Non Lucrative Visa Spain in 2024

If your desire is to make Spain your home but you don’t have an employer sponsoring your stay, the Non-Lucrative Residence Visa in Spain offers a promising solution.

The non-lucrative residency is a Spanish visa available to non-EU citizens who have sufficient economic means to stay in the country without engaging in any work.

My Spanish Residency

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of obtaining the Non-Lucrative Residence Visa in Spain. This particular type of residency permit allows you to establish your life with your family in Spain by demonstrating your financial capacity to sustain your livelihood.

At our distinguished immigration law firm, we specialize in assisting individuals in securing the Non-Lucrative Residence Visa, ensuring a seamless transition to life in Spain, without the need for employment sponsorship.

Visa Name	Non-Lucrative Visa Spain
Description:	Spanish Residence permit to live in Spain without working or investing in the country.
Duration of the permit	1 year but renewable non-lucrative visa
Time to get acceptance	1 month
Main Requirement	Demonstrating sufficient economic means to leave in the country, certifying the availability of a non-working monthly income (eg. pension) that satisfies the minimum financial requirements.

If you want to make sure you submit your application successfully, contact us. We can give you personalised advice based on the particularities of your case. 

What is a non lucrative visa spain?

A spanish non lucrative visa application is a special sort of residency permit in Spain for non-European people who intend to stay in the country for an extended period of time. This residence permit is non-profit in the sense that you will be unable to do any economic or professional activities in Spain.

Non lucrative visa spain requirements

The requirements for the non lucrative residence permit are laid down in Article 46 of the Foreigner Regulations.

The non-lucrative visa requirements are the following:

• Sufficient economic means
• Absence of criminal record
• Not having an entry ban in the Schengen Territory
• Not to be irregularly in Spanish Soil
• Having a Private Health Insurance

Sufficient Economic Means

The main requirement to get the NLV in Spain is to have enough economic means to stay in the country.

You must have sufficient funds to cover your maintenance and stay expenses, including, if applicable, those of your family, during the period of time for which you wish to reside in Spain, without the need to carry out any work or professional activity. If you want to work remotely this is not your visa, your visa would be the digital nomad visa.

Proof of funds is the core requirement to obtain the non-lucrative visa in Spain. In 2024, the Spanish Government dictates that you must prove having the following income:

• Monthly Income of 2400€
• Monthly Income of +600€ for each family member in your care.

Not to be irregularly in Spanish territory

Not to be irregularly in Spanish territory: The vast majority of residence permits must be applied for at the country of origin. The application begins in the country where the foreigner resides and not in Spain. In this case, the temporary non-lucrative residence authorization is not the exception and therefore, it must be applied for in the foreigner’s country of origin / residence.

Absence of criminal record

If the applicant is of legal age, he/she must have no criminal record both in Spain and in the countries where he/she has previously resided during the last 5 years, for crimes foreseen in the Spanish legislation. The lack of a criminal record in Spain will be checked by the corresponding Government Delegation or Sub-delegation through the reports of the General Directorate of the Police, the Civil Guard and the Central Penitentiary Register.  On the other hand, the lack of criminal records in the country of origin or in those where the foreigner has resided within the last 5 years must be demonstrated through the corresponding criminal record certificate. 

Not having an entry ban to the Schengen territory.

Not to appear as rejectable in the territorial space of countries with which Spain has signed an agreement in this sense. This requirement basically translates into not having an entry ban in the countries that make up the Schengen territory, of which Spain is a part. According to article 58 of the Aliens Act, any expulsion (deportation) entails a ban on entry (normally 3 to 5 years, but in exceptional cases it can last 10 years).

Therefore, if the applicant has previously been expelled from a member country of the Schengen territory and the entry ban is still in force, that foreigner will not comply with this requirement and will not be able to obtain non-profit residence. Entry bans are recorded in a database called SIRENE (Supplementary Information Request at the National Entries), through which the authorities of the countries forming part of the Schengen territory can verify whether an entry ban is still in force.

The problem is that years of entry bans have often passed, but the foreigner’s data have not been removed from the database, with the result that his application for non-profit residence is unfairly rejected. In order to avoid what is indicated in the previous paragraph, it is best to request the right of access to the aforementioned database. If your data is still erroneously included, you must request the deletion because the entry ban is no longer in force. 

