How do you get a non-resident certificate in Spain and what is it used for?

When a foreigner buys a property in Spain, opens a bank account or wants to apply a double taxation treaty, they are often asked for a non-resident certificate (certificado de no residente). Two different documents tend to be confused under this name.

1. Police certificate of residence or non-residence

This is the document banks usually ask for to classify an account as a non-resident account (cuenta de no residente) and apply the treatment for non-residents, for example regarding withholding tax on interest. It is issued by the Dirección General de la Policía (Spanish National Police).

• You apply with a prior appointment (cita previa) at foreigners' offices or authorised police stations. In some cases it can also be handled through a representative.
• You will normally need your passport, your NIE (foreigner identification number) and payment of the police fee (Modelo 790).
• Banks usually require it to be up to date and may ask for it to be renewed periodically.

Some banks accept a tax residence certificate from your home country instead. It is worth checking with your bank before starting the process.

2. Tax residence certificate from your home country

For Hacienda (the Spanish tax authority), the usual way to prove you are not tax resident in Spain is to show that you are tax resident in another country. This is done with a certificate of tax residence issued by the tax authority of your country of residence (in the UK, HMRC). The Spanish Tax Agency only issues tax residence certificates to people resident in Spain, so it cannot certify that you are not.

This certificate is used, for example, to:

• apply the limits and exemptions of a tax treaty to avoid double taxation on dividends, interest or other income;
• prove your residence in another country if Hacienda questions your non-resident status;
• show that absences from Spain are not merely occasional for the purposes of the 183-day count.

In practice a recent certificate is usually required, normally valid for one year from issue, and in some cases it must refer expressly to the treaty with Spain.

What the certificate does not do

Neither document determines your tax residence on its own. That depends on the criteria in the Spanish income tax law (Ley del IRPF): days spent in Spain, centre of economic interests and family situation. If you actually live in Spain, a non-resident certificate will not stop Hacienda treating you as resident. And if you are non-resident, you will still have to declare your Spanish income, such as from your property, using Modelo 210 (Spanish non-resident income tax return).