Spain Non-Lucrative Visa (Residencia No Lucrativa): Full Guide

Renovación de residencia no lucrativa

~13 min read · Published 22 July 2026 Updated and checked against official sources 8 October 2026 Print / PDF

Residencia no lucrativa, known in English as the non-lucrative visa, is a Spanish residence permit for non-EU nationals who live in Spain on their own means without working (art. 61 RD 1155/2024). The first permit is issued for one year, and each renewal for two. The ban on work also covers remote work for a foreign employer. After five years the holder can obtain long-term residence, and the years on this permit count toward Spanish nationality.

Contents

• What this permit is
• Pros and cons
• Who applies and who counts as family
• Requirements and documents
• Applying from the United States or the United Kingdom
• Can you work
• How the process works
• Refusal and appeal
• Renewal
• Long-term residence and nationality

What this permit is

It is an initial residence permit under the general regime: the applicant and their family members live in Spain without engaging in any employment or professional activity (art. 61.1 RD 1155/2024). Interest, rental income and pensions are all acceptable sources of funds. The source can be anything, provided the applicant does not earn the money by working (art. 62.3). Studying is allowed, because study is neither employment nor a professional activity.

In English-language forums the permit is called the “non-lucrative visa.” The visa is only the entry document: the consulate issues it for up to one year (art. 37.2). The permit itself is granted by the Oficina de Extranjería, and its one-year term runs from the date of entry into Spain.

The permit suits people who live on savings or passive income. Remote work from Spain is covered by a different permit, the digital nomad visa.

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Pros and cons

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Who applies and who counts as family

The application is filed in person at the Spanish consulate whose district covers the place where the applicant lives (art. 26.1 RD 1155/2024). Nationality does not matter: a UK national living in the United States applies in the US and proves residence there, for example with a green card. Family members file their applications at the same time (Hoja 6, the information sheet of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration). For this permit, family members are (art. 61.3 RD 1155/2024):

• A spouse, a registered partner or a partner in a stable relationship. At least one year of living together must be shown, or, if the couple has children in common, proof of living together is enough.
• Unmarried minor children of the applicant or the partner.
• Adult children with a disability who need support, and adult children who cannot support themselves because of their health.

Family ties are proven with marriage and birth certificates, a registered partnership with its registration certificate, and an unregistered partnership with documents showing the relationship (Los Angeles consulate, London consulate).

This does not mean that parents can be added: they are not on the list. Parents can come only through family reunification, once the applicant holds long-term residence (art. 18.1 LO 4/2000, art. 68.1 RD 1155/2024). A spouse and children who did not apply with the applicant can be reunited later, after one year of residence and once the renewal application has been filed (art. 68.1).

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Requirements and documents

The core requirement is enough money to live without working for the whole period. The amount is calculated from IPREM: 400% a month for the applicant and 100% for each family member (art. 62.1 RD 1155/2024).

IPREM in 2026: €600 per month, €7,200 per year. For the NLV: €28,800 per year for the applicant (400% IPREM) + €7,200 per dependant (100% IPREM)current for 2026

These are minimum amounts, calculated for the full length of the permit applied for (art. 62.2). The first permit is issued for one year and a renewal for two, so for the same monthly amount a renewal requires twice the total. Worked figures for a couple and for a family with children are in the article on the income requirement.

Means can be proved by any admissible evidence: bank certificates, title deeds, certified checks, or credit cards with a bank statement showing the available limit. The means may be savings or regular income such as a pension, interest on deposits, dividends or rent (art. 62.1). Securities held in a brokerage account also qualify. For accounts and financial instruments abroad, the regulation requires the bank’s name and address, the account details, the opening date, the balance on December 31 of the previous year and the average balance over the last year (art. 62.3).

Consulates also check where the money comes from. The Los Angeles consulate, for example, asks for bank statements for the last three months and the latest tax return (consulate checklist). The funds must remain in the accounts after filing: before issuing the visa, the consulate may ask again for bank documents with current balances.

An applicant of working age may be asked to prove that they no longer work, for example with a letter from the former employer or with tax returns for several years, translated by a sworn translator and apostilled. Beyond the documents filed, the consulate also checks publicly available information about the applicant.

If documents are missing or need clarification, the consulate issues a request (requerimiento). The usual deadline to respond is 10 days (art. 68 Ley 39/2015).

