Do you qualify for the non-lucrative residence visa (residencia no lucrativa)?

Key rules

• Funds: You must show 400% of the IPREM a year, and 100% more for each family member.
• Insurance: Private cover with no copagos, from an insurer authorised in Spain.
• Clean record: Certificates from every country where you lived in the last 5 years, no more than 3 months old.
• Consulate: Apply in person where you legally live; a tourist stay does not count.
• No work: No employment or self-employment in Spain on this permit.

You qualify if you meet all five conditions below. Miss one and the consulate will refuse the application. The first permit lasts 1 year.

1. Funds

The main applicant needs 28,800 euros a year, plus 7,200 euros for each family member who applies with you (2025 figures, from the IPREM). How Spain counts your money covers what counts as proof.

2. Private health insurance

The policy must give full cover, with no copagos, no deductibles and no waiting periods. A cheaper policy with co-payments is a common reason for refusal, so check the wording before you buy.

3. A clean record

You must have no criminal record in Spain, or in any country where you lived during the previous 5 years, for acts that are also crimes in Spain. You need a certificate from each of those countries. Each one must be apostilled or legalised, and translated into Spanish by a sworn translator if it is in another language. Certificates should be no more than 3 months old when you apply, so order them late enough to stay valid. Some countries take weeks to issue them.

4. The right consulate

You apply in person at the Spanish consulate that covers the place where you legally live.

A tourist stay does not count; a long-stay visa or residence permit for that country, or proof of a lawful extended stay, does.

5. No work

This visa is for living in Spain without working. You commit not to work in Spain, as an employee or on your own account. If you want to work, look at a different visa.

What happens next

You lodge the application in person at the consulate and pay the consular fee of 80 euros per applicant there, with no modelo. If the consulate refuses, you can appeal with a recurso de reposición within 1 month, or go to court within 2 months.

The first permit lasts 1 year. It renews for 2 years, and long-term residence is available after 5 years. The renewal window, form and fee are in Retiring to Spain on the non-lucrative visa.

If you are a non-EU or UK citizen

If you are a non-EU citizen, you apply for this visa, and so do UK citizens without Withdrawal Agreement rights.

Timeline and deadlines

• Order the criminal record certificates, apostille them and translate them if needed: so they are inside the 3-month limit on the day you apply
• Get the medical certificate and buy the insurance policy: before you lodge the application
• Wait for the consulate's decision: up to 3 months after you lodge
• Collect the visa and enter Spain: within the 90 days the visa is valid for entry
• Apply for the residence card (TIE) at the police station: within 30 days of entering Spain; the fee is 16 euros, paid with modelo 790 código 012

Documents you need

• National visa application form (solicitud de visado nacional), signed.
• Valid passport and passport-size photos.
• Medical certificate saying you have no disease that threatens public health.
• Private health insurance policy, and the receipt showing you have paid for it.
• Recent bank statements or income evidence for the funds, at the application and again at renewal.
• Criminal record certificate from each country where you lived, apostilled or legalised, with its sworn translation into Spanish if it is not already in Spanish.
• Proof that you are lawfully resident in the country where you apply, such as a long-stay visa or residence permit, or proof of a lawful extended stay.