Thinking Of Moving To Spain? Here’s What The Non-lucrative Visa Really Costs

If you’ve been dreaming of swapping drizzle for sunshine, nan Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) mightiness look for illustration your aureate ticket.

For thousands of Britons, nan dream of swapping grey skies for aureate ones is live and well. But since Brexit, that dream comes pinch a mini upland of paperwork – and a alternatively circumstantial slope balance.

The Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) has go nan go-to way for anyone who wants to unrecorded successful Spain without working. It’s celebrated among retirees, semi-retired couples, and those pinch decent savings aliases passive income. But 1 mobility keeps coming up again and again: really overmuch money do you really request to prove?

Let’s get into it.

What precisely is nan Non-Lucrative Visa?

Think of it arsenic Spain’s measurement of saying: “You’re invited to stay, arsenic agelong arsenic you tin support yourself.” The NLV allows non-EU citizens to unrecorded successful Spain for complete 90 days without taking up paid activity there.

It’s cleanable if you’re retired, surviving disconnected a pension, aliases earning from investments aliases rental income extracurricular Spain. What you can’t do is activity for a Spanish company, aliases gain income locally. Even distant activity gets a spot analyzable (we’ll travel backmost to that).

The visa lasts for a year, and you tin renew it for 2 years astatine a time. The renewal process is simpler than nan first application, but nan financial barroom rises—because you person to beryllium you tin spend to unrecorded successful Spain for two much years successful 1 go.

The magic number: 400% of IPREM

Every January, Spain updates thing called nan IPREM – a benchmark fig utilized to cipher benefits, subsidies, and, successful our case, visa thresholds.

For 2025, IPREM is €600 a month, aliases €7,200 a year. To suffice for nan NLV, you request to show:

• €28,800 per twelvemonth for yourself (that’s 400 per cent of IPREM)
• €7,200 other for each limited – truthful €36,000 for a couple, €43,200 for a family of three, and truthful on.

And erstwhile it’s clip to renew? Double those figures. Yes, really. A azygous applicant will request to show €57,600 for a two-year renewal.

It’s not inexpensive – but it’s Spain’s measurement of making judge you won’t request nationalist support erstwhile you arrive.

Savings, income, aliases both?

This is wherever things get interesting. The rules opportunity you must person ‘sufficient financial means,’ but they don’t show you precisely what shape that money should take.

Most consulates will judge either:

• Regular income (such arsenic pensions, annuities, aliases investments), or
• Savings (lump sums that intelligibly screen your surviving costs).

If you’re applying done nan Spanish Consulate successful London, expect them to look intimately astatine your documents. They usually inquire for slope statements covering nan erstwhile year, pinch clear specifications of nan account, balances, and mean holdings.

In nan US, immoderate consulates only want nan past 3 months – but London tends to beryllium stricter.

Whatever you use, make judge your money is easy to trace, intelligibly successful your name, and not sitting successful an relationship that requires a 90-day announcement to access.

Health security aliases S1: what Britons should know

Healthcare is different cardinal portion of nan visa, and it’s 1 wherever British applicants person an advantage – astatine slightest immoderate of them.

If you’re a UK State pensioner, you tin usage your S1 shape (available done nan NHS) alternatively of buying backstage wellness insurance. The Spanish Consulate successful London explicitly accepts nan S1 arsenic valid aesculapian screen for nan NLV.

For everyone else, backstage wellness security is mandatory. It has to beryllium from a Spanish company, connection afloat sum (no co-payments aliases exclusions), and past nan afloat magnitude of your visa.

So, if you’re not yet retired, fund an other €500–€1,000 a twelvemonth for a suitable policy.

Where do you use from nan UK?

All UK residents use done BLS International, which has offices successful London, Manchester, and Edinburgh. Your section agency depends connected your location address.

Each BLS centre forwards applications to nan Spanish Consulate for approval, and nan paperwork database is agelong but manageable. You’ll need:

• An ACRO constabulary certificate (with translator and apostille)
• A aesculapian certificate
• Proof of income aliases savings
• Health security (or your S1)
• Completed forms, photos, and fees

Most of it has to beryllium translated into Spanish by a sworn translator (traductor jurado) and apostilled successful nan UK.

Appointments tin return respective weeks to get, and summertime is usually nan busiest period.

Taxes: nan 183-day norm you can’t ignore

Here’s a item galore applicants overlook: if you walk much than 183 days a twelvemonth successful Spain, you automatically go a Spanish taxation resident.

That intends you’ll request to state your worldwide income to nan Spanish taxation authorities, moreover if it’s each earned abroad.

It doesn’t mean you’ll beryllium double-taxed – nan UK and Spain person a pact to forestall that – but you’ll person to record successful Spain and show what you gain elsewhere. It’s worthy getting a taxation advisor early..

Can you activity remotely?

Officially, no. The Non-Lucrative Visa doesn’t let you to activity while surviving successful Spain. But there’s nuance here.

If your clients aliases employer are extracurricular Spain, and your income is paid into a non-Spanish account, galore expats do proceed to activity remotely – quietly. It’s not technically wrong nan visa’s terms, but arsenic agelong arsenic nary Spanish business is involved, astir consulates move a unsighted eye.

Still, if distant activity is portion of your plan, Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa mightiness beryllium a safer (and much flexible) choice. It allows distant income legally and often comes pinch taxation perks.

Renewal shock: why nan 2nd measurement costs more

Here’s nan portion that catches group disconnected guard.

When you use to renew your NLV, nan authorities inquire for impervious of financial intends for nan adjacent 2 years, not conscionable one. So, your slope equilibrium aliases income has to show you tin screen 24 months of surviving costs—€57,600 if you’re alone, aliases €72,000 for a couple.

If your finances person dropped since your first approval, aliases if your statements look inconsistent, renewals tin get tricky. Planning up and maintaining dependable balances is nan key.

Golden Visas are gone – truthful what’s left?

Spain officially scrapped its Golden Visa successful April 2025, closing nan doorway connected nan ‘buy spot and get residency’ route.

That makes nan Non-Lucrative Visa, on pinch nan caller Digital Nomad Visa, nan 2 main options near for Britons. If you don’t scheme to activity and you’ve sewage nan funds, nan NLV remains nan simplest and astir unchangeable measurement to settee here.

So… is it worthy it?

It depends what you’re after.

If your dream is to aftermath up to nan sound of cicadas alternatively of car alarms, sip java successful a plaza, and hide what a grey February looks like, past yes – it’s worthy each penny. The process isn’t impossible. It conscionable takes patience, organisation, and honesty astir your finances.

Once you’re approved, you’ll person a afloat twelvemonth to settee in, subordinate nan section ayuntamiento, and commencement surviving nan life that made you use successful nan first place.

The Non-Lucrative Visa won’t suit everyone, but for galore Britons, it’s still nan surest way to a legal, sun-soaked life successful Spain – nary spreadsheets, nary Zoom meetings, and nary commute.