Non-Lucrative visa Spain 2023

Spain is a favorite destination for many Americans, British and Europeans. Foreigners love Spain because of its good weather all year round, good food, nice and quiet cities, friendly people… All these factors make more and more people decide that Spain is going to be their new country of residence.

What is a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa?

A non-lucrative residence visa is a unique type of residency permit in Spain for non-European citizens who intend to travel to Spain for long term life. This residence permit is non lucrative in that you will not be permitted to do any economic and professional activity in Spain.

The non-lucrative visa is the most commonly used visa to live in Spain because it is not necessary to invest in a property in Spain as is the case with the golden visa. However, the applicant must prove that he/she has enough money to be able to live in Spain for at least one year without any professional activity.

After the initial year of residence in Spain, the non-lucrative visa is renewed every 2 years and then 2 more years until having 5 years of stay, where whoever wants can obtain the permanent residence. Subsequently, anyone wishing to have a permanent stay can apply for a permanent residence permit in Spain. In addition, Spain’s non-lucrative visa allows you to bring family members as long as you have enough money to support them.

Why Spain’s Non Lucrative Residence Permit is one of the Most Sought-After Visas

There are many benefits of acquiring the non-Lucrative visa for Spain. Some of these advantages are listed below:

• It is not necessary to make investments in the Spanish economy before moving to Spain with a non-lucrative visa.
• You can use this visa to obtain permanent residence, if you can live 5 years without working in Spain.
• This visa allows short trips to any Schengen State, trips of up to 90 days, without the need for another visa. The Schengen countries comprise 26 member states, including Austria, France, Belgium and Germany.
• After living in Spain for one year you can get public health care by paying a monthly fee.

The main requirements for the non-Lucrative visa are as follows:

Funds to support your stay in Spain

In order to reside in Spain it is necessary for applicants to demonstrate that they have sufficient money, since with this visa it is not possible to work in Spain or work remotely. This is the main requirement, since the Spanish government does not want to have extra expenses for these people.

To verify that sufficient funds are available to support oneself in Spain, the Spanish government uses the IPREM, an indicator to determine a person’s minimum annual income. The NLV applicant must have at least 400% of the value of the IPREM in his/her bank account each year. Currently, the value of 400% of the IPREM per month for 2023 is €2,400. This gives a total of 28,800 euros (minimum) per year for any non-lucrative visa applicant in Spain.

Apart from the €28,800 needed for the main applicant. If you come with family members you need to prove €7,200 for each family member coming with you, this check has to be done at each renewal of your non-lucrative visa and adjusting the IPREM of that year. All foreign bank withdrawals must be in Euros or in any currency but converted into Euros.

Different documents are admitted as proof of your financial means during the period of your stay in Spain.
Among these documents are:

• Bank statements for the last 6-12 months prior to the date of application at the Spanish consulate.
• Proof of other sources of income or investments, if you have a rented house, if you receive dividends from several companies…

A validation document from your bank is required to prove the validity of your credit cards or the value of the property.

The amount of money requested may be in several bank accounts. Bank statements cannot be more than 6 months old. Finally, the principal visa applicant must have the savings in his or her name or on his or her behalf. Persons claiming to be dependents of the principal non-profit visa applicant for Spain must provide a marriage certificate or a birth certificate duly apostilled and translated by a Spanish sworn translator to prove that they are related to the principal applicant.

Documents required to file an NLV application

In order to apply for the non-profit visa, a series of documents that our lawyers will help you to obtain must be submitted. The initial non-lucrative visa (granted for ONE YEAR) must be applied for at the Spanish consulate where the applicant resides.

Below is a list of the main documentation required for the visa application to be processed and approved successfully.

Non-lucrative visa application form in Spain

The non-lucrative visa application forms must be submitted correctly completed and duly signed. Incorrect or incomplete details on your visa application forms will lead to the rejection of your application. You have to be very careful in the details you are filling in to avoid mistakes, our team of lawyers can help you in all this process to avoid problems, every year we file more than 200 non-lucrative visa applications and all of them with success.

Passport photo

Applicants must provide a passport photo during the application for a Spanish non-lucrative visa. The passport photo must have a white background and be taken by a professional, no selfie type photos can be submitted. The applicant’s face must be visible and the size of the photo must be 3×4 cm.

Your Travel Document

Non-lucrative visa applicants for Spain must have the original and photocopy of the first page of their passport. Their passports must be valid and issued within the last ten years prior to their application. The passport must also have a minimum of 2 blank pages to stamp the Spanish non-lucrative visa.

