Spain Non-Lucrative Visa in 2026: Requirements, Income, and How to Apply

If you want to live in Spain without working and can support yourself, this is the page that tells you whether your numbers actually clear the bar. The Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) is Spain’s residence permit for people who can support themselves without working, and it’s one of the main routes on our retirement visas hub. Before you go any further, it helps to know the exact 2026 income figure, what the visa forbids, and where the process trips people up. The income math, the no-work rule, and the insurance rule are the same whatever passport you hold, and so is the 183-day tax-residence line. What changes is where you file, the documents you file with, and the tax treaty that then applies, so this page carries a section for where you’re moving from, whether that’s the US or the UK.

At a glance: do you qualify

You qualify for the Spain Non-Lucrative Visa in 2026 if you can prove passive income or savings of at least EUR 28,800 per year (EUR 2,400 per month) for one person, plus EUR 7,200 per year (EUR 600 per month) for each additional family member, and if you carry a full private Spanish health policy and don’t work. The income bar didn’t rise for 2026. It’s tied to Spain’s IPREM index, and IPREM has been frozen at EUR 600 per month since 2023 because no new national budget has passed, so the same figure that applied last year applies now. The key thing most guides get wrong: this visa bans all work, including remote work for a non-Spanish employer, so it’s a retiree and passive-income visa, not a way to keep your job from a Spanish beach.

2026 requirements at a glance

Every figure below is the euro amount, which is the number that governs. The consulate revises the dollar side by exchange rate, so treat any USD sense-check as approximate.

Income and savings: the IPREM math and why 2026 did not change

The whole income requirement hangs on one government number called IPREM, the Public Multiple Effects Income Indicator. For 2026 IPREM is EUR 600 per month, which is EUR 7,200 over twelve payments. The Non-Lucrative Visa asks the main applicant to show 400% of IPREM, which is 400% x EUR 600, or EUR 2,400 per month and EUR 28,800 per year. For each additional person you bring, you add 100% of IPREM, which is EUR 600 per month or EUR 7,200 per year. A retiring couple therefore needs about EUR 36,000 per year, and a couple bringing one child needs about EUR 43,200.

The important 2026 point is that this figure didn’t go up. IPREM was set at EUR 600 by the 2023 State Budget law and has been prorogued ever since, because Spain hasn’t passed a new Presupuestos Generales del Estado. When no new budget passes, the old figures carry forward, so anyone telling you the threshold rose for 2026 is working from a guess rather than the published table.

Savings can stand in for monthly income at the same threshold. A retiree with a modest pension but a healthy brokerage account can qualify by showing the money is liquid and available, usually through bank and investment statements. The catch is that the exact amount and format vary by consulate: some want the full first-year figure sitting in an accessible account, and some prefer to see steady passive income rather than a static balance. A combination of documented income plus a savings cushion is the strongest profile.

Verdict: if your pensions and investment income clear the threshold for your family size (EUR 28,800 for one person, plus EUR 7,200 for each additional member), you’re over the money bar. At recent exchange rates EUR 28,800 is roughly USD 31,000 to 34,000 a year, but confirm the number at today’s rate, because the euro figure is the one that decides.

Health insurance: full coverage, no gaps

Spain requires a full private health insurance policy from an insurer authorized to operate in Spain, valid for one year, covering every applicant for the same risks the Spanish public system covers. The policy must have no deductible, no copayment, no waiting period, and no coverage limit, and it must pay 100% of medical, hospital, and out-of-hospital costs. A travel insurance plan isn’t accepted, and this is a common rejection reason.

Some consulates publish extra sub-rules, such as a minimum annual coverage figure or a copay ceiling, and those vary, so read the requirements for your own consulate before you buy. Whatever home-country cover you have, the Spanish rule is its own separate test, and the origin sections below explain what your existing public cover does and does not carry over.

Verdict: budget for a real Spain-compliant policy from day one and keep proof of the full-year term. A cheap travel plan or your existing home-country coverage will fail.

The no-work rule and the Digital Nomad Visa

The Non-Lucrative Visa doesn’t allow you to work. The consulate is explicit that it isn’t a work permit and doesn’t allow teleworking, and that restriction holds even when your employer or your clients are entirely outside Spain. Logging into a remote job for a company back home from an apartment in Valencia isn’t permitted on this visa. Working-age applicants are usually asked to show a pension, an employer termination letter, or a notarized statement that they won’t work.

