Non-Lucrative Visa Spain (NLV).
What is a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa?
A Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa is a residency permit available to non-EU citizens who have sufficient economic means to stay in Spain without engaging in any work or professional activity. It is one of the easiest routes to permanent residency in Spain, provided you meet the income/financial means requirements.
You can also bring your spouse, children and/or parents with you as long as you can proof their financial dependence (for adult children and parents) and that they form part of the same family unit.
This visa does not constitute a work permit.
Please contact us for further information and our team of Spanish Lawyers in London will be happy to assist.
How long is a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa valid, and can it be renewed?
A Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa allows you to live in Spain initially for 1 year, after which you can apply for renewal for a further period of two years, and thereafter can be renewed for an additional two years more, so long as you continue to meet the residency requirements.
After living continuously in Spain for 5 years, on your third renewal you can request a permanent residency permit.
A Non-Lucrative Visa requires you to stay in Spain at least 183 days each year in order to be renewed at each expiration. This means you will be a tax resident in Spain, and you will be liable to pay tax in Spain on your worldwide income.
What are the requirements?
The basic requirements to qualify for a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa are the following:
You are not an EU-national:
Evidence of your sufficient financial means to support yourself and your family members/dependants. During 2023, such requirement amounts to 28,800 euros per year for the main applicant plus 7,200 euros per dependent. The amount is set every year by the Spanish Tax Authorities and therefore may change when renewing your non-lucrative visa.
Proof that you do not have a criminal record from the countries you have lived in during the past 5 years.
Comprehensive health insurance that covers you in Spain. The insurance policy must cover all the risks insured by Spain's public health system. Travel insurance does not meet such requirement.
You may also be asked to prove that you are not longer working.
At Lopez and Moreno Associates, our team of Spanish lawyers in London can advise you on the required documents and guide you through the application process, as a guidance we list below some of the documents required in support of the visa application.
Required documents:
Visa application forms completed.
Recent passport photograph.
Valid passport -original and a photocopy of the passport pages that contain biometric data. The passport must have a minimum validity period of 1 year and contain two blank pages. Passports issued more than 10 years ago will not be accepted.
Proof of financial means -originals and photocopies-.
You can show that you have enough money in different ways:
Proving that you have sufficient savings in bank accounts.
Prove that you have a pension.
Proving that you receive dividends.
Proof that you receive rent from a property you own.
Our team of Spanish lawyers in London will advise you as part of our services on
the documents you may submit to proof sufficient financial means.
5. Health insurance -original and a copy of the certificate- in evidence of health
insurance cover in Spain during the validity of the visa provided by an insurance
entity authorised to operate in Spain.
The insurance policy must cover all the risks insured by Spain's public health
system, must be individual for each applicant, and must be valid for a year or more.
A receipt of registration of S1 form on the web of Spanish Social Security is also
accepted as medical insurance for non-lucrative visa.
6. Criminal record check certificate -original and a copy-, issued the country or
countries of residence of the applicant for the past 5 years.
This certificate cannot be older than 6 months, unless the certificate itself specifies
a longer expiration.
For UK an ACRO Certificate is required.
Such certificate must be legalised with Apostille and translated by a sworn
translator registered in Spain.
At Lopez & Moreno Associates our team of Spanish lawyers in London can apply for
your ACRO certificate on your behalf and assist you with the legalisation with
Apostille.
7. Medical certificate -original and photocopy-.
This certificate must be issued by a registered medical practitioner no later than 3
months prior to the date of application, it must be formulated in the following
terms or similarly:
“This health certificate states that [applicant’s name] does not suffer from any of
the diseases that may have serious public health repercussions in accordance with
what is stipulated by the International Health Regulations of 2005”.
Certificates issued in a language different from Spanish must be translated into
Spanish by a sworn translator registered in Spain.
The signature of the doctor on the certificate must also be legalised with Apostille.
At Lopez & Moreno Associates our team of Spanish lawyers in London can assist
you with the legalisation with Apostille.
8. Electoral Registry Certificate in evidence of residency of the applicant in the
consular district where the visa application is submitted.
9. Payment of the consular fee (Form 790) – the fee for UK citizens in 2023 is £516 per
applicant.
Family members also applying (spouse, children, dependent parents) will also need to submit the above evidence, as well as evidence of the relationship to the applicant, documents proving financial dependence and that they form part of the family unit (for dependent parents and adult children). Foreign documents must be legalised with Apostille and translated by a sworn translator registered in Spain.
Our team of Spanish lawyers in London will advise you as part of our services on the documents you may submit and assist you with the required legalisation with Apostille.
How long does the process take?
The application must be submitted in person by the applicant, or by one of their parents if the applicant is a minor.
It can take up to 3 months from the day after the application is submitted for the Spanish Authorities to reach a decision, but this period may be extended if an interview or additional documents are requested.
What happens after you obtained your Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa?
Once approved, you will have 1 month after the notification to collect the visa in person. It is then valid for you to enter Spain within 3 months. If you enter Spain after the expiry date, you may be refused entry.
After entering Spain with a non-lucrative visa stamped in your passport, you have 3 months to apply for a foreigner identification card (TIE), which is a foreigner’s identity card, also known as a resident card. The process of obtaining the TIE involves registering at the Town Hall in the municipality where you will reside in Spain.
A Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa will allow you to live legally in Spain for the period of the visa, you can also travel to other EU countries, but it does not allow you to live in other EU Schengen States outside Spain.
If you do not want to stay more than 183 days in Spain and therefore become tax residence in Spain, you may qualify to apply for a Golden Visa if you have investments in Spain depending on the size of such investments.
At Lopez & Moreno Associates our team of Spanish Lawyers in London can guide you through the process and advise you on your application for a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa.
Please get in touch with our Spanish Lawyers to arrange an appointment or find out how can we help.
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