Grants on the simulator

The financial support simulator is a Barcelona City Council tool, but in addition to financial support exclusively for people registered in Barcelona, you can also find some of the main public support and social benefits granted by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the State Administration.

The simulator does not cover all existing financial support, but it does cover the most important ones.

The financial support included in the simulator is regularly updated and expanded with the addition of new financial support.

Some of the incorporated financial supports are not available all year round, and, therefore, it is possible that the simulator will tell you that you are entitled to financial support and that you cannot apply for it at that moment. We recommend that you consult the financial support in the simulator on a regular basis.

The simulator website includes a list of financial support, where you can consult the descriptions of the various public supports, as well as the eligibility requirements.

Yes. Your family unit may qualify for the child financial support supplement, but may not qualify for the minimum living income benefit.

This is due to the significant difference in the respective income and asset limits, which are more restrictive in the case of the minimum living income benefit.

In order to apply for the child financial support supplement, the person representing the family unit must complete the application form for the minimum living income. You must do this even if you are not entitled to the minimum living income benefit, because it is the same procedure.

This benefit brings the amounts paid under pensions, benefits and other state financial support into line with those of the guaranteed citizenship income. It results in the same amounts being received.

This supplement is available to people receiving pensions, benefits and other state financial support whose income is below the threshold for receiving the guaranteed citizenship income.

The supplement to pensions, benefits and other state financial support supplements two types of benefits:

  • Non-contributory pensions (PNC) for retirement or disability.
  • State pensions other than PNC: SOVI, state pension for retirement, incapacity, widowhood, orphanhood, or other aids from the State Public Employment Service (SEPE). In these cases, it will be necessary to present documentation proving that the minimum vital income application has been submitted to process the supplement.

Different income requirements apply in each of these two cases. You can find out all the details on the financial support page.

It is not possible to receive both the minimum living allowance and the guaranteed citizenship income.

You can receive the minimum living allowance with a supplement to pensions, benefits and other state financial support. This supplement is granted by the Generalitat de Catalunya to bring the amounts paid under state pensions up to the same level as the guaranteed citizenship income.

Household type, personal situation, and housing

This is an issue that can lead to confusion when applying for financial support because the definitions of household and family unit are not the same in the different regulations and legislation governing public financial support.

Here are some definitions and examples that may be of assistance:

  • The family unit as provided for in the regulations of the guaranteed citizenship income (RGC): The family is made up of the people who are legally part of your family up to the second degree of kinship and who are registered and live at your address.
  • The household according to the minimum living income (IMV): exactly as in the previous case, it is made up of the people who are legally part of your family up to the second degree of kinship and who are registered and live at your address.
  • The household according to housing financial support: this is made up of the people registered at your address, even if they are not part of your family.

This simulator uses the concept of family unit to refer to all the people who are legally part of your family and are registered and living together at your address.

 

That is to say, those united by marriage, as a common-law or stable partner, or by ties up to the second degree of kinship, affinity or adoption (fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, parents-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandfathers, grandmothers, brothers, sisters, grandsons, granddaughters, stepsons, stepdaughters, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law), or other persons with whom you live by virtue of foster care for adoption or permanent foster care, or cohabitation ties similar to such ties, excluding those of simply living together. 

The degree of kinship shall be counted from the person consulting the financial support to which he/she is entitled. The smallest family unit is one person.

The simulator also takes into account that your family unit may share a home with other people or family units; therefore, in the housing section, you can indicate the number of people registered in your home.

Yes, most financial support requires you to be registered in your municipal register. The place of registration will determine what financial support you can access at local and regional level.

The simulator includes specific financial support for family units with dependent children or minors, depending on their age:

In the case of economic benefits such as the minimum living income and the guaranteed citizenship income, family units with dependent children or minors benefit from higher monthly amounts.

Legal and actual residence in Spain is one of the requirements applicable to most of the financial benefits offered by public administrations.

Holders of a Spanish national identity document (DNI) do not need to prove that they are legally resident in Spain, as they are Spanish nationals.

In the case of foreigners, having an identity number for foreign nationals (NIE) is not enough to prove legal residence. It only provides proof of identity.