If you do intend to keep earning from remote work, the NLV is the wrong route. Spain has a separate Digital Nomad Visa built for remote employees and contractors, with its own income rules and its own application. Remote earners apply for the Digital Nomad Visa. True retirees living on passive income apply for the NLV.

Verdict: if you or your spouse plan to work in any form, this isn’t your visa. If your income is passive, the no-work rule isn’t a problem.

The application process and which consulate is yours

You apply in person at the Spanish consulate that covers where you live, and you can’t shop for a friendlier one. Which consulate is yours depends on where you’re moving from, so the network and how jurisdiction is set sit in the origin section below. Requirements can differ between consulates, so the consulate for your jurisdiction is the only rulebook that binds you.

The sequence runs like this. You book an appointment and file in person with your documents. The consulate has a legal maximum of three months to decide. If approved, the visa itself is valid for 90 days, which is your window to enter Spain. Once you arrive you register at the local town hall (the empadronamiento) and apply for your TIE, the foreigner identity card, within 30 days of entry. The permit then follows a 1 plus 2 plus 2 cadence: a one-year initial permit, renewed for two years, then renewed for two more. After five years of continuous legal residence you can apply for long-term residence, and citizenship generally becomes available at around ten years. Renewals require that you kept your means and insurance and actually lived in Spain, which in practice means more than 183 days in the year.

That 183-day line matters for a second reason. Spending more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year makes you a Spanish tax resident on your worldwide income, subject to the double taxation treaty between Spain and your home country. If you have Spanish or other European ancestry, it’s worth checking whether citizenship by descent gives you a cheaper long-term path before you commit to the visa track.

Verdict: file at your assigned consulate, keep the 90-day entry window and the 30-day TIE deadline in view, and plan around the 183-day residence and tax reality from year one.

Moving from the US

If you’re a US retiree who wants to live in Spain without working, the mechanics below are the US-specific half of the process. The income math, the no-work rule, the insurance requirement, and the two-step application above apply to you unchanged.

Where you apply

You apply in person at the Spanish consulate that covers your US state of residence, and you can’t shop for a friendlier one. The Los Angeles consulate, for example, covers Southern California plus Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, while other consulates sit in New York, Washington DC, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Puerto Rico. Requirements can differ between them, so the consulate for your jurisdiction is the only rulebook that binds you.

Social Security and your income

Your US Social Security counts as qualifying income when it’s regular and documented. Benefit letters from the Social Security Administration plus bank statements showing the deposits are the usual proof, and pensions and investment income count the same way.

Health cover: Medicare will not do

For US retirees the sharp edge is Medicare. Medicare generally doesn’t cover you outside the United States, so it does nothing for this application and nothing for your day-to-day care in Spain. You’ll buy a separate expat or international policy that meets the no-copay, no-limit standard set out in the insurance section above.

US documents and the apostille trap

The document that catches Americans is the criminal record check. Spain wants your FBI Identity History Summary, and it must be legalized with the federal apostille issued by the US Department of State in Washington DC. A state or local apostille, the kind a Secretary of State office issues for a birth certificate, isn’t valid for an FBI document, because the FBI is a federal agency. Getting a state apostille on your FBI check is a real and avoidable rejection. The check also must be recent, generally not older than six months, and it needs a certified Spanish translation. You provide records for every country you have lived in over the past five years, plus a medical certificate stating you’re free of diseases of public-health concern under the 2005 International Health Regulations, usually issued within 90 days of filing.

One more condition to flag: the Los Angeles consulate states that applicants can’t have outstanding US loans or mortgages when they apply. That’s written on the LA page. We haven’t confirmed it on every other US consulate page, so treat it as an LA-consulate condition that may or may not apply to yours, and read your own consulate’s requirements.

Fees

The visa fee for US citizens is USD 140 as of January 1, 2026, and the residence authorization fee (form 790-052) is USD 13, so most applicants pay around USD 153 in government fees, before insurance, translation, apostille, and travel costs. Consular fees are revised quarterly by exchange rate, so the exact dollar amount moves during the year.

Tax: the US-Spain treaty

The 183-day residence line has a US dimension. Once you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year you’re a Spanish tax resident on your worldwide income, and the US-Spain tax treaty governs which country taxes what. Get personal tax advice before you move, because the treaty and your specific income mix determine what you actually owe.

If you’re still weighing whether and where to go at all, start with how to leave the US and come back here once Spain is on the shortlist.

