Immigration lawyers in Spain

What is the non-lucrative residence visa?

For people who can support themselves and their family without working: retirees, people living on investments or rental income, and families taking a sabbatical. It is applied for at the Spanish consulate for your place of residence, before you travel.

What you need

• Financial means of €28,800 a year for the applicant (€2,400 a month) and €7,200 a year for each family member, available for the whole period of the permit, from pensions, investments, rents or savings that can be traced.
• A statement that you will not work, and evidence that your income does not come from a business you actively run.
• Private health insurance with a company authorised in Spain, without co-payments or waiting periods, for the whole family.
• A criminal record certificate from the countries where you have lived in the last five years and a medical certificate, legalised or apostilled and translated where required.

Step by step

• We confirm the consulate that corresponds to you and its own list of documents and appointment system.
• You obtain certificates in your country while we review the financial evidence and the insurance policy.
• The application is filed at the consulate. The immigration office in Spain has one month to decide on the residence, and if it does not answer in time the application is treated as refused.
• Once the visa is issued, you travel and apply for your residence card (TIE) within one month of arriving.

What it does not allow

Working in Spain, for a Spanish or a foreign employer. The authorities treat remote work done on a non-lucrative permit as an infringement. If you will keep working for clients abroad, the route designed for you is the digital nomad visa. After the first year, a non-lucrative resident can apply to switch to a residence and work permit.

Who it is not for

Jobs that cannot be done fully remotely, such as on-site sales or production, and employees of a Spanish branch of their company, who usually need an intra-company transfer instead. Time spent working on a non-lucrative permit can count against you.

Family members of Spanish citizens

Since May 2025, relatives of Spanish citizens have their own national residence permit, which replaced the EU card for them. It covers spouses and partners (registered, or after twelve months living together), children under 26 or dependent, and dependent parents. It is granted for five years and allows you to work, and if you apply from Spain you can work while it is processed. For marriage, partnership and divorce questions, see our family lawyers.

Family members of EU citizens

Relatives of citizens of other EU countries living in Spain apply for the EU family member residence card within three months of arriving. It is valid for five years.

Family reunification

If you hold residence in Spain, you can bring your spouse or partner, your children and, in some cases, parents over 65 who depend on you. You need to have lived in Spain for one year with at least one more year of permit ahead, suitable housing and income of €900 a month for a family of two, plus €300 for each additional member.

Can British citizens move to Spain after Brexit?

Your rights depend on one date: whether you were living in Spain before 1 January 2021.

Withdrawal Agreement residents

If you lived in Spain legally before that date, your rights are protected. Your residence document should be the TIE card that refers to the Withdrawal Agreement. The old green certificate is still valid, but the TIE is the safer document now that border checks are electronic. We help with the exchange, renewals, permanent residence and the effect of long absences.

Arriving now

Since 2021 British nationals are treated like other non-EU citizens: 90 days in any 180-day period as visitors, and a visa to stay longer. The non-lucrative and digital nomad routes are the most common choices for our British clients.

Exams and procedure

The DELE A2 Spanish exam, unless you come from a Spanish-speaking country, and the CCSE test on the Constitution and Spanish society. Children under 18 are exempt from both. The application is filed online and the legal deadline to decide is one year, although in practice it is often longer.

Dual nationality

Spain asks most applicants to declare that they renounce their previous nationality. Nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and France do not have to. For British and American clients, whether you actually lose your passport depends on the law of your country: we explain it before you apply.

What if my application is refused?

A refusal is not the end of the road, but the clock starts the day you are notified. Read the reasons carefully: they tell us whether to appeal or to file again.

• Administrative appeal (recurso de reposición): one month from notification, before the same authority.
• Court appeal: two months before the administrative courts.
• A new application: often the faster option when the refusal was caused by a missing or weak document.

What paperwork does every route need?

Whatever your route, the same documents cause most delays. Knowing them early is the simplest way to save months.

• Passport valid for the whole period you apply for, with copies of every page.
• Criminal record certificates from the countries where you have lived in recent years, usually issued within the last three months.
• Apostille or legalisation: documents from countries in the Hague Convention, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, need an apostille. Others need consular legalisation.
• Sworn translation into Spanish by a translator appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when the document is not in Spanish.
• Proof of means: bank statements, pension letters, payslips or contracts, consistent with each other and with the figures for your route.
• Health insurance with a company authorised in Spain, where your route requires it.

NIE and TIE are not the same

The NIE is your foreigner identification number, the one you need to buy property, open accounts or sign contracts. The TIE is the physical residence card you receive once you live in Spain legally. Many clients already have an NIE from buying a home; it does not give the right to live here.

How much does it cost before you start?

Every matter has a fixed quote in writing, tailored to your route and your family, with the work included from the first review to the decision: case study, document checklist, review of every document, filing and follow-up. No items added along the way.

Other costs you should budget for

• Government fees for each application and for the residence card, and consular fees, which vary by nationality.
• Sworn translations, legalisations and apostilles of documents issued abroad.
• Private health insurance, where your route requires it.
• Certificates from your country, such as criminal records.

We handle cases throughout Spain and work with Spanish consulates abroad. We meet clients in Seville, Marbella and Cádiz, and by video call wherever they are. In Andalusia we know how the immigration offices of Seville, Málaga and Cádiz work, including the appointments for fingerprints and residence cards.

Residence is often one part of a bigger plan. The same firm can review your home purchase, your Spanish company and your family matters.