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Hello all. I am a 30 year old American currently living in Tokyo and I want to move to Barcelona for 1 year. My profession is freelance Illustrator, i illustrate for magazines, newspapers, ad agencies, tv commercials, etc..., clients such as the Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, etc... I have a mobile job where I can work remotely from anywhere. I lived for 1.5 year in Beijing, and 1.5 years in Tokyo working remotely and want to try Barcelona next. Of course I want to make amazing personal art from my experiences in Spain as well as my usual commercial work. Since illustration is a commercial art there isn't really a chance to become world famous, but I am established in my field. I'm also prepared to write up a big 1 year art project and do it if needed to get an artist visa. What are my options? Does something like an artist's visa exist? After many hours on the web I can't really tell. Do I have any other options? I don't really want to study Spanish for 20 hrs/wk because I studied Japanese here in Tokyo for a year and it was hard with 20hr/wk of class plus my work. Thank you for your help!

-jason

My Illustration Site - www.JasonRaish.com</a>

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Does something like an artist's visa exist?

You mean a residency permit for self-employed people? If you had enough money, you could always ask at the Spanish consulate in Tokyo, Jason-san :-) I however thought you wanted to move to Paris . How about now...?

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a_p hahaha yes I am weighing my options at this point in my life. My japan visa is ending soon and i'm free to move around so I've gotta go for something, wherever that may end up being

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Jason, ask at the Spanish consulate, not here. There must be one in Tokyo.

You are self-employed and can work online so all you need is an exempt from the 90-day rule that limits your stay in EU countries. If you can prove that you can support yourself for a year while staying in Spain, it may be possible.

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You'll need to work as an autonomo (also known as cuenta propia) but I've got no idea how US citizens jump through the hurdles to get into the country to do it.

You'll need a gestor to do the books for you, at least at the beginning. I'm afraid I can't recommend the one I had.

Spain isn't very friendly for self-employed people either. E.g. you need to pay at least 250 euros flat rate a month in the form of Social Security spite of no income for that month. As Barcelona has got a bit of a cashflow problem these days it has just in the past week got a list of self employed people based at home and started sending bills charging them commercial waste rates (you know, the same rates shops pay to be able to throw kilos of rubbish away every day).

So all in all, I'm not entirely sure if working as an autonomo in Spain would, erm, let you concentrate fully on your art...

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i've heard that word autonomo kicked around. thanks for your helpful response, it was helpful!

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I am a bit confused - I understood that you would be staying in Spain but keeping your work (remotely) in the States, not working for Spanish companies or newspapers?

In that case, I see no reason to have to pay 250 euros in Social Security monthly as an autonomo if you are not actually working in Spain?

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if paying 250 euros a month is what i have to do to live in spain then i'll do it. yes i wouldn't be working for spanish companies but technically i think they still consider it working in spain even if its done over the internet. i would welcome spanish work too, but i would welcome it anywhere i live.

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You´re technically not working in Spain if you are getting money from American companies into an American bank account and are registered to do so in America, where you also pay taxes on that received money. Where you are physcially at the time is irrelevant. However, the moment you want to charge a Spanish company or an individual, you will need a Spanish CIF - a company tax number and an address in Spain, to be able to pay taxes and to be able to produce legal receipts for your work.

Good luck.

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so do i have any other options?

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