Spain non lucrative visa: 2026 income requirement, documents and how to apply

Non-lucrative residence visa Processing: Up to 3 months legally; often 3-8 weeks

The Spain non lucrative visa needs €28,800 a year for a single applicant in 2026, plus €7,200 per family member. Here is how the IPREM formula works, what documents US consulates ask for, and what recent applicants report.

For 2026, the Spain non lucrative visa income requirement is 400% of IPREM for the main applicant and 100% of IPREM for each dependant. IPREM is frozen at €600 a month for 2026, so a single applicant needs €2,400 a month (€28,800 a year), a couple needs €3,000 a month (€36,000 a year) and each additional family member adds €600 a month (€7,200 a year). You prove it with passive income such as a pension, savings, or both, plus no-copay Spanish health insurance, an FBI check, a medical certificate and a set of forms filed at the Spanish consulate for where you live. You cannot work on this visa, remotely or locally.

What the non lucrative visa is

The non lucrative visa (NLV, visado de residencia no lucrativa) lets non-EU citizens live in Spain on their own resources without any gainful activity. Spain's migration ministry describes it as a residence authorization requested from your home country that allows you to reside in Spain without carrying out work or professional activities. The Los Angeles and Chicago consulates both state explicitly that it does not allow teleworking. If you need to keep earning from a job or clients, compare the Spain digital nomad visa instead.

The rules come from Organic Law 4/2000 and the immigration regulation approved by Royal Decree 1155/2024 (articles 60 to 64), which has applied since May 2025. Under it, the initial authorization lasts one year from your entry into Spain. A renewal lasts two years, according to the ministry's own information sheet, and you must show you actually lived in Spain for more than 183 days in the calendar year.

Spain non lucrative visa income requirement 2026: the numbers

The legal formula is monthly: 400% of the monthly IPREM for you, plus 100% for each family member you bring. Because Spain has not passed a new general state budget, IPREM has stayed at €600 a month (€7,200 a year on 12 payments). Consulates calculate the annual figure on 12 monthly payments, so be wary of guides that use the 14-payment IPREM (€8,400) or round the single figure down to €28,000.

Household	Monthly (2026)	Annual, first year (2026)
Single applicant	€2,400	€28,800
Couple	€3,000	€36,000
Couple + 1 child	€3,600	€43,200
Couple + 2 children	€4,200	€50,400

These are minimums. IPREM can change with a future budget, and a consulate can ask for more evidence if your file looks thin, so build a margin and check the IPREM sheet your consulate links before you apply.

What counts as proof of funds

The ministry says means can be proved by any evidence, including property titles, certified cheques, or credit cards backed by a bank certificate showing the available credit. In practice US consulates want one of two things: a regular passive income (such as a Social Security or pension award letter) that meets the monthly figure, or savings that cover the full year. Many applicants combine both.

US consulate checklists add detail. Los Angeles asks for originals with the issuing institution's stamp, bank statements for the last three months and a copy of your last tax return. Both Los Angeles and Chicago list what every financial document must show: the bank's name and address, full account identification, opening date, the balance at 31 December of the previous year and the average balance for that year. Los Angeles also says applicants cannot have or leave loans or mortgages in the US when applying, and that applicants of working age must show a pension or a termination letter, or, if self-employed, a notarized affidavit agreeing not to work in Spain.

Documents checklist

Requirements differ slightly between consulates, so use your own consulate's page as the master list. The common core, based on the Los Angeles and Chicago pages:

National visa application form, signed, with a passport photo.
Form EX-01 (application for a non lucrative temporary residence authorization), one per applicant.
Passport valid for at least one year with two blank pages; Los Angeles and Chicago reject passports issued more than 10 years ago.
Proof of residence in the consular district (state ID or driver's license) and, for non-Americans, a green card.
Proof of financial means as above.
Health insurance from an insurer authorized to operate in Spain, with no copayment or deductible. Los Angeles also requires no waiting period or coverage limit and states that travel insurance is not accepted.
Medical certificate stating you have no disease with serious public-health implications under the 2005 International Health Regulations, issued within 90 days (Los Angeles) or 3 months (Chicago).
FBI Identity History Summary with a federal apostille from the US Department of State, under 6 months old, plus a sworn Spanish translation. A state-level check or state apostille is not accepted. You also need certificates from any other country you lived in during the last five years.
Fees: form 790 code 052 for the residence authorization and the visa fee.
Family documents: marriage or birth certificates (apostilled and translated) for each dependant.

