Residency & taxes for a US citizen living in Spain

Sorry, I wasn't sure what the best category was for this (Immigration vs. Taxes) so I'm posting in both.

OK, here's the deal:

1. I'm an American, US-born citizen currently living in Miami, FL.

2. I'm married to a Spaniard and we have two kids. Our kids both have Spanish passports (as well as US ones).

3. I lived in Spain in the past, was a resident (working for a Spanish company) from 2001-2006. The residency expired some years back but I still have a NIF because it was used on my paperwork last year when we bought a beachfront apartment in Alicante.

Also, we have a Libro de Familia, etc.

4. I now have my own company, mostly with US-based clients and most of what I do is virtual/online.

5. We're considering moving back to Spain in a few months. I would continue to operate my business remotely as always with my US-based clients, be paid in US dollars and have no need to work in Spain, take jobs from Spaniards etc. I can prove sufficient income and savings to life off of, provide bank statements, tax returns etc.

6. What type of visa/residency should I apply for? I've read about the "non lucrative visa" or alternatively becoming a non-fiscal resident. My hope is to continue paying all of the taxes in the US that I always do (The United States taxes on worldwide income and I have every intention to play things by the book with the IRS) while NOT paying Spanish income tax. I would like to avoid double taxation obviously if at all possible.

So, my bottom line questions are: what should I do? What type of visa/residency should I apply for? What are pros and cons of each? Anything else I should be aware of? Any other suggestions?

Hello sconley 500

In your personal situation, being married to a Spanish citizen, you should request a permit based on being family of EU resident. This means that your wife would need to become resident in Spain first and following this you would apply for your residency based on hers. The non lucrative permit makes no sense as your wife and children are Spaniards and will be becoming residents in Spain. Via the family of EU resident permit you will be able to legally work in Spain if this is your desire. As all residencies ( except for the new investment visa or also commonly known as 'golden visa') you will automatically become a fiscal resident in this country. The reason being that they all require that you spend a minimum of 183 days in this country. I understand that this is not your desire but there is no alternative I am afraid.

Why don't you apply for a Spanish citizenship? After all, you are married to a Spaniard so you can apply for the citizenship after one year of residence in Spain.