Private health insurance for spain non-lucrative visa

You must have private health insurance arranged with an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain.

They are not within the period of commitment not to return to Spain that the foreigner has assumed when voluntarily returning to their country of origin. Voluntary return is “determined by the person who returns to live in their country of origin” (LID Dictionary of Immigration and Aliens). Normally, the foreigner who returns voluntarily does so because of some incentive foreseen in some return plan designed by the Spanish authorities. For example, receive the unemployment benefit (colloquially called “unemployment”) through a single payment if the foreigner decides to return to his country of origin.

Not to suffer from any of the diseases

That may have serious public health repercussions in accordance with the provisions of the International Health Regulations of 2005.

Steps to get the non lucrative visa spain application

Everything related to the procedure for obtaining the initial non-lucrative visa is regulated in article 49 of the Foreigners Regulations. This procedure can be summarized as follows:

1. Application for non-lucrative visa before the Spanish diplomatic mission or consular office; The form to be used for the application for temporary non-profit residence is model Ex-01.
2. Decision on the authorisation of non-profit visa by the Government Delegation or Sub-delegation;
3. Decision on the non-lucrative residence visa by the Spanish diplomatic mission or consular post;
4. Collection of the visa at the Spanish consular post (Your NIE number is included in the visa).
5. Entry into Spanish territory and stamp your passport.
6. Application for the Foreigner Identity Card (TIE CARD).

Required documents to obtain the Non Lucrative Visa

Based on Article 48.2 of the foreigners Regulations, the application must be accompanied by these documents:

• Valid passport or travel document, recognized as valid in Spain, with a minimum validity of 1 year.
• Criminal record certificate, or equivalent document, if the applicant is of legal age, issued by the authorities of the country of origin or of the countries where he/she has resided in the last 5 years.
• Documentation accrediting that sufficient economic means are available, as studied in point 5.2.
• Documentation demonstrating that you have a private or public health insurance taken out with an insurance company authorized to operate in Spain.
• Medical certificate that proves that you do not suffer from any of the diseases that may have serious public health repercussions in accordance with the International Health Regulations of 2005.

All documents submitted have to be translated by a Spanish sworn translator, we can assist you in the whole process of your NLV.

How long does it take for the Government Delegation to decide?

In accordance with Article 48.4 of the Foreigner Regulations, the Government Delegation or Sub-delegation must decide within a maximum period of 1 month from receipt of the request.

If the month passes without the Government Delegation or Sub-delegation having pronounced on the authorisation of temporary non-lucrative visa, the application will be understood as rejected, in other words, the negative administrative silence operates.

Once the diplomatic mission or consular post has notified the granting of the visa, the applicant must collect the visa in person within a maximum period of one month.

If the applicant does not collect the visa within this period, the visa granted will be deemed to have been surrendered and it will be archived.

What happens if your application for non lucrative visa is denied

The grounds on which the consular post may refuse a non-lucrative visa application are:

• When the fulfillment of the requirements indicated in the previous point is not accredited;
• When false documents have been presented or inaccurate allegations have been made, or there is bad faith and;
• When there is a cause for inadmissibility to a legally foreseen procedure that had not been assessed at the time of receipt of the application.

The ground for refusal indicated in the third point must be concatenated with the established in the Foreigners Act, since said Act provides the reasons for inadmissibility of applications in matters relating to foreigners. These are:

• Lack of legitimacy of the applicant, or insufficient accreditation of representation;
• Submission of the application outside the legally established time limit;
• Repetition of an application that has already been rejected, provided that the circumstances that led to the rejection have not changed;
• When there is an administrative sanctioning procedure against the applicant in which expulsion may be proposed or when an expulsion order has been issued against the applicant, unless the expulsion order has been revoked;
• When the applicant is prohibited from entering Spain;
• In the case of manifestly unfounded applications;
• When they refer to foreigners who are in Spain in an irregular situation and;
• When the request is not made personally and such circumstance is required by law.

In the event that your application is inadmissible or denied, you may contact us. We will help you as expert foreign lawyers by challenging this decision through the interposition of the corresponding administrative and judicial appeals.

NLV in Spain FAQs