Police Clearance Certificate

NLV applicants must have a criminal record certificate duly translated into Spanish by a sworn translator who can verify that they do not have a criminal record. The criminal record that must be shown is for the last 5 years and in all countries in which the applicant has lived for at least 6 months.

Private Health Insurance for the NLV

Applicants for the non-lucrative visa Spain, like other Spanish visas, must obtain private medical insurance. The insurance policy must be individual for each applicant, as the visa is individual for each person. The Spanish government does not want to pay any extra costs for non-profit visa applicants, so the private medical insurance has to cover all illnesses and not include any co-payments.

The health insurance must be for one year or more and must be issued by a private, Spanish insurance company. The insurance policy cannot have any extra cost and has to be paid one full year in advance.

Other documents that must be presented are the Ex-01 form duly completed by the NLV applicants and a medical certificate of good health, where it certifies that it does not have any health problem that could lead to health problems to the people of Spain.

When and Where To Apply visa for spain

The Spanish non-profit visa must be applied for at least five weeks before traveling to Spain, although the Spanish consulate has up to 3 months to approve your visa. The visa application can be made through the Spanish embassy, a consulate or even a certified company that offers visas on behalf of Spain, it all depends on your country of origin.

Non-lucrative visa application process Spain

The visa application process has to be done in the country of residence and wait for approval before traveling to Spain. Tourists who are in Spain cannot apply for the non-profit visa Spain. Applicants who are approved for the visa get the non-lucrative stamped in their passport, when they are already in Spain they have to apply for their TIE, which is the residence card in Spain. Applying for the visa in their country of residence is a good way for the applicant to avoid wasting time.

Non-lucrative visa interview

The interview when you submit all the documents and forms for the non-lucrative visa application for Spain, is an indispensable requirement. The interview is done while you present all the documentation for your visa, depending on the person the interview is done quickly or if they do not trust the applicant they try to ask many more questions to know that everything they present is correct, the normal profile for the consulate is a retiree who wants to live in Spain. In this type of profile the interview is quick.

This only happens for people who have not visited the Schengen area in the last five years before the visa application, they will have their biometric data such as facial image and fingerprints recognized.

Spanish Non-Lucrative Cost

The Visa cost is also paid at this stage of the application. The amount of the visa non lucrative cost must be confirmed as it depends on each country and its consulate. For example the non-lucrative visa cost in the UK in 2023 is 516 pounds and the cost in the USA is $125 (The costs of the process are updated every year and vary depending on your nationality, our team of lawyers can help you, contact us).

NLV application processing time

The documents are analyzed by the Spanish government delegation within the first month of the application. The review can take up to 3 months, if your application takes longer than 3 months it has been rejected by “administrative silence”.

If your application is approved, you will have the visa stamped in your passport. The next step is to travel to Spain alone or with your family to begin the process of obtaining the TIE, the foreigner’s identification card.

Obtain your TIE to complete the residency process in Spain.

The visa comes with the NIE Spain stamped. This number is the identification number of a foreigner who intends to open a bank account in Spain, buy a property… The NIE number is unique for each foreigner and never expires.

After entering Spain with a non-lucrative visa stamped in your passport, you have 3 months to apply for a foreigner identification card (TIE). The process of obtaining the TIE involves registering in the municipality where you will reside in Spain. Afterwards, you will have to book an appointment at a police station to register your fingerprints and after a few days you will be able to pick up the TIE card.

Important details to know for your NLV Spain after the UK’s exit from the EU

The application for the non-lucrative visa for Spain can be denied if you do not have proof that you do not have enough money to live in spain without working. You must provide proof of 800% IPREM in your bank account during the visa renewal because it is done for 2 more years. If you find a job in Spain, it is possible to transition your visa to a work permit.

The holder of this visa Spain becomes a tax resident in Spain because in order to have his visa renewed next year he has to stay 183 days in Spain. Therefore, they must pay tax on their worldwide income in Spain.

Benefits of obtaining a Spanish non-lucrative visa?

Obtaining a non-lucrative visa for Spain has many benefits:

• It is the fastest way to obtain residency in Spain.
• It is a relatively simple procedure if you have the help of a lawyer.
• It allows you to live in Spain 365 days
• You have the possibility to travel 90 days within the Schengen zone.

What should you avoid during an NLV application?

You have to make sure that you are going to fill out all the forms correctly, you are going to obtain the required documents legally, on the day of submission of all the documents the consulate officer will ask you several questions to check that the information you have provided is correct. We recommend you to work with one of our lawyers to help you in the whole process of applying for your non-lucrative visa, remember that we have a 99% success rate in these applications.

NLV Spain Questions