A bank account in Spain can be opened by both residents and non-residents of the country. The purpose of opening can be completely different: receive a salary or pension into an account, link utility bills and a contract telephone to an account, pay taxes in Spain from an account (for example, the annual real estate tax IBI, transport tax or tax on non-resident income INRR, purchase real estate in Spain with a mortgage, etc. A bank account in Spain may also be required for businessmen and investors planning to engage in entrepreneurial activities.
It would seem that such a sought-after service should be provided by all commercial banks in Spain with speed and ease. In fact, the situation is that most banks are reluctant to accommodate foreign clients, especially citizens of countries outside the EU.
Over the years since the country emerged from the crisis, the requirements for third-country citizens have become incredibly stricter. There is an explanation for this:
- firstly, banks learned a lesson from the situation of an avalanche of non-repayment of mortgage loans by foreigners;
- secondly, banks diligently adhere to European anti-money laundering policies.
All this led to the fact that each client began to be looked at literally under a magnifying glass, and the number of refusals to open an account increased.
Documents for opening a bank account in Spain
To minimize the risk of refusal and open a bank account in Spain, you need to stock up on documents confirming the source of income. Residents of Spain use “nominas” (salary slips), employment contracts, tax returns, etc. for these purposes.
Spanish banks require non-residents to submit:
- certificates from work,
- declaration
- from entrepreneurs declaration
It is important to consult with the bank manager in advance and find out the requirements for paperwork. For some banks, a simple translation of documents into Spanish may be sufficient, others may require only sworn translation, and still others may require mandatory apostille of all documents. The bank may also ask for a statement from an account opened in the country of permanent residence, indicating the movement of funds over the last 6-12 months.
Therefore, if you are planning to purchase real estate in Spain, it is better to entrust the opening of a bank account in Spain to a realtor who will accompany you. Entrust this procedure to professionals in order to save time on finding a bank that will open an account for a non-resident.
The financial documents listed by us will be required when opening an account, and in the future – once a year or once every two years to confirm the legality of the income received. Late submission of documents may result in account blocking, and this is an unpleasant situation, because… will not allow you to replenish your balance until the issue with the documents is fully resolved.
In addition to submitting financial documents, non-residents of Spain are required to annually confirm their tax non-resident status. The application form can be obtained either from the bank itself or downloaded from its website.
In addition to financial documents, when opening a bank account in Spain you will need to submit:
- for residents – TIE plastic resident card;
- for non-residents – a valid passport and NIE (National Identification Number) certificate;
- for students – a plastic student card.
If you want to open a bank account in Spain for the purchase of real estate, you will definitely be asked for a reserve agreement or a deposit, and after the completion of the transaction, a notarized bill of sale.
A number of banks in Spain have the option of opening an account online (this is how BBVA bank works, for example). A bank account is opened independently through the website, and all necessary documents are sent to the bank by courier.
There are also a number of banks in Spain, 99% of which operate online. For rare operations that require the personal presence of clients, single offices in large cities are maintained. This is how, for example, OpenBank, part of the Santander bank group, works. One significant “but”: such banks work only with residents of Spain and do not accept non-resident foreigners for services.
Operating principles of Spanish banks
An interesting feature of the work of Spanish banks is that there is no uniform policy and uniform requirements regarding foreign clients and their documents. The same issue can be resolved differently not only in different banks, but even in two neighboring branches of the same bank.
Here, an important role is played by the position of the management of each specific department and the internal policy of working with foreigners. And because In the Spanish banking system, there is a constant rotation of employees; just yesterday, a branch that was loyal to foreigners today may no longer be so, and vice versa.
So what should you pay attention to when choosing a bank? Convenient location, service conditions, commission size, staff speaking English (and sometimes Russian), the ability to assign a client to a personal manager – these are the key points.
As practice shows, small regional banks are the most loyal to foreign clients, and the most absurd demands are usually put forward by foreign banks (for example, Barclays and Halifax). Of course, if you buy bank real estate with a mortgage, you have no choice – you will have to open a bank account in Spain with the selling bank. In all other cases, the client retains freedom of choice.
Be sure to visit the bank’s website and, if possible in demo mode, the client’s personal account. Spain has taken the path of reducing the physical offices of commercial banks. Most banks are cutting staff, closing or merging offices and diligently transferring as much work as possible online. Because Almost all operations can now be performed through your personal account; it is important that the interface is convenient and understandable to the user, and that the site works, at a minimum, in English.
Since September of this year, commercial banks in Spain have added the stage of verifying the user and his online transactions by sending SMS messages with a code to the user’s phone. All clients were strongly advised in advance to obtain Spanish phone numbers and link them to their account.
When opening a bank account in Spain, you need to be prepared for the fact that the bank will impose related services in the form of life, property, and car insurance. And if, when applying for a mortgage, banks are strictly prohibited from putting pressure on a potential borrower and imposing secondary financial products, then when simply opening an account they are free to make any demands.
The requirement to buy insurance may be mandatory: if you don’t buy it, you won’t be able to open an account with this particular bank. To be fair, we note that sometimes banks offer good insurance conditions that are worth considering.
How to open and fund a bank account in Spain in the future
There are several ways to top up your account in a Spanish bank:
- transfer money from a foreign bank,
- make a bank transfer from an account opened in another commercial bank in Spain,
- deposit money into your account through the cash register,
- receive a salary, pension or any benefit into the account,
- top up your balance through an ATM.
However, not all of these methods are available to every client.
Typically, non-residents are required to top up their account only by bank transfer. Moreover, this transfer must be made from the client’s personal account from the country of his fiscal residence. In exceptional cases, the bank may agree to accept money over the counter, but the amount will be limited to a few thousand euros per year.
An exception may also be cases of payment of compensation for insurance (for example, for car insurance – compensation for damage caused to health or a car), but even here you will need to notify the bank in advance about the amount of payments in order to avoid blocking the account or rejecting the payment.
If the account is opened by a student, you will need to negotiate the possibility of transferring money from your parents (probably with the presentation of relevant financial documents from them).