Foreigners wishing to prove legal residence in Spain must use one of the following documents:

  • EU citizens: They must submit their certificate of registration as an EU national and a valid passport. This document provides proof of registration of an EU, EEA or Swiss national in the Central Register of Foreigners. Being registered in this constitutes proof of residence in Spain for more than three months.
  • EU national family members: The family members of an EU, EEA or Swiss national who are not nationals of any of these countries may reside in Spain for more than three months when accompanying or joining the EU, EEA or Swiss national. In this case, they must apply for and obtain an EU national family member residence card (identity card for foreign nationals who are family members of an EU national).
  • Nationals of countries outside the EEA and Switzerland must apply for an identity card for foreign nationals (TIE). The TIE is the sole and only document that provides valid proof of legal residence in Spain, the type of permit and its duration.
  • Asylum seekers and refugees: people falling under this category are applying for international protection. They are allowed to legally reside in Spain while the application is being processed. They can prove this by showing their asylum application document and, once they have it, their Red Card. If the asylum and refugee status application is successful, they will retain their legal residence status. However, if the application is unsuccessful, they will lose their legal residence status.

If you are 65 or older, you can receive most of the financial support in the simulator.

Some financial support is specific to this age group:

If you receive a non-contributory pension (retirement and/or disability), you can, in some cases, supplement your income with the minimum living income and the guaranteed citizenship income.

If you are under 65 years of age and are in early retirement, you can also supplement your pension with the minimum living income and the guaranteed citizenship income.

The Civil Code of Catalonia foresees that two people (regardless of sex) may be considered as a common-law or stable couple in any of the following cases:

  • If the cohabitation lasts for more than two uninterrupted years. It is demonstrated by a registration certificate in the municipal register at the same address.
  • If they have a child in common during their cohabitation. This is demonstrated using the family book.
  • If they formalise the relationship in a public deed before a notary or civil-law notary. This is evidenced by the notarial deed.

Some social security benefits, such as the minimum living income (IMV) and widow's or widower's pensions, only recognise a common-law partner or a stable partner in the following case:

  • If the couple has been living together for at least five years without interruption, in a stable and well-known manner, immediately prior to claiming the benefit.

Separations, divorces or dissolutions of common-law partnerships must be proven by documentation proving the formalisation or initiation of the corresponding legal procedures, either through the courts or before a civil-law notary.

This documentation can be a petition for separation or divorce, a court-ordered settlement agreement or a notarial deed.

Without documentation, the public administrations responsible for financial support cannot recognise these situations.

Therefore, before carrying out the simulation, couples who are in the process of separation, divorce or dissolution of the common-law partnership should take into account the following aspects:

  • If you have not yet started the necessary legal procedures, you must enter the details of both partners in the simulation, even if they no longer live together at the same address.
  • If they have already initiated or formalised the necessary legal procedures (and can prove it with documents), the data of the ex-partner do not have to be entered in the simulation.

In the case of victims of gender-based violence, it is not necessary to have started legal procedures for separation, divorce or dissolution of the common-law relationship.

Financial and employment situation

Yes, working is compatible with receiving financial support. In most cases, the income threshold rather than the employment situation determines eligibility for financial support.

This is some of the financial support that is compatible with work:

  • The minimum living income (IMV) is compatible with work, either as an employee or self-employed, as long as the household income does not exceed the established limits.
  • The guaranteed citizenship income (RGC) is also compatible with work, but only in the case of single-parent families, large families and long-term unemployed persons over 55 years of age.
  • Both housing and child financial support are also compatible with work.

If you do not have a job, it is important that you register as a jobseeker in order to access certain public financial support.

Unemployed persons are those aged 16 and over who are looking for work.

EThe legal recognition of a person as unemployed requires registration as a job seeker with the corresponding public employment service; in the case of Catalonia, this is the Catalan Unemployment Service (SOC).

Registration as a jobseeker is compulsory in the following cases:

  • People receiving or claiming unemployment benefits.
  • People receiving or claiming financial benefits such as the minimum living income and the guaranteed citizenship income.

Registration as a jobseeker is free and gives access to various services such as training courses, career guidance and work experience programmes. It also provides access to job offers managed by the employment offices.

The simulator will ask you two questions about your income in order to find out whether you meet the financial vulnerability requirements for the different financial support available:

  • "Enter your annual income for last year"
  • "Indicate your total income for the last six months"

In the case of the first question, the "income for last year" is the income indicated in your personal income tax return or in the certificate of income that you can request from the tax authorities.

If you do not have any of these documents, you can do the calculation yourself by adding the following incomes:

  • Salaried work: Gross wage or salary amount
  • Self-employment: Net income (income minus expenses)
  • Pensions and benefits, contributory or non-contributory, public or private: Gross amount
  • Other income (capital gains, rental from real estate): Net income (income minus expenses)

In the case of the second question, "income for the last six months" should be calculated by adding up your income yourself.

