How a Spanish residence application file is built

Key rules

• Route lists: Each consulate or provincial office can add items, so get the list for your route and place first.
• Insurance: Private insurance must have no co-payments or waiting periods, and employees on work routes do not need it.

You build these four parts first, then add what your route asks for, then put everything in a fixed order.

Identity: who you are

Use the national visa form if you apply at a consulate. Use the EX form if you file from inside Spain. Add a full passport with enough validity left, recent passport-size photos and proof you paid the fee (tasa). The residence authorisation fee is €73.78 in 2026, paid with modelo 790 code 052. A consular visa has its own fee: €80 in 2026 for a national long-stay visa, paid at the consulate when you lodge.

Means: how you support yourself

Means can be income, savings or a work contract; which one counts depends on your route.

• Non-lucrative visa: 400% of the IPREM a year, 28,800 euros at the 2025 IPREM, plus 100% of the IPREM, 7,200 euros, for each dependant.
• Family reunification: the sponsor in Spain shows 150% of the IPREM for the household, plus 50% of the IPREM for each additional member.
• Highly qualified professionals: no IPREM-based test; you need a job offer or contract with a qualifying salary or qualification.

The IPREM changes every year; How much money you must show for Spanish residence has the current figures and the other routes.

Health: certificate and insurance

A medical certificate is needed only for visa routes of over six months.

Private health insurance is required for the non-lucrative, digital nomad (unless Spanish social security covers you), student, golden visa and investor routes. For family reunification the family member needs it unless Spanish social security covers them through the sponsor, and parents and other ascendants always need it. Employees on work routes do not need it, because they join social security through work.

Record: criminal record certificate and dates

Adults need a criminal record certificate from their country of origin and from each country where they lived over the past five years. Criminal record and medical certificates must be issued no more than 3 months before you file, counted from the issue date to the filing date; some consulates check the date again when the visa is issued, and an out-of-date certificate can lead the office to ask for a new one or refuse the file. An apostille never expires, but the certificate under it does.

What your route adds

• Non-lucrative visa: proof of passive income or savings, full-cover private insurance, and proof you will not work in Spain.
• Digital nomad: proof of remote work for non-Spanish companies, a contract or letter from the company or client, and at least 3 months of activity with that company. You also need a degree or 3 years of professional experience, and the required minimum income.
• Work routes: a job offer or contract, the employer's registration and tax-compliance evidence, the work authorisation granted for the job, and qualifications where the job is regulated.
• Family reunification: the sponsor's residence card, proof of the family link, a housing adequacy report, enough sponsor income, and proof of dependency for parents or other ascendants.

Family members

The link is proved as follows:

• Married spouse: a marriage certificate; the spouse joins with the main applicant or through family reunification, depending on the route.
• Registered partner: the official certificate of a partnership registered in a public register, in Spain or abroad; joins like a spouse.
• Unregistered partner: joins when the stable relationship is proven: at least 1 year living together, or a child in common. What family reunification actually requires has the proof.
• Child: a birth certificate; an unmarried child under 18 joins the parent with the main applicant or through reunification; a child aged 18 or over joins only if unable to support themselves because of disability or dependency on the sponsor, shown with documents.
• Dependent parent or other ascendant: proof of dependency on the sponsor, plus private health insurance; reunification is decided case by case.

Foreign documents: apostille and translation

Where the document was issued decides what it needs:

• Non-EU country in the Hague Convention: an apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish unless it is already in Spanish.
• Non-EU country not in the Hague Convention: full consular legalisation through its foreign ministry and the Spanish consulate, plus a sworn translation.
• Another EU state: no apostille, and a multilingual standard form can replace the sworn translation.

How to put the file in order

Put the documents in the fixed order, with each apostille and sworn translation right behind its document: Originals, copies and scans: how to submit your file has the order, the copies each office wants and the scanning rules.

If you are a student

Your file has the same common parts, plus these items for your route: admission letter from the school, proof of sufficient funds, private health insurance, criminal record certificate and medical certificate.

If you are self-employed or a company founder

Your file has the same common parts, plus route items for your activity.

• Self-employed or freelancer: business plan, proof of qualifications or licences, proof of sufficient funds, and the authorisation requirements for the activity.
• Company founder: business plan, evidence of its economic and innovation value, and proof of funds and qualifications.

Timeline and deadlines

• Confirm the document list for your route and office: before you start

• Get your apostilles and sworn translations for foreign documents: after you receive each certificate and before you file

• Order your criminal record and medical certificates: shortly before you file, inside the date limit above