How to apply for a Spanish Non-lucrative Visa?

Non-lucrative visa is another popular visa type among non-EU nationals that wish to reside in Spain because a non-lucrative visa does not require large investments. As indicated in the name of this visa type, the applicant cannot undertake any work or professional activity in Spain. But you need to demonstrate that you have sufficient ongoing income that can cover yourself and your family when applying for a non-lucrative visa.

 

1. What are the benefits of a Spanish non-lucrative visa?

2. Who is eligible for a non-lucrative visa type?

3. How can you prove the possession of economic funds?

4. What are the steps for the visa application?

5. What are the next steps once the applicants arrive in Spain?

6. Common reasons for refusal and how to deal with it

 

 

1. What are the benefits of a Spanish non-lucrative visa?

 

• You can obtain a non-lucrative visa without making the huge investment required by a golden visa. But if you want, you can still invest in Spain companies to get extra income, as long as you can show that you don’t carry out any work activities
• You can study and even take an unpaid internship in Spain as this is seen as “education”
• With a non-lucrative visa, you have free movement in Schengen countries
• If you get a non-lucrative visa, your spouse and dependent children can also apply for visas to stay with you in Spain
• After a one-year stay in Spain using this visa, you can apply for a working visa and start to work
• If you want to acquire long-term residence and nationality, you can also renew this residence to finally get the citizenship

 

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2. Who is eligible for a non-lucrative visa type?

 

The most important requirement of this visa type is to have sufficient funds for the stay for yourself and your family. For a non-lucrative visa, you must prove that:

 

• You have 400% of the IPREM received annually in your bank account. (IPREM is €600.00/month in 2023 and needs to be confirmed here for other years) This means the applicant needs to earn €28,800 yearly outside Spain
• For each additional family member, 100% of the IPREM is needed (€600.00/month in 2023)

 

Proof of income needs to be submitted in the format of original and stamped documents. They can be a regular income, or other assets like rental property, investments, pensions, etc. If any of the income acquired is from Spanish companies, the applicants need to prove that they do not carry out any work activities for the company.

 

Also, note this is a minimum benchmark. It’s always recommended to check this website to see the requirements of a specific consulate. Also, the currency used must be euro or any international currency that can be converted to euro.

 

In addition, you still need to fulfill common requirements for all residency permits:

 

• Have no criminal record, both in Spain and your country of origin
• You cannot be in an irregular situation in the country
• You cannot be prohibited from entering the Schengen zone
• The applicant needs to have Spanish health insurance that covers the whole stay

 

 

3. How can you prove the possession of economic funds?

 

 

The general way that many consulates do this is to ask for certificates of bank statements of the primary applicant. The issue date of the certificate should be as close to the document submission date. Credit cards or other assets ​​can also be used here, as long as you also send a document certifying the validity of the bank.

 

Usually, the consulates require bank statements from the last 6 months, but the applicant should check the requirements of the specific consulate.

 

You don’t need to have all the money in the same bank account. However, all funds should be in the accounts of the primary applicant.

 

 

4. What are the steps for the visa application?

 

The application for this residence authorization begins in the country of origin or where you have your legal residence. Entering Spain as a tourist will not allow you to begin this procedure. You must be out of the country to carry it out.

 

Like other types of visas, you need to email your nearest consulate and ask for an appointment:

 

In the subject line asking for an appointment, you should specify the visa type you wish to apply, to accelerate the process.

 

Then in the email, you need to specify the following information:

 

• The applicant's personal details (full name, nationality, passport number, and telephone number)
• Visa type you wish to apply for
• Place of residency in your home country
• Reasons why you are requesting this visa
• Desired date for the appointment at the Consulate office (Note that they may not give you the appointment on the exact date that you prefer due to fluctuations of demands)

 

The documents you need to submit are:

 

It’s important to always note that you need to confirm the specific documents needed in the consulate you decide to initiate the process since there might be slight differences in documents needed across consulates.

 

• National visa form
• Ex 01 application form
• Spanish health insurance that covers your whole stay.
• Bank certificate. (As stated before)
• Photos, 3 × 4 cm with a white background.
• Original passport plus the full copy
• A medical certificate, proving that you do not suffer from any of the recognized diseases that would prevent your entry into the country
• Criminal record certificate, duly legalized or apostilled

 

 

5. What are the next steps once the applicants arrive in Spain?

 

• When you arrive in Spain, you need to make a city town hall registration (empadronamiento) in the city town hall (ayuntamiento):
  • To get the empadronamiento. Depending on the city you are living the process may be a little different. But usually, you need to ask for an appointment (pedir una cita) in the nearest local Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) before going for this registration. You can search for “empadronamiento + the city you live” in search engines or “ayuntamiento” in map apps to find the nearest city town hall and their accepted way of making an appointment (online/offline).

 

• Then you need to present the documents already presented here
  • You need to go to the official website to ask for an appointment. Please note that obtaining an appointment may require some effort, especially in September and October, when the school year usually begins and there is quite a lot of NIE/TIE application demand. Some people argue that the possibility of getting an appointment is higher in the early mornings. Note that any National Police office (especially in a big city like Barcelona) is ok to get a  Here’s a guide about how to use the website:
  • Select the province you live from the dropdown menu, no matter where you live
  • Select Expedición de Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero
  • The province you select will come up automatically; select POLICIA: TOMA DE HUELLAS (EXPEDICIÓN DE TARJETA) Y RENOVACIÓN DE TARJETA DE LARGA DURACIÓN
  • Click on Aceptar
  • Ignore all the instructions and click on Entrar at the bottom of the page.
  • Tipo de document: select Pasaporte and fill in the passport number in the field which then appears; then complete the fields below with your name and nationality; leave fecha de caducidad blank; click in the box stating you are not a robot.
  • Click on Solicitar cita; click on siguiente
  • Input telephone number; e-mail address (They sometimes have problems with ‘Hotmail’, so it’s better to use other email addresses).
  • Click on Siguiente
  • Choose the appointment at the time and place that best suits your availability. Note that you don’t necessarily need to go to the nearest one to get your papers done.
• When you get the appointment, you need to go with your documents to the specific office at a specific time.

 

 

6. Common reasons for refusal and how to deal with it

 

Sometimes, the application can be denied. In addition, it’s also important to note that after applying, if within 1 month the applicant doesn’t receive any message from the consulate, the request is understood as denied.

 

Among all the reasons why this application is denied, usually, it’s denied for insufficient financial means. As we said before the income required by each consulate can vary. Also, the application can be denied for lack of necessary documents, such as proof of medical insurance. We offer the best health insurance for a visa application here.

 

In case of any denial, the applicant can ask for help from lawyers and other professionals. Here in innoinsure, we wish you a successful visa application and a safe journey to Spain!

 

Do you qualify for the Non-lucrative Visa? If this visa isn´t for you, maybe see if one of these visas better fits your needs:

• Digital Nomad Visa
• Golden Visa
• Student Visa
• Family reunification visa
• Working holiday visa

 

 

Reference:

PORTAL DE INMIGRACIÓN. Autorización inicial de residencia temporal no lucrativa. (2021). Retrieved 14 July 2021, from https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/w/autorizacion-inicial-de-residencia-temporal-no-lucrativa 

Residencia No Lucrativa en España (Dudas Resueltas). (2019). Retrieved 14 July 2021, from https://balcellsgroup.com/es/residencia-no-lucrativa/