Moving from the UK

If you’re a British national living on a pension or other passive income, the income maths above applies to you unchanged: EUR 2,400 a month (EUR 28,800 a year) for a single applicant, plus EUR 600 a month (EUR 7,200 a year) for each family member, all set by IPREM. That is about £2,050 a month at 2026 exchange rates, but the euro figure is the one the consulate assesses, so treat any sterling equivalent as approximate. What differs is the British half of the move, the application channel and paperwork a US-framed guide never mentions. Here is each piece.

How you apply

You apply from the UK, not through any US consulate. The route runs through the Spanish Consulate General in London, with consulates also in Manchester and Edinburgh, and their outsourced operator BLS International, which runs Spain Visa Application Centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. The category is the “Non-working residence visa”, and the means test is the same one the rest of this page describes: 400% of IPREM for the main applicant, plus 100% of IPREM for each family member in your care. Jurisdiction is set by your consular district, so you file at the centre for the county you live in and show proof of legal residence there; you cannot shop consulates. The exact county-to-centre split across London, Manchester and Edinburgh is set on the BLS jurisdiction selector, so confirm which centre is yours before you book.

On cost, the visa fee for a British applicant is a reciprocity fee of £516 (British nationals pay this higher rate; most other nationalities pay about £79), plus a £9.60 initial-residence-authorisation fee and BLS’s own £14.85 service charge, so budget roughly £540 per applicant, and £516 for each dependant. Confirm the current figures on the consulate’s fee schedule when you book.

Your criminal record: the ACRO certificate

The document that catches American applicants is an FBI check; the British equivalent is an ACRO Police Certificate, the UK police certificate, legalised with an apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office. The London consulate’s non-lucrative-visa checklist says plainly, for UK criminal records, to submit an ACRO certificate, and gov.uk lists ACRO certificates among the documents the Legalisation Office apostilles (a paper apostille, not the online service). Order it early: like the insurance, it is one of the documents most likely to slow an application down.

Tax: telling HMRC, and the 2013 treaty

Telling HMRC you have left is the step that starts your UK tax exit cleanly rather than leaving your status ambiguous. If you are not within Self Assessment you use form P85; if you already file a Self Assessment return, you tell HMRC through that return instead. Whether you are UK-resident for a given tax year is decided by the Statutory Residence Test, one automatic limb of which is simply whether you spent 183 or more days in the UK that year. Move abroad partway through a year and that year is usually split under split-year treatment, so you pay UK tax on foreign income only for the resident part. Leaving does not switch off UK tax on UK-source income: rental income from a UK property stays taxable in the UK even once you are non-resident, and so, in defined cases, do some pensions.

Which country taxes your pensions once you are Spanish-resident is set by the 2013 UK-Spain Double Taxation Convention, not the treaty that covers American applicants. As a general pattern in these conventions, and this is general information rather than advice on your own pension, government-service pensions tend to remain taxable only in the UK, while the State Pension and most private pensions become taxable in Spain once you are resident there. The exact article-by-article allocation is worth confirming with a cross-border adviser before you file; the point is that the treaty decides it, not guesswork.

Your State Pension is uprated in Spain

For UK State Pensioners resident in an EU country, and Spain is one, the State Pension is increased each year in line with the rate paid in the UK. Spain is not one of the frozen-pension countries, where the amount you first drew never rises again. Over a long retirement that difference is worth real money.

Healthcare: losing the NHS, and the S1 that replaces it

The NHS is a residency-based system, so moving to Spain permanently can end your entitlement to free NHS care. Planning as though you keep it once you live in Spain is a common and expensive mistake. The NLV needs proof of health cover with no gaps, but for a British applicant that need not always be a private policy: the London consulate accepts an S1 registration as the cover the visa requires. So if you receive a UK State Pension, you can apply for an S1 form, under which the UK funds your healthcare in the Spanish state system (request it from NHS Overseas Healthcare Services, part of the NHS Business Services Authority, then register it in Spain), and lodge the S1 registration receipt with your visa application instead of buying a private policy. If you are below State Pension age you will generally need a full private policy for the application; once you have been registered on the padrón for at least a year you can instead pay into the convenio especial, the Spanish state pay-in scheme.

The wider move, and if you have a Spanish parent

This page stays on the NLV itself. For the rest of the British side of a Spain move, the driving-licence exchange, bringing pets, and the Schengen 90/180 visitor limit before your residence is in place, see our sister guide to moving to Spain from the UK. And if you have a Spanish parent, a claim to Spanish nationality by descent can be a cheaper and permanent alternative to any visa; our Spanish citizenship by descent guide covers the route still open after the Democratic Memory Law grandchildren window closed on 22 October 2025.

