A Non-Obvious Additional Request Nomads May Face When Bringing Family Over

This additional request may come up for nomads who initially applied for the nomad residence permit as a freelancer or self-employed individual, and only after receiving approval decided to bring their family to Spain. Many nomads who are not employed under contract forget that, when applying for residency, they committed to registering with the Spanish social security system. If you haven't done this by the time you apply for your family’s residence permit, there is about an 85% chance that UGE will send you this very request during their application review. And here lies an unpleasant catch... Registering with social security (Seguridad Social) is quite fast — it can be done in just 30 minutes if you have a Spanish digital certificate (certificado digital). But by that time, you must already have a Spanish bank account from which your monthly contributions will be automatically withdrawn. The problem? Not every bank is accepted — only those listed in the official register of Spain’s Social Security system. Opening an account in one of these banks and responding to the additional request within the 10-day deadline is nearly impossible. Due to strict KYC rules, a foreigner with a clean banking and tax history in Spain might have to wait up to 30 days for the account to be opened. The additional request from UGE typically looks like this:

What to do if you’re already in this situation?

First, try opening an account online instead of visiting a branch — this way, you can avoid the need to speak with a bank manager in Spanish. For example, BBVA allows you to go through identity verification online in English. Alternatively, you can use a bank account belonging to a friend or family member. Importantly, the account doesn’t need to be actively used — however, if it’s blocked, the system will still try to withdraw payments, resulting in a negative balance. We always recommend thinking through these details in advance to avoid such stressful situations. Or even better — get our premium assistance package. We'll soon share more about the benefits of this service, but in short: we handle almost everything for you (yes, almost is the key word). Feel free to message us directly with any questions!