There can be various reasons for denying the community card, ranging from not proving sufficient financial means to lacking medical insurance for the community card. The causes can be very diverse, and in this article, we’ll explain all the potential reasons for having your community card denied. Therefore, we’ll detail the different reasons that exist and what to do if your application for the community residence card is denied.
Denial of Community Residence Card
The first thing to know is that the Community Card is the one you get when you are a family member of a European Union citizen or of a Spanish citizen and you join or accompany your family member here in Spain.
Main reasons for an unfavorable resolution of the community card
The main reasons for a possible unfavorable resolution of a community card can be:
- Not being registered with the community inhabitant.
- Failure to prove the relationship
- Criminal record
- Not accrediting the fact of living in dependence of the community relative.
- Not having medical insurance for community card
- Failure to prove sufficient financial means
Failure to prove sufficient financial means
One of the most common reasons for denial of residence of the Community Card is often not to prove sufficient financial means. And it is that the Spanish inhabitant should have sufficient economic means in all the cases.
For that, he/she will have to be working as an employee or self-employed, or to be a student and to make a responsible assertion of availability of economic means, or to justify the reality of own economic means by means of any admissible means of proof.
It must be proved that sufficient money is available. In case of not proving or not justifying the existence of sufficient financial means, your application for a Community Card will most likely be denied. In order not to incur in a denial of the Community Residence Card, you can consult us and we will study your case to know if you comply with these means.
Not having medical insurance for a Community Residence Card
In addition, if you do not have a medical insurance for community card, your Community Card will be denied.
It is necessary to have a medical insurance, either public or private, that covers the health needs in our region.
In case of opting for a private health insurance, it should cover the same simple needs provided by the public health assistance.
Therefore, insurance with co-payments or waiting periods would not be valid… We must have a complete private medical insurance.
Failure to provide proof of living in the care of the EU family member.
It is also common to see Community Cards denied for not proving the fact of living in the care of the community relative in the case of ascendants or children over 21 years of age or relatives, which we call «extended family».
In such cases, it is necessary to justify that one lives in charge of the relative of the inhabitant of the European Alliance. It is not enough to show any remittance or any money sent by your relative.
Nor is it enough to mention that you live with the EU relative and that he/she is preserving you.
It is necessary to prove that the money transfers are made on a regular or recurrent basis prior to the entry into Spain, that is, prior to your reunion in Spain with your family member.
In addition, it will be necessary to accredit the trade case of the foreign inhabitant in its territory of origin.
It is going to be a way to know if in his territory of origin he worked or not and to verify if he lacks economic means to continue being in his territory and that he needs to be maintained by the community inhabitant.
In other words, it will justify that he/she lives under your care and will avoid the denial of the Community Card for this reason.
Criminal Record
It is fundamental to know that a denial of a Community Residence Card for a family member is not denied only because of the fact of having a criminal record. It is feasible to obtain the Community Card even if you still have a criminal record (but be careful with this).
However, they do have the possibility of denying it for being a risk to public order, public health or public stability. This can happen if you have been arrested repeatedly and have not served a sentence.
In this situation, you could be denied a Community Card even if you have no criminal record.
In addition, if you have a serious criminal record, such a record has the potential to constitute grounds for denial for many immigration procedures.
Failure to provide proof of relationship
If it is not sufficiently clear that you are a relative of the Spanish or community inhabitant, that is, if the condition of relative cannot be accredited because the documentation is not legalized and, therefore, it is not adequate, because it is out of date, or because there is not really such a link.
There are many cases of wrong couples or wrong marriages, which are investigated by the offices of foreigners and the brigades of foreigners of the national police in search of that fraud.
They are investigated to prevent this practice from happening in order to obtain residency.
If this is your case and you really do not have a partner or your real partner is not from the European Union, DO NOT DO THIS!
It could be considered a crime and, obviously, your Community Card will be denied.
Not being registered with the EU inhabitant
It is necessary to reside and be registered with the EU family member, because if the opposite situation is proven, you will not be entitled to the Community Card even if you are a family member of a member of the European Alliance.
This happens, for example, in cases in which a Spanish inhabitant applies for a Community Card for his mother or for his wife, but the Spanish inhabitant at that moment does not reside in Spain and manages to be in another territory of the European continent.
In these situations, he/she will not have the right to apply for the Community Card, because, as mentioned above, the Spanish inhabitant has the right to apply for the Community Card.
Questions and answers about the denial of a community card
If after you have read the article you still have doubts about the denial of the EU family residence card, they may be solved below; otherwise I invite you to contact us by email or telephone with your query.
What can I do if I am denied the community card?
The denial of the community card is not the end of this procedure. The following options are only recommended in case we are sure that we meet all the requirements and still we have been denied the community card.
In that case what to do if the residence card is denied, we will have other legal options as in first instance the Appeal of Appeal, directed before the hierarchical superior that dictates resolution.
The next option that we can use is a lawsuit before the contentious-administrative jurisdiction, that is to say, a trial. To file the appeal, you have one month from the date you were notified of the first decision. To file the lawsuit, you have two months from the date you are notified of the resolution of the appeal.
What does an unfavorable decision mean?
Not favorable or denied, means that the Foreigners’ Office has decided not to grant the request made, in this case for the Community Card.
Marta Palacios Cuesta is the founder and principal consultant of Es Abogado Extranjería, a law firm specializing in immigration law in Madrid and Seville. With an impressive academic background, Marta offers expert advice on immigration procedures, residency processes and obtaining Spanish nationality. Committed to providing personalized and up-to-date solutions, her firm stands out for its detailed and professional approach. If you need legal guidance regarding your status in Spain, contact Marta for a personalized consultation at Es Abogado Extranjería.