Moving from Canada

A Canadian applies at the Spanish consulate for their region. Canada does not freeze pensions abroad: the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security keep their annual indexing in Spain. The wrinkle is OAS, which is only payable abroad indefinitely if you had 20 years of Canadian residence after age 18, though the 1988 Canada-Spain social-security agreement lets you count Spanish residence towards that test; the Guaranteed Income Supplement stops six months after you leave. Emigrating can trigger Canada’s departure tax, a deemed disposition on most non-registered assets. On tax, the Canada-Spain treaty caps Spanish tax on periodic pensions, with 15% Canadian non-resident withholding. One clear downside versus a Briton: Canada is not on Spain’s DGT license-exchange list, so after six months of residence you must pass the Spanish theory and practical driving tests rather than swapping your license. The NLV’s private-insurance requirement covers healthcare from day one; Canada has no portable public cover to bring.

Moving from Australia

An Australian applies at the Spanish consulate for their state. The Age Pension is the piece to plan: unlike Mexico or Thailand, Australia has a social-security agreement with Spain, so you can claim it from Spain, though it stays means-tested and, after 26 weeks abroad, is proportioned to your Australian Working Life Residence over 35 years. Superannuation is not released simply because you emigrate; you still need to reach preservation age and meet a condition of release. The Australia-Spain tax treaty (1992) makes pensions taxable only in your country of residence, subject to a government-service carve-out, and leaving Australia triggers CGT event I1 on your non-Australian assets unless you elect to defer. Two practical notes: there is no reciprocal health agreement with Spain, so the NLV’s private cover is your baseline, and Australia is not on Spain’s licence-exchange list (only New Zealand and the UK are), so you face the Spanish driving tests after six months.

Decision framework

If you have a Spanish parent, a claim to Spanish nationality by descent can be cheaper and more durable than any visa, and it is the one route still open after the Democratic Memory Law window closed in October 2025.

FAQ

How much money do you need for the Spain Non-Lucrative Visa in 2026? EUR 28,800 per year (EUR 2,400 per month) for one applicant, which is 400% of the EUR 600 monthly IPREM, plus EUR 7,200 per year (EUR 600 per month) for each additional family member. The figure didn’t rise for 2026.

Can I use savings instead of monthly income to qualify? Yes. Liquid savings at the same threshold can substitute for income, shown through bank and investment statements. Some consulates prefer to see ongoing passive income, and the exact savings amount and format vary by consulate, so a mix of income plus savings is the safest profile.

Can I work remotely on the Non-Lucrative Visa? No. The NLV bans all work, including remote work for a non-Spanish employer or clients. Remote earners need Spain’s separate Digital Nomad Visa.

Does a pension count as income? Yes, when it’s regular and documented. Pension letters and bank statements showing the deposits are the usual proof, and investment income counts the same way. US Social Security counts (see Moving from the US), and a UK State Pension counts too (see Moving from the UK).

Do I need private health insurance? Yes. You need a full private policy from a Spain-authorized insurer with no copay, no deductible, no waiting period, and no coverage limit, valid for one year. What your home-country cover does for you differs by origin: US Medicare doesn’t travel abroad, and UK State Pensioners have an S1 route that only opens once resident.

Will I have to pay Spanish taxes? If you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, you become a Spanish tax resident on your worldwide income, and the double taxation treaty between Spain and your home country decides which country taxes what. Get personal tax advice before you move, because the treaty and your specific income mix determine what you actually owe.

How long does the visa take, and how does renewal work? The consulate has up to three months to decide. The visa is valid 90 days for entry, you apply for your TIE within 30 days of arriving, and the permit runs on a 1 plus 2 plus 2 cadence, with long-term residence available after five years and citizenship generally after about ten.

Can I bring my spouse and children, and how much extra income do I need? Yes. Each additional family member adds 100% of IPREM, which is EUR 7,200 per year (EUR 600 per month). A couple needs about EUR 36,000 per year and a couple with one child about EUR 43,200.

Sources and methodology

Spain figures were checked on 2026-09-07 against primary Spanish government sources, and the load-bearing NLV income figure was re-confirmed 2026-09-18; the UK sources were checked 2026-09-18. The euro amounts are authoritative; dollar and sterling figures are conversions or service fees that move over time.

