Can one income support a couple's first year in Spain?

Key rules

• Non-lucrative visa: Your partner cannot work, so plan on one income only.
• Health cover: Non-lucrative and digital nomad partners need full private insurance with no co-payments and no waiting periods.
• Dependant funds: On the non-lucrative visa you show 400% of IPREM for yourself and 100% of IPREM for each dependant.
• Work rights: Confirm your partner's work rights for your exact route before you commit to a budget.

The short answer

One income can work, but only if you plan for what your partner cannot do on your route. Two things decide it: whether your partner may work, and how your partner gets health cover. Check both before you apply, then budget the cost of each limit.

Can your partner work?

It depends on your route.

• Non-lucrative visa: your partner gets residence but no right to work. Budget for no income from your partner at all.
• Digital nomad visa: your partner can come with you, but residence does not let them take local work. Any local job needs a separate permit.
• Highly qualified professional, EU Blue Card, researcher or entrepreneur permits: your partner can work from day one.
• Family reunification (you join a resident): your partner's permit also carries work authorisation.
• Family of an EU/EEA citizen: your partner can work freely once registered.

The immigration rules were reformed in 2025 and work rights for relatives have loosened on some routes. Ask the immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) or the consulate handling your application what applies to your route today.

How will your partner be covered for health?

• Non-lucrative or digital nomad visa: your partner needs full private insurance from a Spanish-authorised insurer, with no co-payments and no waiting periods. This is needed for the application and normally for the first renewal.
• Highly qualified or Blue Card holder: your partner is usually covered through your Social Security as a beneficiary.
• Pensioner with an S1 form: your partner can be covered under the S1.

After the first residence period, a partner outside Social Security can stay on private insurance or move to the convenio especial, a paid public health scheme. Decide which before the first period ends.

What extra money do you need to show?

On the non-lucrative visa, each dependant adds 100% of IPREM per year to the funds you show, on top of 400% of IPREM for you. IPREM is a yearly reference figure that changes, so look up this year's value. At the 2025 level of €600 a month, that was €7,200 for a partner.

The digital nomad visa uses a different measure, the SMI (minimum wage). It asks for 75% of SMI for the first dependant and 25% for each extra one. Check the current SMI figure.

Putting the budget together

Add these to your normal living costs:

1. Your partner's private insurance, if your route requires it.
2. The extra funds to show for your partner. This is money you must hold, not spend.
3. A plan with zero income from your partner on routes where they cannot work.
4. The cost of a separate work permit, if your partner needs one.

If your income covers all of this with room to spare, one income is enough. If it only works when your partner earns, pick a route that allows work from day one. The checklist below turns this into steps.

Checklist

• Ask the immigration office or consulate whether your partner can work from day one on your route.

• Budget for no income from your partner if your route is the non-lucrative visa, where dependants cannot work.

• Check whether your partner needs a separate permit for any local work if you hold a digital nomad visa.

• Confirm whether your partner is covered through your Social Security or needs full private insurance.

• Get quotes for private insurance with no co-payments and no waiting periods if your route requires it, and add the premium to your budget.

• Look up this year's IPREM or SMI and work out the extra funds to show for your partner, such as 100% of IPREM per year on the non-lucrative visa.

• Plan how your partner will stay covered after the first residence period, on private insurance or the convenio especial (a voluntary Social Security scheme).

What if my partner cannot work for the first six months?

Plan as if the second income starts late, or not at all, for the first six months. Do three things: confirm your partner's right to work, stretch your cash runway, and make sure your partner has health cover.

Confirm your partner's right to work

Work rights depend on your visa route, so check before you count on any second income.

• Partners of EU/EEA citizens can work freely.
• Partners of highly qualified workers, EU Blue Card holders, researchers and entrepreneurs get residence with permission to work.
• Partners of residents on a family reunification permit also get permission to work.
• Non-lucrative visa dependants get residence but cannot work.
• Digital nomad partners can do the remote work the visa allows. Working for a Spanish employer needs a separate permit.

Immigration rules were reformed in 2025, and work rights for relatives on some routes have changed. Confirm your exact route with the Oficina de Extranjería or the consulate handling your application.

Even with permission to work, expect a wait. Finding a job commonly takes three to six months or longer. Spanish level, sector, region and recognition of qualifications are the main delays. Registration with Social Security must also be done before the first working day.

Lengthen your runway

Rebuild the budget with your partner's income at zero for at least six months, and see how far your savings and your income stretch.

• Count only the earner's income, after tax.
• Add a buffer of extra months for a slow job search, particularly if your partner needs better Spanish or has to get qualifications recognised.
• Cut flexible costs first: eating out, travel, a second car. Keep fixed costs, such as rent, within what one income covers.
• Do not sign a rent that only works with two incomes.

Cover your partner's health

How your partner is covered depends on the route.

• Partners of workers (family reunification, highly qualified, Blue Card) are usually covered through the worker's Social Security, so private insurance is not needed.
• Pensioners with an S1 form can cover a dependent partner under it.

After the first residence period, a partner outside Social Security can stay on private insurance or use the convenio especial, a paid scheme that gives access to public healthcare. Requirements differ between consulates, so ask the one handling your application what it will accept.

Frequently asked questions

Can my partner work on a non-lucrative visa?

No, dependants on a non-lucrative visa get residence but no work authorisation. The main holder cannot work in Spain either, so plan on the income you bring with you.

Does my partner get free health cover if I work in Spain?

Often yes, if you pay into Social Security: partners of highly qualified, Blue Card or working resident holders are usually covered as beneficiaries through the holder. Non-lucrative and digital nomad partners must instead hold full private insurance with no co-payments and no waiting periods.

Which routes let my partner work from the first day?

Partners of highly qualified professional, EU Blue Card, researcher and entrepreneur permit holders can work from day one, as can family reunification partners.

How much extra money do I show for a partner on a digital nomad visa?

The first dependant needs 75% of the SMI (Spain's minimum monthly wage) and each further one 25%, while the main applicant needs 200% of the SMI. Check the current SMI figure before you budget.