For more information, we recommend that you check the income limits for each of the financial supports available in the list of financial support.

Housing situation

There are various types of financial support for housing. In the most cases, this is financial support for rent payments, but there is also support for mortgage repayments and support in the event of eviction and foreclosure.

On a case-by-case basis, the following persons may apply for this type of financial support:

  • Signatories of a rental agreement for a dwelling or room, in the case of rental subsidies or other financial support for tenants.
  • Home-owners, in the case of financial support for the mortgage payment on the main residence or other support for home-owners.
  • Persons under a regime of cession of use of a dwelling or room when so established by the corresponding regulations.

It is also important to be aware of the incompatibilities that generally prevent access to housing financial support:

  • Having a rental lease for a property managed by the Catalan Housing Agency or any other public administration in general.
  • Refusal of public housing or a compulsory social rent without justified cause.
  • The family relationship with the persons owning or renting the dwelling.

To find out about the beneficiaries and the requirements to apply for specific financial support, we recommend that you consult the list of financial support.

When more than one family unit lives in the same residence, each of them must conduct their simulation separately.

In the simulation section related to the household, it asks if there are additional individuals registered at the address (apart from the family unit conducting the simulation) and what their incomes are. In this way, when allocating certain housing benefits, the simulator also takes into account the individuals registered at the address who are not part of the same family unit.

Yes. The applicant for housing benefits must be the holder of the rental contract, lease agreement, or room occupancy agreement.

When the rental contract for the home is in the name of more than one person, any of the contract holders can submit the application.

In the specific case of subsidies for rental payments aimed at individuals aged 35 or younger, all individuals listed as contract holders on the rental agreement can submit the application.

In the case of renting a room, a room rental agreement is necessary to apply for housing benefits.

If you share a flat with other people who are not part of your family unit, you have to do the simulation without including the people who are not part of your family unit.

This is important because economic benefits such as the minimum living income (IMV) or the guaranteed citizenship income (RGC), among others, are based on the personal and economic situation of the family unit.

Furthermore, in the simulation, you can indicate whether you live in a home you own, a rented home, a home or room under cession of use if you do not have a fixed abode, or other situations.

You will also be asked for the number of people registered in the dwelling who are not part of your family unit, as well as the income of these people. This information is necessary to determine whether you are eligible for housing financial support.

Yes, as long as the person or family unit is registered at the address where the room is located and there is a rental agreement for the room (the agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties).

After the simulation

The result of the simulation is not binding on the Barcelona City Council or other public administrations. In other words, the result of the simulator does not entitle you to the financial support listed in the simulator, as its purpose is to inform people about the public support to which they may be entitled.

The result of the simulation is conditioned by the data entered by the person performing the simulation. It is, therefore, necessary and important to have accurate information before carrying out the simulation, especially information related to the family unit’s income.

Before applying for the financial support shown in the simulator result, we recommend that you read the descriptions and requirements of each one in the list of financial support.

If you consider that you meet the necessary requirements to access public support, you must follow the procedures to apply at the corresponding public administration within specified deadlines and in the manner indicated in the regulations and the call for financial support applications.

All public financial support in the simulator has a fact sheet, which you can find in the list of financial support. These forms include a section with detailed information on the necessary requirements for your application, application deadlines, and a direct link to the procedure’s website.

It should be noted that some of the financial support has a limited period for applications. In other words, they cannot be applied for at any time of the year. It is, therefore, very important to carry out the procedures within the terms specified by the relevant public administration.

You can run the simulation as many times as you wish. There is no limit.

It is advisable to repeat it at least once a year, as the characteristics of the financial support in the simulator may change or new financial support may be added, and your family, financial or housing situation may change.

If you need to change any of the data entered, you do not need to enter all the information again. You can retrieve a previous simulation using the code that appears with the result. You will then be able to make the appropriate changes.

The result of the simulation will show you the financial support you and your family unit are entitled to.

Look for the financial support that applies to you in the list of financial support, read the information carefully, access the links to the corresponding public administrations, find out how to apply for the financial support and complete the procedures within the deadlines indicated. Take action!

It is also important that you keep the identifier code that appears with the result of the simulation.

At the end of the simulation, you can save the simulation summary in PDF format or print it on paper. This summary includes the data entered and the result of the simulation.

Together with the result of the simulation, you will find an identifier code that will allow you to retrieve the result and consult it again whenever you wish.

If you retrieve previous simulations, you will be able to modify the data entered if necessary.