Spain:

1. Reglamento de Extranjeria (Real Decreto 1155/2024), in force since May 20, 2025, replacing the repealed RD 557/2011, the current legal basis for non-lucrative residence: the economic-means requirement (400% of IPREM for the main applicant plus 100% per family member, as applied by the Spanish consulates), the no-work rule, and the private-insurance condition. Boletin Oficial del Estado (BOE), checked 2026-09-14.
2. Official IPREM table (2026 monthly EUR 600.00; annual EUR 7,200.00 on 12 payments; unchanged since 2023), set by the 2023 budget law (Ley 31/2022) and prorogued since, Boletin Oficial del Estado (BOE), checked 2026-09-14.
3. Ley 31/2022, de 23 de diciembre, de Presupuestos Generales del Estado para el ano 2023 (set IPREM at EUR 600; prorogued for later years absent a new budget), Boletin Oficial del Estado (BOE), checked 2026-09-07.
4. Spanish Constitution, Article 134.4 (automatic proroga of the prior budget when no new one is approved), BOE, checked 2026-09-07.
5. Real Decreto 1155/2024 (Immigration Regulation in force from May 2025; renewal periods clarified as 2 plus 2), BOE, checked 2026-09-07.
6. Agencia Estatal de Administracion Tributaria (AEAT), tax-residence guidance (183-day rule), checked 2026-09-07.
7. Consulate General of Spain in Washington DC, Non-Lucrative Visa page (jurisdiction reference for US applicants outside the Los Angeles district), exteriores.gob.es, checked 2026-09-07.

United Kingdom (checked 2026-09-18):

• gov.uk, “Living in Spain” (updated July 3, 2026): the Spanish consulates in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, residency, padron, TIE, and the S1 healthcare pointer.
• Spanish Consulate General in London, “Non-working residence visa”: the visa category, submission through the BLS Spain Visa Application Centre, the 400% of IPREM plus 100% per family member means test, the compulsory visa fee (no figure published), and jurisdiction by consular district.
• BLS International, Spain Visa Application Centre (London), non-lucrative visa: the “Non-working residency visa (non-lucrative visa)” category, next-working-day submission to the Consulate General in London, and the £14.85 service charge.
• gov.uk, “Get your document legalised”: the FCDO Legalisation Office apostille, which names ACRO police certificates among the documents it legalises.
• gov.uk, “Healthcare in Spain”: the S1 via NHS Overseas Healthcare Services (part of the NHS Business Services Authority), the convenio especial, and loss of NHS entitlement on a permanent move.
• gov.uk, “Spain: tax treaties”: the 2013 UK-Spain Double Taxation Convention.
• gov.uk, “Benefits and pensions for UK nationals in the EU, EEA or Switzerland” (updated January 25, 2024): annual State Pension uprating in Spain.
• gov.uk, “Get your Income Tax right if you’re leaving the UK (P85)”: telling HMRC you have left the UK.
• gov.uk, “Tax on foreign income: UK residence and tax”: the Statutory Residence Test and split-year treatment.
• gov.uk, “Tax on your UK income if you live abroad”: UK-source income staying UK-taxable after you leave.

Canada and Australia (checked 2026-09-22):

• Canada: Service Canada, Old Age Security while outside Canada (CPP and OAS indexed abroad; the 20-year OAS rule; the 1988 Canada-Spain agreement totalises); CRA, Leaving Canada (emigrants) (departure tax); the Canada-Spain tax convention; Spain’s DGT does not list Canada for license exchange.
• Australia: Services Australia, travel outside Australia rules for Age Pension (agreement with Spain; means-tested, proportioned to Australian Working Life Residence); Treasury, income tax treaties (Australia-Spain 1992); ATO, how changing residency affects CGT; Spain lists only New Zealand and the UK for license exchange.

Methodology: euro figures are derived from the IPREM index published in the BOE and the 400% / 100%-per-member rule applied by the Spanish consulates; the requirements table annualizes each monthly figure at 12 months. US consular fees and the Los Angeles loans condition are the consulate’s own published terms. The UK-side mechanics are pinned to UK government (gov.uk) sources and the Spanish consular and BLS International channel.

Last updated: 2026-09-22. Reviewed by Expat Future editorial.

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This is not legal advice

This article is editorial guidance from Expat Future, not legal or tax advice, and Expat Future is not a law firm or a visa agency. Non-Lucrative Visa requirements vary by consulate and change over time, and the income figure depends on an IPREM value that can move if Spain passes a new budget. Confirm every requirement with the Spanish consulate for your jurisdiction, and get professional legal and tax advice before you file or move.