Non-lucrative visa

• Enough money to live on without working: at least 400% of IPREM for the main applicant and 100% for each family member (see Money below)
• Health cover: private insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, covering everything Spain's public system covers. UK state pensioners can use an S1 instead if it's registered with Spanish social security (INSS)
• A clean criminal record for the last five years, from every country you've lived in. From the UK this means an ACRO police certificate (Disclosure Scotland isn't accepted), issued in the last six months
• A medical certificate, issued in the last three months, using the exact wording on the consulate's form (no disease with serious public health implications under the 2005 International Health Regulations)
• A valid passport covering your stay
• You must not be in Spain irregularly, and not on Spain's or the Schengen area's refusal list

How much: the figure is tied to IPREM, Spain's public reference income. With IPREM at €600 a month, you need €2,400 a month (€28,800 a year) for the main applicant and €600 a month (€7,200 a year) for each family member. A couple needs €36,000 a year; a couple with one child, €43,200.

What counts: pensions, rental income, dividends and interest count, and so do savings. The consulates accept either a regular income or funds covering the first year (for example a balance of at least €28,800), usually with 12 months of bank statements. Income from work doesn't count if it means you'd be working.

Costs to budget for:

• Visa fee: £516 for British nationals on the consulate's 2025 fee list, plus a €10.94 residence fee (modelo 790 código 052) and the BLS appointment centre's service fee
• Private health insurance: often €80 to €250 a month per person, depending on age and cover
• ACRO police certificate, apostilles and sworn translations into Spanish
• TIE residence card fee once you're in Spain: €16.08 (modelo 790 código 012)
• Renewal fee: €16.40, plus €19.30 for the new TIE

Check the current list on your consulate's page before you book, because each consulate publishes its own. Expect:

• National visa application form, signed, and a recent passport photo
• Passport, plus copies of every used page
• Proof of income or savings: 12 months of bank statements, pension letters, investment statements
• Private Spanish health insurance policy and certificate, or an S1 with its INSS registration receipt
• Criminal record certificate (ACRO) with apostille and sworn Spanish translation
• Medical certificate with apostille and sworn translation
• Proof of where you'll live, if the consulate asks: a rental contract or property deeds
• Fee 790 código 052 and the consulate visa fee
• Marriage or birth certificates for family members, apostilled and translated

• Padrón: register at the town hall as soon as you have an address.
• TIE: apply within one month of arriving; the card shows your NIE.
• Renewal: the first authorisation lasts one year. Apply to renew in the two months before it expires (or up to three months after). Renewals last two years. You show the money again, and you must have lived in Spain more than 183 days in the year.
• Long-term residence: after five years of continuous legal residence you can apply for long-term residence, which no longer depends on the income test. No single absence may be longer than six months, and absences must add up to no more than ten months in the five years.

Spending more than 183 days a year in Spain normally makes you Spanish tax resident, taxed on your worldwide income. UK government service pensions (civil service, police, armed forces, teachers) usually stay taxed only in the UK under the UK–Spain tax treaty; most other pensions are taxed in Spain. You may also need to declare overseas assets over €50,000 on modelo 720. Get advice from a cross-border tax adviser before you move, not after.

• Counting on remote work: any work, even for a UK company, breaks the visa's conditions
• A cheap health policy that doesn't cover everything the public system does
• A Disclosure Scotland certificate instead of ACRO
• Documents older than the consulate allows, or missing apostilles and sworn translations
• Moving savings at the last minute without a clear paper trail
• Spending long spells outside Spain and then struggling to renew

• Your income is close to the threshold or comes from a mix of sources
• You have a criminal record, a previous refusal or overstayed in Schengen before
• Family members need to follow later or are on different routes
• You have significant UK property, a business or pensions to restructure for tax