GlobaliumExpats
SPAIN NON-LUCRATIVE VISA · COSTA DEL SOL

The Non-Lucrative Visa — retire to the sun, properly.

The classic route for retirees and the financially independent: live on the Costa del Sol on your own means, no working required. We file the visa, the NIE and the TIE, arrange the health policy the consulate actually accepts, and keep you legal all the way to permanent residency — in plain English.

Book a chat (in English) See the requirements

You spent forty years earning the right to do nothing in the sun. Don't spend year forty-one fighting a consulate over an insurance clause.

A SHORT STORY (NOT ABOUT PAPERWORK)

The traveller who brought his own well to a village in a drought

A traveller arrived at a sun-baked village in the middle of a long drought. The well in the square was rationed, tempers were short, and a newcomer — another mouth, another bucket dipping into water that wasn't there — was not what anyone wanted to see. They moved to turn him away at the gate.

«I've no intention of drinking your water,» he said, and showed them: a cart behind him carried his own barrels, full, enough for years. He hadn't come to take from the village. He'd come to sit in its lovely square, mind his own business, and pay his way. Once they saw he asked nothing of them, the gate opened. He became the village's favourite resident — precisely because he never once reached for the communal bucket.

The village didn't object to strangers. It objected to strangers who'd be a drain. Proof that he wouldn't be was all it ever needed.

The Non-Lucrative Visa is that cart of barrels. Spain isn't asking whether you're welcome — you are. It's asking you to show, cleanly and properly, that you bring your own means and your own cover, and won't reach for the communal bucket. Show it the right way and the gate opens.

WHAT YOU NEED

The Non-Lucrative Visa requirements, in plain English

Four pillars. Most refusals come down to two of them — the income proof and the health policy — done not-quite-right.

Sufficient passive means

Around 400% of the IPREM (roughly €2,400/month, or about €28,800/year) for the main applicant, plus ~100% of the IPREM for each dependant. Shown through pensions, savings, rental or investment income. The IPREM is set yearly, so we confirm the exact figure at the time of application.

No work in Spain

The NLV is for living, not working — no Spanish employment and no self-employment. If you intend to keep working remotely, the Digital Nomad Visa is the correct route, and we’ll tell you so honestly.

Full private health insurance

A Spanish policy with full coverage, no co-payments and no waiting periods, from an insurer authorised in Spain. Travel policies don’t qualify — this is one of the most common reasons a file is bounced.

Clean record & medical certificate

A criminal-record certificate (apostilled and sworn-translated) covering where you’ve lived, and a medical certificate confirming you’re free of diseases of public-health concern.

Income thresholds (pegged to the IPREM) and documentary requirements are set by current Spanish law and verified at the time of application.

HOW IT WORKS

From first call to permanent residency

1

Strategy & document audit

We confirm your means qualify, choose the right consulate, and give you the exact document list — apostilles, translations and the health policy that actually passes.

2

Consular filing

The visa is applied for at the Spanish consulate for your region. We prepare the dossier, draft the cover letter and handle the back-and-forth.

3

Arrival, NIE & TIE

Within your first weeks: empadronamiento, the TIE residence card, the NIE, bank account and the digital certificate — so you’re properly set up, not half-registered.

4

Renewals & permanence

The NLV renews 2 + 2 years; after five years of legal residence you can apply for permanent residency. We keep the renewal calendar so nothing lapses by accident.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

The questions we get first

How much income do I need for the Non-Lucrative Visa?

As a guide, around 400% of the IPREM for the main applicant — roughly €2,400 a month, or about €28,800 a year — plus around 100% of the IPREM for each dependant you bring. It can be shown through pensions, savings, rental income or investments. The IPREM is updated each year, so we confirm the precise figure and the accepted evidence when you apply.

Can I work on a Non-Lucrative Visa?

No — that’s the whole point of "non-lucrative". You cannot take Spanish employment or work as self-employed. Remote work for a foreign employer sits in a grey area the authorities increasingly dislike, so if you plan to keep working, the Digital Nomad Visa is the honest, lower-risk route. We’ll point you to the right one rather than file the wrong one.

What kind of health insurance counts?

A full private policy from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, with no co-payments, no deductibles and no waiting periods — equivalent to public cover. Standard travel insurance and policies with excess do not qualify, and getting this wrong is one of the most frequent causes of refusal, so we arrange a policy we know the consulate accepts.

How long does it last and can I renew?

The first card is granted for one year, then renewed in two-year blocks (2 + 2). After five years of continuous legal residence you can apply for long-term (permanent) residency, and in time for Spanish nationality. We map that whole runway from the first renewal so it’s a plan, not a scramble.

Will I have to pay tax in Spain?

If you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain you generally become a Spanish tax resident, taxed on worldwide income — with double-taxation treaties (UK, US, Nordics) to stop you paying twice. The Beckham regime does not apply here, because that’s for inbound workers and the NLV is non-working. We give you a clear tax picture before you move, not after.

Non-Lucrative or Digital Nomad — which is mine?

If you live off pensions, savings or investments and won’t be working, the Non-Lucrative Visa fits. If you’ll keep a remote job or clients abroad, the Digital Nomad Visa is built for that and also opens the Beckham tax option. Choosing wrong is a common, avoidable refusal — the first call sorts it in minutes.

LET'S GET YOU TO SPAIN

Tell us the means. We'll tell you the route.

A straight answer on whether your income and cover qualify, what it costs and how long it takes — before you commit to anything.

Book a chat (in English)

+34 667 77 02 19 · infoglobalextranjeria@gmail.com

P.S. — the dream is a terrace, a long lunch and nothing urgent in the diary. A refused visa over a wrong insurance policy is, regrettably, something urgent in the diary.