Spain Non-Lucrative Visa

Spain's non-lucrative visa lets nationals of countries outside the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland live in Spain with their families without working. It suits retirees and others who can live on savings or passive income.

No work is allowed, including remote work for employers or clients abroad. People who want to keep working online from Spain need the digital nomad visa instead.

The main applicant needs €2,400 a month, which is 400% of Spain's public income indicator (IPREM) of €600 a month. The application goes through a Spanish consulate abroad. The first authorization lasts 1 year.

• Means: €2,400 a month for the main applicant plus €600 a month for each family member, available for the whole period requested. For the first year that means €28,800 for the main applicant. Savings or a steady passive income both count.
• Health insurance: public or private cover with an insurer authorized to operate in Spain.
• Clean record: no criminal record in Spain or in the countries lived in during the past five years.
• Health: none of the diseases with serious public health implications under the 2005 International Health Regulations.
• Status: not in Spain irregularly, not listed as refused entry by a country that has an agreement with Spain and not bound by a no-return commitment made after a voluntary return.

Family members who can be included are a spouse, registered partner or stable partner; unmarried children under 18; and adult children who need support because of a disability or can't provide for themselves because of their health. A stable partnership normally requires at least a year of living together, unless the couple has children together.

Remote work counts as work under this permit. UGE-CE's teleworker FAQ adds that it can't be claimed later to support a digital nomad application. Working without authorization is an infringement under Spain's immigration law.

The ministry's information sheet lists:

• Forms: the national visa application form and form EX-01, completed and signed.
• Passport: a full copy of a passport valid for at least one year.
• Criminal record: certificates from the country of origin or the countries lived in during the five years before entering Spain.
• Proof of means: any legal proof of funds for the period requested, such as property titles, certified checks or credit cards backed by a bank certificate. Means that come from shares in companies based in Spain also need a certificate that the applicant doesn't work there, plus a sworn statement.
• Health insurance: the policy documents.
• Medical certificate: confirming none of the diseases covered by the 2005 International Health Regulations.

Documents from other countries need a sworn translation into Spanish. Foreign public documents also need legalization or an apostille.

Consulates may add their own items, so applicants should check the list of the consulate that covers their place of residence.

• Authorization fee: paid on form 790, code 052, section 2.1.1. The ministry's information sheet doesn't state the amount.
• Visa fee: paid to the consulate on top of the authorization fee.
• Documents: private health insurance, the medical certificate, criminal record certificates, sworn translations and apostilles.

The money test isn't a fee. It's proof of €28,800 for the main applicant's first year, plus the amount for each family member.

In person at the Spanish consulate for the applicant's place of residence, or its visa provider. The visa application also requests the residence authorization. It cannot be requested from inside Spain.

1. File the visa application and form EX-01 in person with the documents.
2. Pay the residence authorization fee on form 790, code 052, section 2.1.1, within 10 working days of filing. The consular visa fee is separate.
3. The immigration office in Spain decides within 1 month of receiving the file from the consulate. No answer by then means refusal.
4. The consulate then has up to a month to issue the visa. Consulates may quote up to three months for the whole process.
5. Collect the visa in person within a month of the notice and enter Spain while it's valid, which is never more than three months.
6. Apply in person for the foreigner identity card (TIE) at a police station within a month of arrival.

• First authorization: 1 year, starting on the date of entry into Spain.
• Renewal: Renewals last two years. Apply in the two months before expiry or up to three months after, and prove means for the new period, health insurance, school enrollment for school-age children and more than 183 days a year actually spent in Spain.
• Timing: filing on time keeps the old permit valid until the decision. A late filing is still processed, but a penalty procedure can follow.
• Decision: the office has three months to decide a renewal. Silence counts as approval. The holder then has a month to apply for the new TIE.

Long-term residence can be requested after five years of continuous legal residence in Spain.

A person who spends more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, counting sporadic absences, is tax-resident there. So is anyone whose main base of activities or economic interests is in Spain. The tax agency applies the status to the whole calendar year.

The renewal rule also requires more than that many days in Spain each year, so a holder who renews should expect to be taxed as a Spanish resident.

Spain's special regime for workers relocating to Spain requires a move for work, which this permit doesn't allow.