Social Security and working for a company or as a self-employed person, you will have sufficient justification.
Therefore, if the immigration office makes any type of requirement or denial for one of these reasons, it would not be justified at a legal level nor be respecting the EU regime.
The fact of having been working for a minimum period of time or receiving a salary that reaches a certain amount is something that is a requirement in the case of family regrouping under the general regime; but not in the case of the community card.
Documents if you are working for a company
What documents will you need to provide to prove that you have a job?
In the case of working for a company, basically your employment contract (which must include all the company’s identification data).
But instead of this contract, you can also provide the registration document (or the assimilated one) to Social Security; or give your consent for the verification of the data in the files of the Tax Agency and the Social Security.
Documents if you are working as a self-employed individual
On the other hand, if you are self-employed worker:
- Inscription to the Census of Economic Activities, or in the case of having created a company, the justification by means of the Inscription in the Mercantile Registry.
- Again, you could also present, instead, the document of registration to the Social Security or the verification consent so that authorities can check your data.
Being a student
If the EU citizen is a student, the situation is even simpler.
In this case, she will only have to present two documents to demonstrate the that she has sufficient economic means:
- The enrollment document that demonstrates that she is registered in an official study center (like a university)
- A responsible declaration in which she confirms that she has the economic means to support both herself and the non-EU citizen who is applying for the card
But it would not be necessary to submit any type of additional proof demonstrating that really we have those economic means (as for example by showing balances in your banking account).
You simply need to legally confirm that you are committed to supporting your relatives in the Spanish territory.
Having enough funds without working or studying
Finally, there is the last case: that of a Spanish or EU citizen who neither studies nor works, but who has sufficient income or money to support their family members.
In this case, there is not a unique or exclusive way to demonstrate the economic requirement, since it will depend on the particular case and the origin of the funds.
That is why you are allowed to prove it through any evidence valid in law.
This would be the case, for example, if you have enough money in your bank account (in which case you would provide a certificate showing the outstanding balance), if you receive income and rents from any type of asset, if you have a pension, financial assets such as shares or dividends, etc.
Title deeds, certified checks, or credit cards showing the necessary amount as available credit would be other valid proofs.
The only difference in this third case is that here it is required that such economic means reach a minimum monetary amount.
This amount could vary depending on the proof you are using, but if we take as an example the most typical case of demonstrating the possession of means (through money in a bank account), that would be a minimum of 9586.64€ for a family of two people.
And, approximately, for each additional member, you must add about 3.000€ extra.
If you have any questions about the community card or need help with your application, our immigration lawyers are at your complete disposal.
Get in touch with our lawyers and let us guide you step by step: