Live & Invest
Non-Lucrative Visa Spain: live in Spain on your own income, with your application done right the first time
Since Spain's Golden Visa ended in April 2025, the non-lucrative visa (NLV) has become the number one route for retirees and passive-income earners from the US and UK. It is also a visa where consulates reject avoidable mistakes daily — and where 2026 renewal rules demand stricter proof of income. We prepare your file so it holds up twice: at approval and at renewal.
Fluent English. Fixed fees quoted in writing. Fast replies on WhatsApp — which, as our clients put it, is not common in Spain.
01 / WHAT IT IS
Residence without work, with a clear road ahead
The non-lucrative visa is Spain's residence permit for people who can support themselves without working: retirees, savers and passive-income earners. You apply at the Spanish consulate in your home country, prove sufficient funds and private health insurance, and receive a one-year residence permit, renewable in two-year periods — a clear path toward long-term residency.
02 / 2026 REQUIREMENTS
What your consulate will ask of you
Financial means — the figure that decides everything
400% of Spain's IPREM index per year for the main applicant. With the current IPREM, that is approximately €2,400 per month, or around €28,800 per year, plus roughly €7,200 per year (100% IPREM) for each family member joining you. Pensions, dividends, rental income and documented savings all count — but how you present the funds matters as much as the amount. US 401(k)s, UK pensions and brokerage accounts each need to be evidenced in the format Spanish consulates expect.
No work in Spain
The NLV does not allow employment or self-employment in Spain. Remote work for foreign companies sits in a legal grey zone that consulates increasingly question — if you plan to keep working remotely, the digital nomad visa is usually the correct route, and we will tell you so before you spend a cent.
Private health insurance
With full coverage in Spain, no co-payments and no waiting periods, from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain. Travel insurance does not qualify.
Clean criminal record and medical certificate
Criminal record certificates from your countries of residence for the previous years (FBI check for US applicants, ACRO for UK), apostilled and officially translated, plus a medical certificate.
Where to apply
At the Spanish consulate serving your place of legal residence — not from inside Spain.
Renewals — stricter in 2026
The first permit lasts 1 year; renewals run 2 years each (1+2+2). In 2026, renewal applications face a tougher income test: you must evidence funds for the entire renewed period, and consistency of income is examined more closely. The renewal strategy starts the day your first visa is approved.
03 / HOW WE WORK
Built to be approved — and to renew quietly
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Eligibility and numbers check.
We review your income sources and savings against the 400% IPREM threshold and tell you plainly whether your case is strong, borderline or premature — before you pay any government fees or book flights.
Numbers confirmed -
File preparation.
We build the financial evidence the way consulates want to see it, arrange compliant health insurance, and handle apostilles and sworn translations. Each consulate (Los Angeles, New York, London, Manchester…) has its own quirks; we work with them every week.
File complete -
Submission and follow-up.
We prepare you for the consular appointment, track your application and answer any requirement on time. Once approved, we organise your arrival: town hall registration, fingerprints appointment and your physical residence card (TIE).
Filed & tracked -
Renewals and the long game.
A renewal calendar built for the stricter 2026 income test, and a clear route map: long-term EU residency after 5 years, and Spanish citizenship when your nationality's timeline allows.
Approved
04 / FEES
One figure, full scope, in writing
[PENDIENTE CLIENTE: NLV fees — main applicant / family unit / renewal]
A fixed fee, quoted in writing before we start, covering an agreed scope — eligibility study, full file preparation, submission, requirements and arrival support. No hourly surprises, no hidden extras.
05 / FAQ
The non-lucrative visa, without the fine print
You must prove 400% of the IPREM index annually — approximately €28,800 per year (about €2,400 per month) for the main applicant under the current IPREM, plus around €7,200 per year for each accompanying family member. The funds can come from pensions, dividends, rental income or savings; what matters is documenting them the way your consulate expects.
For most profiles, yes. Spain ended its Golden Visa on 3 April 2025, and the NLV is now the leading route for people with wealth or passive income who want to live in Spain — without the €500,000 property investment. It does not allow you to work, but it leads to the same destinations: long-term residency after 5 years and, eventually, citizenship.
The NLV prohibits work in Spain, and consulates increasingly scrutinise applicants who appear to be working remotely. If your income comes from active remote work, the digital nomad visa is almost always the correct and safer route. Tell us your real situation and we will recommend the visa that actually fits — not the one you arrived asking about.
Consulates may take up to 3 months to decide, and timelines vary widely by consulate and season. Add time beforehand for gathering apostilled documents (an FBI check alone can take weeks). A realistic start-to-arrival horizon is 3 to 6 months — and a complete, requirement-proof file is the single best way to stay at the short end of it.
If you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain — which the NLV effectively requires if you intend to renew — you become a Spanish tax resident, taxed on worldwide income, with treaty relief available for US and UK taxpayers. We flag the key implications early and work alongside your tax adviser, because this decision belongs before the move, not after.
Yes. Your spouse or partner and dependent children apply together with you in the same procedure. Each family member adds 100% IPREM (around €7,200 per year) to the financial requirement.
Renewals now face a stricter income test: you must evidence sufficient means for the full two-year renewal period, and authorities look harder at whether your income is genuinely recurring rather than a one-off balance arranged for the application. Files built properly from day one renew quietly; files built around a temporary lump sum struggle.
Refusals can be appealed, or a corrected application can be refiled. Most NLV refusals we see come down to two things: financial means presented in the wrong format, or non-compliant insurance. Both are fixable. Send us the refusal letter and we will give you an honest read on the better route.
06 / NOT YOUR CASE?