If the income comes from shares or holdings in a company based in Spain, the company must certify that the applicant does not work there, and the applicant signs a declaración responsable (a formal statement made under their own responsibility) to the same effect (art. 62.3).

Other documents (Hoja 6):

• Application form EX-01.
• A passport valid for at least one year. Consulates add their own conditions: it must have been issued no more than 10 years ago and have two blank pages.
• Health insurance from an insurer authorized to operate in Spain, covering all the risks covered by the Spanish public health system. Consulates require a policy with no deductible, copayment, waiting period or coverage limit. Travel insurance is not accepted.
• A criminal record certificate from every country where the applicant has lived over the last five years, issued no more than six months before filing. Only applicants who have reached the age of criminal responsibility file it (art. 38.e RD 1155/2024).
• A medical certificate: a doctor confirms that the applicant has no disease that could seriously affect public health under the International Health Regulations (2005). It must be issued no more than three months before filing, or 90 days at some consulates.
• Fee receipt: modelo 790, code 052, section 2.1.1.

Foreign documents are filed with an apostille or, for countries outside the Hague Convention, with consular legalization. They must be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator (traductor jurado) listed in the register of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We determine which documents need an apostille and a translation when the service is ordered, since the list depends on the issuing country and the consulate.

Not required for the first application:

• A Spanish bank account: art. 62.1 requires proof of means, not of where they are held. The rules do not restrict the country of the bank either.
• Regular income: savings are enough (art. 62.1).
• Housing in Spain: Hoja 6 does not list it, although some consulates ask for proof of housing in addition.
• School enrollment of the children: it becomes a condition at renewal (art. 64.2).
• Knowledge of Spanish: the regulation contains no such requirement.
• A trip to Spain to apply: only the consulate accepts the application (art. 63.1).

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Applying from the United States or the United Kingdom

Each consulate publishes its own checklist in addition to Hoja 6. The Los Angeles consulate (page dated February 11, 2026) and the London consulate (page dated July 6, 2026) add the following requirements.

United States:

• Proof of residence in the consular district, such as a state ID or a driver’s license. A non-US national also needs a green card or a long-term US visa. Holders of B-1/B-2 visas apply in their country of permanent residence.
• An applicant of working age shows a pension, a termination letter from the employer or, if self-employed, a notarized affidavit undertaking not to work in Spain.
• A criminal record certificate issued by the FBI, no more than six months old, with the federal apostille of the US Department of State. A state apostille is not accepted.

United Kingdom:

• Proof of legal residence in the consular district.
• An ACRO criminal record certificate.
• A medical certificate issued only in the United Kingdom or in Spain by a registered medical practitioner, with the Hague apostille.
• A registered S1 form, recorded on the Seguridad Social website, is accepted instead of private health insurance. The S1 is the form for UK state pensioners whose healthcare in Spain is funded by the UK.

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Can you work

No. Art. 61.1 RD 1155/2024 defines this permit as residence “sin realizar actividades laborales o profesionales,” that is, without employment or professional activity. The rule does not limit the ban by place of work or by employer, so it covers employment, self-employment and remote work for a foreign company alike.

Moving from this permit to the digital nomad visa is not possible. UGE-CE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos, the unit of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration that handles permits under Ley 14/2013) has taken this position in its FAQ on international teleworkers, Spanish version, question 12. Remote work done while holding a non-lucrative permit is an infringement under Título III LO 4/2000, and it cannot be relied on in a digital nomad application.

Work becomes lawful only after a change of status (modificación):

• Before one year of residence, only to employment, subject to the national employment situation test (art. 191.2 RD 1155/2024).
• After one year, to employment without that test, or to self-employment (art. 191.4).
• To a highly qualified professional permit or an entrepreneur permit under Ley 14/2013 (art. 61.1 and 76.1).

A non-lucrative permit holder may set up a company in Spain and hold shares in it, but may work in it only after a change of status (art. 62.3). A company set up in advance can therefore become the basis for moving to self-employment after one year.

The conditions of each route are covered in the article on change of status.

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How the process works

The procedure has two stages, both completed before entering Spain (art. 63 RD 1155/2024).

