Due to the current situation, we have prepared a document with some frequently ask questions for international investors who want investing in Spain.
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Can you request a deferment of the rent of a business or a house?
In principle not, only in the case of mortgages of those who have lost income or their job due to the coronavirus. However, the Government is considering establishing aid for the rental of premises and offices. Work is underway to create a package of measures for those SMEs and the self-employed who have been affected by the coronavirus crisis. Specifically, the Government is studying the possibility of establishing a moratorium, as has been done in France, or a direct line of aid, as in Italy, for the payment of rent for offices or premises.
In any case, this operation would not affect the properties of natural persons and would only be aimed at large companies and legal entities. In addition, the criteria to qualify for this measure would be the same as for the mortgage moratorium approved last week.
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What is the global crisis caused by COVID-19 expected to be like?
The world economic scenario is very uncertain at the moment, but analyst Mohamed El-Erian predicts that there will be four phases.
- The first, in which we are already immersed, is of economic and corporate damages (with a stoppage in the services and manufacturing sectors, a perfect storm that restrains consumption, investment and trade at the same time).
- The second, financial contagion: money stands still and only central banks can offer liquidity.
- The third, bottom formation: there will come a time when the markets will bottom out; If this is matched with effective containment of the virus, recovery can be less painful.
- Lastly, the long-term effects will come, among which a boost to de-globalization is foreseen, with companies that will rethink, for example, the benefits of having distant production centers, distributed all over the world.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to mobilize all its lending capacity, a trillion euros (about 890,000 million euros), to help countries face “the economic and humanitarian impact” of the coronavirus, said the managing director of the body, the Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva.
Do I have to continue paying the tax debts?
In order to facilitate the payment of tax debts, the terms for payment are made more flexible, both in the voluntary period and in the executive period, as well as the payment derived from the deferment and installment agreements.
Clarification: if there is more than one expiration derived from deferment or installment concession agreements notified before the RDL comes into force and to pay between the date of entry into force of the RDL and April 30, 2020, all the due dates that should entered between the entry into force of the RDL (March 18, 2020) and April 30, 2020 are carried over to the latter date, without increasing their amount.
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Are the deadlines for filing declarations and self-assessments modified?
No. The deadlines for submission and entry of self-assessments and the deadlines for submission of informative returns are not affected by the suspension of deadlines regulated in Royal Decree-Law 8/2020. This is established in section 6 of the third additional provision of Royal Decree 463/2020, of March 14, which declares the state of alarm for the management of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19, incorporated to said additional provision by Royal Decree 465/2020, of March 17.
For this purpose, it is recalled that measures have been adopted to make postponements more flexible (see the section on questions about postponement measures).
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My digital certificate is about to expire, what should I do?
In relation to those taxpayers whose electronic certificate is expired or about to expire, it is reported that the AEAT allows the use of expired certificates in its HEADQUARTERS in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 463/2020, of March 14.
If you have questions about technical computing issues, you can call the following numbers: 901 200 347 or 91 757 57 77.
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Are the immigration or police offices open?
No, all the immigration offices, police stations or civil registry are now closed.
In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in charge of legalizations, has also closed. However, they are sending the files by post, accompanied by an envelope prepared for urgent return.
There is only one exception. The civil registry will be opened for marriages and births that have been scheduled.
But any attempt to go to one of them will be a fine; because they are not included in the possibilities of leaving your house that you are allowed right now.
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What if I had an appointment scheduled for these days?
If you had an appointment with any public administration institution, it is now suspended.
Therefore, any appointments for fingerprinting, return authorization, European Union certificates or flag swearing for nationality procedures are temporarily canceled.
This does not mean that it is canceled forever. Once the situation returns to normal, you will retrieve your appointment and can proceed with your file or request.
Although we don’t know exactly how it will ultimately work, people who had an appointment that has now been canceled due to the coronavirus will have preferential treatment and will be able to get their appointment sooner.
Be sure to check your email to find a notification indicating its cancellation.
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What appointments are canceled?
With the current situation, the face-to-face appointments of all the residence authorizations that were presented in the immigration office are canceled:
- Rooting
- Family reunification
- Family member of community
However, an exceptional authorization has been created for the presentation of residences. You must present a series of specific documents and your personal documents. With the digital certificate, your residence will not be affected.
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Can I make an appointment with the police or immigration office to carry out my procedure?
It is still possible to get an appointment for any immigration procedure that must be done in person. But keep in mind that the earliest you can get it is for September.
And since everyone who had a scheduled appointment (now canceled) will have preferential treatment, the delay in formalizing your file will be noticeable.
To request your appointment with the immigration or police office, you must do it online.
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What procedures can I no longer carry out?
To make things even clearer, we attach a list of the procedures that you can NOT do now:
- NIE
- Fingerprinting
- Return authorization
- EU Certificate
That is, all the procedures that were carried out in the police.
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What should I do if my green card is about to expire?
This may seem somewhat dramatic at first. Your TIE or residence card may be about to expire, and how can you not renew it (since any face-to-face immigration procedure is paralyzed). Technically you will become illegal.
But the news is not as bad as it sounds. You will not have any problem to renew your green card.
Well, a Royal Decree has been approved to deal with the interruption of deadlines for processing public sector procedures (including any public administration, without exception). In other words, you can still submit your renewal request, and you can do it electronically.
And for the renewal to be valid, you must start it before the expiration of your card (60 days before) or 90 days later. The renewal process can be carried out without problem, the only thing you must do later will be the registration of the fingerprint.
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My tourist visa is about to expire and I cannot leave the country. What I do?
It is very likely that as a foreigner visiting Spain, your tourist visa is about to expire.
Because the borders are closed, you will not be able to leave the country, which will mean that you become an irregular person in Spain.
Orience International team is at your complete disposal to continue serving your needs and doubts about investing in Spain.
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