Costs

Item	Cost (2026)	Notes
Visa fee, US citizens	$140	Other nationalities $106 at US consulates
Residence authorization (790-052)	$13	Per applicant
Federal apostille (FBI check)	$20 per document	US Department of State fee
Sworn translations	Varies	One 2026 applicant paid about $250 in total
Health insurance	Varies by age	Usually paid for a year up front
BLS service charges, travel	Varies	BLS charges for some extra services

Fees are set in dollars by each consulate and paid on the day of the appointment, by money order at Los Angeles. They are not refunded if the visa is refused. Fees can change each January.

How to apply, step by step

Find your consulate. You apply at the Spanish consulate covering your state of residence. Los Angeles, for example, covers Southern California, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. Chicago covers 13 Midwestern states.
Book a BLS appointment. US consulates take NLV applications in person at BLS International offices, by appointment only. Slots can be scarce, so book before your documents are complete.
Order slow documents first. The FBI check and its federal apostille take the longest. The State Department says mailed requests are processed within five weeks of receipt.
Buy insurance and gather financial proof. Time the insurance so it covers your first year in Spain from your planned arrival.
Translate. Foreign documents must be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator and apostilled where they are public documents.
Attend the appointment. Bring originals and copies. The consulate may request more documents or an interview.
Wait for a decision. The legal deadline is three months from the day after you apply, longer if more documents are requested.
Collect the visa and travel. Collect within one month of the favorable decision. Los Angeles says the visa is valid for 90 days; Chicago says 365 days. Either way, your one-year authorization starts on the day you enter Spain.
Apply for your TIE. Within one month of entering Spain, apply in person for your foreigner identity card at the police station or immigration office for your province.

Renewing after year one

Under the ministry's renewal sheet, you apply online in the two months before your authorization expires (or up to three months after, with a possible fine). You must still meet the income test for the renewal period, show that you kept health insurance throughout and will continue it, keep any school-age children in school, and prove you lived in Spain for more than 183 days in the calendar year. The renewed authorization lasts two years. Filing on time extends your current authorization until a decision. If there is no answer within three months, the renewal is treated as approved.

What people who've done it say

A retired couple in their sixties who applied through BLS San Francisco in July 2026 reported that the passport came back with the visa eight weeks and two days after the appointment. The booking system offered no family appointments and allowed only one booking per account, so the wife's appointment was two months after her husband's. For financial proof they used a Spanish bank account opened the year before, a Social Security benefit letter for each spouse and three years of tax returns. They estimated about $1,000 per trip to San Francisco on top of the fees, which they paid as a single $153 cashier's check (Spainguru firsthand report, October 2026).
The same applicant said a typo was spotted on his health insurance certificate at the counter but did not cause a problem. His advice was to proofread every document, especially ones prepared by someone else.
A retired US federal employee reported that their consulate rejected FEP Blue Cross Blue Shield because the insurer was not registered with Spain's insurance regulator. The consulate asked for full coverage comparable to the Spanish public system with no deductible, copay or waiting period (Spainguru community answers, 2024). Another commenter in that thread said TRICARE and VA coverage also had to be topped up with a Spanish policy.
Applicants through New York reported that the consulate asked them to change their Sanitas policy so it covered the year after their arrival, not the year after their application. Once they did, it was accepted (Spainguru community answers, 2022). This is an older report, but the timing issue still comes up.

Common mistakes

Using the wrong IPREM. The single-applicant floor is €28,800 a year in 2026, not €28,000, and not a figure based on the 14-payment IPREM.
Counting work income. Salary, freelance income and remote work for foreign clients are not allowed on this visa. If your income depends on working, this is the wrong visa.
A state apostille on the FBI check. Both Los Angeles and Chicago reject state-level checks and state apostilles. The FBI check needs a federal apostille from Washington.
Letting documents expire. The FBI check must be under 6 months old and the medical certificate under 90 days or 3 months, depending on the consulate. Plan your timeline around your appointment date.
US or travel health insurance. Consulates want an insurer authorized in Spain with no copays. Medicare, FEP and travel medical policies have been refused.
Forgetting the 183-day rule. Since May 2025, renewal requires more than 183 days of real residence in Spain in the calendar year. Long trips home can cost you the renewal.
Applying through the wrong consulate. You must apply where you legally reside. B-1/B-2 visa holders in the US cannot apply there.

Bottom line

For 2026 the Spain NLV needs €28,800 a year for one person and €7,200 more for each family member, from passive income or savings, backed by stamped bank documents. The paperwork is predictable but slow. Start with the FBI check and federal apostille, buy a no-copay Spanish policy that starts on your planned arrival date, and follow your own consulate's checklist rather than a generic one. If you want a lower-income alternative with similar rules, the Portugal D7 visa is the closest comparison.

Sources

Part of our Spain residency series.

Last updated November 4, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.