Switched from DNV to non-lucrative visa in Tenerife
This is exactly why I tell people to avoid the nomad visa if they have a choice. The tax is the only upside but the bureaucracy is a full time job in itself. Enjoy the swims in the ocean. You made the right call by prioritizing your mental health over the remote work grind. Just be careful about any passive income like rental properties back home because they will want a cut of that too.
did you have any trouble with the criminal record check? mines taking ages to get apostilled.
use a lawyer in madrid to handle the apostille if you can. it cost me 150 euros but saved me weeks of waiting. do not try to do it via mail yourself or it will go into a black hole.
honestly the uge is just making it up as they go along at this point. i have friends who got approved with the exact same contract language that got me a rejection letter. switching to the nlv seems like the only way to keep your sanity if you have the savings. did you have any issues getting your tie card updated at the police station in puerto? sometimes they get confused when you switch visa types.
Lucky you. My appointment in Los Cristianos was a disaster because they claimed I needed a new set of fingerprints even though mine were on file from two months ago.
it was actually surprisingly smooth. the lady at the station knew exactly what to do with the change of status. just make sure you have the new empadronamiento ready.
Puerto de la Cruz is a dream. I am currently on the nomad visa but the social security costs are eating my soul. Paying almost 300 euros a month just to be allowed to work for myself feels like such a scam compared to other countries. The only thing stopping me from the NLV is the work ban. How are you handlng the boredom? I worry that if I stop working I will just end up at the bar every day.
I am thinking of doing the same thing. The UGE has become a nightmare lately with their demands for specific social security certificates from my home country. Did you find it easy to prove your savings? Sometimes they want to see six months of bank statements and other times it is a year. I am curious if the London consulate asked for a specific translation company for your financial docs or if any sworn translator worked.
They usually want a year of statements now to be safe. I used a local translator in Santa Cruz and it was fine. Just make sure your balance stays well above the limit the whole time.
welcome back to puerto. the weather has been amazing this week. just make sure you keep your bank statements ready for the renewal next year because they want to see the money actually stayed in the account.
i am thinking of doing this too. are you worried about the years on nlv not counting towards citizenship as easily as work years? i heard some rumors that the residency types are treated differently.
honestly the nlv is only good if you have a massive pile of cash. the 2025 iprem levels are getting higher every year and inflation in tenerife is making those savings disappear fast. i stuck with the dnv just for the tax breaks even with the paperwork hell.
they both count the same for the 10 year clock. the only difference is if you are from a former colony and get the 2 year fast track. for everyone else a year is a year.
Careful with that advice about the insurance. Adeslas is good but I know someone in Tenerife who got rejected because their policy didn't explicitly state there was no waiting period for certain surgeries. It is not just the copayments you have to watch out for. Glad it worked for you though. Plaza del charco is a great spot to relax.
i did this exact move last year but from a different region. the main problem i found was that the NLV time does not always count the same for certain tax benefits if you decide to go back to working later on. also keep an eye on your tax residency status. even if you arent working you are still a tax resident if you spend more than 183 days there. hacienda will still want to know about your global assets if they are above a certain amount.
The NLV is a great bridge if you just want to get your years in for permanent residency or citizenship. It is way less paperwork than the DNV annual renewals. I think people overlook it because they want to keep the high-paying remote job, but the peace of mind of not dealing with the UGE is worth a lot. Are you planning to stay in the north or move south to the sunnier side eventually?
the south is too touristy for me. the north feels like actual spain even if it is cloudier some days. plus the rent is way better for what you get.
I am surprised London was that fast for the NLV. Usually it is a black hole for applications. Did you have to show any proof of why you were leaving the DNV or did they not care that you were already living in Spain? I am worried about showing a Spanish address on an application meant for people entering from abroad.
the tax side of the nlv is what scares me. you still have to pay wealth tax if you have assets abroad and you are a tax resident if you stay 183 days. people think nlv means no tax but aeat will still find you.