Most of our usual readers already know that the most common answer to any Immigration Law question is “it depends”.
And today we are bringing you yet another one of those cases. Will you get interviewed or questioned in any way at the Embassy or Consulate when you apply for your residency permit for Spain?
Same answer as always.Â
So just completely random then!?
Not quite. Fortunately, this circumstance is not completely random. The Law provides some small justification for the possibility of calling applicants to interview. This law states that, depending on the case, “the diplomatic mission or consular office might require the appearance of the applicant and, when needed, have a personal interview with them.”
The reasons behind this ambiguous phrase are varied. But there is one key reason: when you apply for a regular regime residency permit, you are supposed to live in Spain. Not only in theory, since it is implied by definition; you are actually obliged by Law to live in the country if you want your permit to be maintained.
So the authorities, when receiving applications, will try to test the commitment of some applicants that they feel might not be fully committed to living in the country in order to find out if they actually intend to live in Spain.
And if I meet this obligation I won’t be rejected then?
You might think that, if the legal requisites are met, the Government has no right to deny your application. Unfortunately, that is wrong.
The applications might be denied any time for the pettiest of reasons, and that includes not giving a convincing interview.
Having said that, there is no way to know if you will get interviewed when applying. It might depend on whether the public officer receiving your application is having a good day or not, or on an actually dubious application. The only thing that we can assure is that, if you get called for an interview, their intention is to try to spot frauds.
What interview questions will I get asked?
The questions they will ask you might of course vary, since these interviews involve hundreds of people in dozens of Embassies. However, we have been able to compile, through time and experience, some of the most common.
Thus, while we can’t state the exact questions here, it will help to have a domicile or occupation already prepared for Spain, as well as stating that you are able to sacrifice your current residency permit, if any, to make room for a Spanish one. If you have children, it will also be advantageous to have an acceptance letter from a school in the country. You get the picture.
The lesson is: “make sure that you look committed”.
Can Lexidy help guide me through the process with the spanish embassy?
So now you know about another one of the thousand little factors that may influence your application. But, since you are applying for a residency permit for Spain, we understand that your commitment should be real.
If so, the most likely scenario is that the authorities will believe that too but it’s not always so simple and, of course, the actual interview is only part of the longer process anyway.
Contact us and we can help you through the Spanish residency process from start to finish – including helping you with any testing interview you might have to take!
