Can I have two resident permits in two Schengen countries if I'm a tax resident in only one and I'm non-EU citizen?

Question

So, this is my situation, I'm from South America and I'm in Norway with a working holiday visa (residence permit), since it's ending I already applied and got a residence visa from Spain (non-lucrative visa*) but due to the nature of the visa and me not having online, I thought if it was possible to get another working holiday visa in maybe Denmark or Sweden; the main thing is that it's a place where I can be taxed as a non-resident.

The idea of this is aiming for citizenship, since it's only 2 year wait time so I can apply to the Spanish citizenship.

I have some doubts though, for example, the NL visa doesn't let me be out of Spain for more than 3 months as the standard Schengen time of a tourist (the same applies to the WH visa), so just from the get go it seems a bit impossible; unless I did something as Foodora where I could start right away.

As far as I know, related to the Spanish citizenship, I could be out of Spain up to 6 months (say, out of Schengen) in a year, go back for a bit and then get out again.

It seems quite impossible, but maybe it works?

*I can apply for a change of status after the first year, but looking at how bad it will get the economy with the coronavirus, I doubt that I'll pass the minimum requirements.

Answer 1

I am not sure I completely follow your plan but it sounds like you are making this needlessly complicated. The key thing to understand is that both (personal) taxes and residence permit/long-stay visas are largely national matters (tax law can be impacted by bilateral agreements but even EU countries don't always have one). There are only a few rules and no coherent all-encompassing system at the EU or Schengen level.

If you fulfill the conditions in one country, you can hold a residence permit there, irrespective of your status in another country; “having two residence permits” is not a particularly good way to look at it. The same goes for tax residency. This can work to your disadvantage (e.g. double taxation) as, absent specific bilateral agreements, being deemed a resident for some purpose in one country doesn't preclude being deemed a resident for some other purpose in another country.

The problem is that many (but not all) naturalization processes come with rather stringent residence requirements. That is, you must have been effectively present in the country most of the time over the last X years (and be able to document that) and (often) intend to live there in the future to be eligible. In that domain, the impact of EU law is even more limited. It's a well established principle that EU member states are fully sovereign in that respect (cf. e.g. the Chen v Home Secretary EUCJ case or the “citizenship by investment” programmes in some countries). Schengen law or your status in another country legally have no bearing on that.

So to the extent that Spain limits the time spent abroad before applying for citizenship, there is no point wondering about having two residence permits or the like. Even if you would, that wouldn't exempt your from the material residence requirement. Conversely, if you think your status would allow you to leave Spain and still apply for citizenship then holding a Spanish permit doesn't per se disqualify you for another visa elsewhere (but you do need to wonder about what obtaining such a visa says about your intent, in case that's relevant for the naturalization process).