EU Permanent Residence
EU permanent residence, officially called EU long-term residence (residencia larga duración-ue), is also known to everyone simply as EU residence.
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Note: If you are cohabiting or married to a Spaniard, your residence is called EU Dependent Residence, not EU Permanent Residence. The two should not be confused.
Related articles: How to renew my EU permanent residence when it expires?
What are the advantages of EU residence for students?
As I’m sure you should know, there are two main conditions that need to be met in order to apply for EU residence:
-You must have lived in Spain continuously and legally for 5 years or more. During this period, you must not be absent from Spain for more than 6 months at any one time and must not have been absent from Spain for more than 10 months in total over the 5-year period.
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Although the period of student residence does not qualify as legal residence because the Spanish Aliens Act refers to “legal residence” as residencia, living in Spain as a student is called “estancia” (temporary residence). “(which can be translated as temporary residence or stay). However, according to article 152 of the Spanish Aliens Statute, the period of student residence is discounted by 50% when applying for residence in the European Union. In other words, if I have been a student in Spain for 4 years, then when applying for EU residence, this period counts as 50%, i.e. 2 years.
-Proof of sufficient financial means. The law does not require any special documents at this point, but simply describes that the applicant has enough financial ability to live.
Can a student residence be directly exchanged for an EU residence?
According to the above, if you have studied in Spain for 10 years, can you apply for EU residence directly? The answer is no. The law states that you must have “residencia” to apply for EU residency, whereas a student’s residency is an “estancia”, so it is not possible to exchange it for EU residency directly.
Therefore, it is not possible to change your student residence to an EU residence permit. For example, you can apply for a residence permit with the status of “Residencia” (Residence with Roots), a residence permit to work or even a residence permit to look for a job.
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The job-seeking residence is by far the easiest to apply for, as it does not require any special requirements, only that the student has graduated successfully. The approval time is also relatively short (20 days is considered as a default). The only disadvantage of the job-seeker’s visa is that it cannot be extended and the student should find a job before the expiration date. If the 1 year of the job search plus the previous student period is enough to complete 5 years (after 50% discount), then you can apply for EU residence directly. It should also be noted that in order to apply for EU residence, it is necessary to prove a stable income, which can be difficult to prove with a job search residence, unless the applicant has other passive income.
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Related article: FAQ about Applying for EU Permanent Residence
