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My family and I are moving to Spain for a year this summer. I am still working things out with my employer to see if I can work remotely (I'm a programmer, and it shouldn't be a problem), but I may not know for certain before our visa interview in March. We also plan to sell our house, but most likely won't close before the interview.

So we know that we will have enough money as long as our house sells OR if my company allows me to work remotely, but I'm not sure that we'll be able to prove either of those things by March. My understanding is that we would need either a letter from my employer or sufficient savings in a bank account. We have a healthy savings account, but not the full amount to cover a year (which Spain's application indicates would be around $50,000). We have plenty of funds in retirement accounts (401ks and IRAs). Can we use that money as proof of financial viability? Or does anyone have other ideas about how to prove we will be financially independent?

Thanks for your help!

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    Visa examiners look for evidence that when the visa period is done, you'll return to your country of citizenship and won't overstay and/or go underground. Some of the strongest "pulls" back to the country of citizenship are home and family and assets. Here, you're proposing to move with your family and sell your home and, perhaps, use a significant portion of your savings. I would gently point out that taking these steps will negatively impact the examiner, who will see them as making more likely the scenario that you will not depart as promised. – DavidSupportsMonica Nov 28 '18 at 3:34
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    Is remote work a non lucrative activity ? – audionuma Nov 28 '18 at 5:25
  • Thanks @David. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. My followup question would be this. Which is more convincing that we won't abuse the system: showing that we have a large stockpile of cash from a house sale or retirement savings, or declining to present that information and hoping that proof of income up to the time of the interview will be sufficient? (I realize this can be subjective to the examiner, but I'm trying to get a feel for how to balance this). – Divey Nov 28 '18 at 15:23
  • @audionuma From my understanding, as long as the remote work isn't in Spain itself (i.e. taking a job from a Spanish citizen), it is considered ok under a non-lucrative visa. – Divey Nov 28 '18 at 15:25
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    "as long as the remote work isn't in Spain itself": Do you have an official or at least credible source for that? Different countries have different policies in that regard, so it would be wise to be fairly certain about it. It would be unwise to make concrete plans (especially to sell your house) without being certain of the requirements. It would also be better to wait until after the visa is granted, not just until after the interview. – phoog Nov 28 '18 at 16:19

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