First, the consulate accepts the visa application, which also counts as the application for the permit (art. 63.1). An application therefore cannot be filed from Spain after arriving as a tourist. The application is filed in person, and through a representative only in exceptional cases accepted by the consulate. The Oficina de Extranjería (the immigration office) of the province where the applicant will live then checks the Spanish criminal record and the police report, whether the applicant is bound by an undertaking not to return to Spain, and whether the fee has been paid (art. 63.2 and 63.3). The province is determined by the Spanish address given in the application. The office decides within a month of receiving the consulate’s request, and silence means refusal (art. 63.4). This means that after a month without an answer the application is deemed refused and can be appealed. The procedure is explained in the article on administrative silence.

Once the permit is granted, the consulate decides on the visa. Consular checklists set two months in London and three in Los Angeles, counted from the date of application. The period is longer if the consulate asks for documents or calls the applicant for an interview.

The visa must be collected in person within a month of notification, otherwise the applicant is treated as having waived it. The visa is issued for the length of the permit, one year at most (art. 37.2 RD 1155/2024). Entry to Spain must take place while it is valid.

This is a national residence visa, and it also serves as the entry document. Nationals of countries that need a Schengen visa for Spain do not need a separate Schengen visa to enter. When a permit is applied for from inside Spain, for example the digital nomad permit through UGE-CE, entry is arranged separately: with a Schengen visa, or without one if the applicant’s nationality does not require it.

The permit runs from the date of entry. If the entry stamp is illegible, the date is proved with the boarding pass and the ticket. Within a month of entry, the holder applies for the TIE at the police station for their place of residence (Hoja 6). The NIE number is already printed on the visa.

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Refusal and appeal

The consulate notifies a refusal of the permit or the visa in writing, stating the grounds. A refusal can be challenged in two ways (consular checklists in London and Los Angeles):

• Recurso de reposición: an appeal to the consulate itself, within one month of notification (art. 124 Ley 39/2015).
• Recurso contencioso-administrativo: a claim before the High Court of Justice of Madrid (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid), within two months of notification of the refusal or of the decision on the appeal (art. 46 LJCA, Ley 29/1998, the law on administrative court proceedings).

Instead of appealing, the applicant can file a new application. It is admitted only if the circumstances behind the refusal have changed: a repeat of a refused application with nothing new is not considered (DA 4ª.1.c LO 4/2000). This means the new application has to remove the reason for the refusal, for example by explaining where the funds came from or by adding bank records.

We prepare and file the appeal to the consulate ourselves. A court claim requires an abogado and a procurador: we prepare the case, and a partner Spanish lawyer represents the client in court.

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Renewal

The renewal application is filed electronically with Extranjería through Mercurio (Hoja 7). It can be filed during the two months before the permit expires or the three months after. Filing within this window keeps the old permit in force until the decision, although a filing after expiry may still bring a fine under art. 52.b LO 4/2000 (art. 64.1 RD 1155/2024).

The receipt for a renewal application is neither a new permit nor a new card. It shows that the old permit remains in force until the decision (art. 64.1). To leave Spain and return while the renewal is pending, the holder needs an autorización de regreso, a return authorization, which is issued if the application was filed on time (art. 5 RD 1155/2024).

Renewal requirements (art. 64.2 and Hoja 7):

• Means for the whole new period, that is, two years.
• Health insurance that was in force throughout the previous period and remains in force. Besides the policy, Extranjería may ask for proof that premiums were paid for the whole period, and a gap in payments can be a ground for refusal.
• School-age children enrolled in school.
• Actual residence in Spain for more than 183 days per calendar year (art. 64.2, letter f).

The rule says “más de ciento ochenta y tres días durante el año natural.” That means at least 184 days, counted within a calendar year, January to December, not over any 12 months in a row.

The 183-day rule is new to the regulation. How to prove the days spent in Spain is covered in the article on renewals. More than 183 days in Spain also make a person a tax resident, with a duty to declare worldwide income.

The renewal decision is due within three months, and silence means approval (art. 64.8). The initial permit has a different period and the opposite effect of silence: one month, and silence means refusal (art. 63.4). The renewed permit is issued for two years, and the application for a new TIE is filed within a month of notification. Fee: modelo 790, code 052, section 2.2.1. The second renewal follows the same rules, again for two years. Five years of residence add up by the end of the second renewal, and long-term residence becomes available.

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Long-term residence and nationality

After five years of lawful residence, the holder can obtain long-term residence. Years on the non-lucrative permit also count toward Spanish nationality: 10 years as a rule, or 2 years for nationals by origin of Latin American countries, the Philippines and several others (art. 22.1 Código Civil). Those who acquired such a nationality by naturalization are subject to the general period.

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Author Aleksandr Nazarov