Key facts
- Money: €28,800 a year for you and €7,200 for each family member in 2026, from savings or passive income
- No work of any kind, including remote work for a U.S. employer or clients
- You apply in person at the consulate that covers your state, by appointment
- The first permit lasts one year. Renewals are for two years and are filed in Spain
- To renew you must have lived in Spain more than 183 days in each year
Who it is for
The visa is built for people with the means to live in Spain and no plan to work there. Retirees on Social Security or a pension. People who sold a business or a house and live on the proceeds. Couples who want a few years in Spain and can pay for them. If you are retiring, the retirement guide covers Social Security, Medicare and the first year. If you were looking at the golden visa, it ended in 2025, and this is what replaces it.
If you will keep a job or clients, even from your laptop, this is the wrong visa. The Digital Nomad Visa is the one that lets you work, and filed from inside Spain it gives you three years instead of one. The side-by-side comparison helps if you are between the two.
How much money you need
The line is set by the IPREM, a Spanish index that is €600 a month in 2026. You need 400% of it for yourself and 100% for each family member in your care. It is counted over twelve payments a year, never fourteen.
| Household | A year | A month | Consulates' dollar guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| You alone | €28,800 | €2,400 | about $32,000 |
| A couple | €36,000 | €3,000 | about $40,000 |
| A couple and one child | €43,200 | €3,600 | about $48,000 |
| A couple and two children | €50,400 | €4,200 | about $56,000 |
The money can be savings that cover the year, passive income, or both together. Social Security, a pension, an annuity, dividends, interest and rent all count. A salary or freelance income does not, because the visa assumes you will not work.
The consulates publish dollar figures, but the file is read in euros. If the dollar falls between the day you print your bank letter and the day someone reads it, a file built to the dollar line can fall short. I prepare every file with at least 15% above the line. Some consulates, Houston among them, also read income net of tax rather than gross. The means calculator does the sum for your household, and the proof of funds guide goes through the paperwork that shows it.
The documents
This is the list for the main applicant. The labels in green say what each paper needs before it goes in the file. A few apply only in some cases, and they say when. The checklist tool builds your own list for your consulate, with the dates to order each paper.
Who you are and where you live
- Valid passport
- Passport photo
- Proof that you live in the consulate's area
- Name-change court order / divorce decree If your name differs between documents
The money
- Bank letter: 12-month average and 31 December balance
- Bank statements, last three months, every account
- Investment and brokerage statements If investments count toward your means
- Social Security benefit letter If you receive Social Security
- Pension, annuity or retirement distribution statement If you receive a pension or annuity
- Proof of rental income If you have rental income
- Last U.S. tax return (Form 1040)
- Proof that you have stopped working If you still work and will stop before you apply
Criminal record
- FBI Identity History Summary If you lived in the U.S. in the last five years
- Criminal record certificate from each other country you lived in (last five years) If you lived in another country in the last five years
- Honorable Discharge / case-closure proof If you served in the U.S. military
Health
- Medical certificate (International Health Regulations 2005)
- Health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain
Forms and letters
- Sworn statement that you will not work
- Letter explaining your plans in Spain
- Proof of accommodation in Spain Houston requires it. Elsewhere it helps
- Appointment confirmation (consulate or BLS)
- National visa application form
- Form EX-01 (residence authorisation)
- Visa and residence fees
- Your file in the consulate's order, with an index
Three things catch people out. The criminal record covers every country you lived in over the last five years, not only the U.S. The FBI check needs a federal apostille, and a state apostille is not accepted for it. And the bank letter, the medical certificate and the benefit letters need a sworn translation into Spanish by a translator on the Spanish Foreign Ministry’s register. The medical certificate guide has the exact wording consulates expect.
Each family member brings a full set of their own: passport, forms, photo, medical certificate, insurance and fees. A spouse also needs a criminal record certificate and your marriage certificate with an apostille. Each child needs a birth certificate with an apostille. Children under 18 need no criminal record.
Where you apply
There are eight Spanish consulates in the U.S. and the one you use depends on where you live. You hand in the file yourself, in person. Most consulates send you to a BLS visa centre that takes the appointment for them.
| Consulate | If you live in | Where you hand in the file |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont | In person in Boston |
| New York | Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania | In person at the BLS visa centre in New York |
| Washington, D.C. | Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia | In person at the BLS visa centre in Washington |
| Miami | Florida, Georgia, South Carolina | In person at the BLS visa centre in Miami |
| Houston | Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas | In person at the BLS visa centre in Houston |
| Chicago | Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin | In person at the BLS visa centre in Chicago |
| Los Angeles | Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah (southern California counties) | In person at the BLS visa centre in Los Angeles |
| San Francisco | Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming (northern and central California) | In person at the BLS visa centre in San Francisco |
Each consulate keeps its own list, and the lists drift apart. Chicago and San Francisco have asked retirees for three years of tax returns. Houston wants proof of accommodation naming every applicant. Every consulate page on this site has its own section on what that office asks for.
I prepare the file for your consulate, in its order, with an index, and I go through the appointment with you beforehand. I cannot attend it for you.
The order things happen
Documents expire. The FBI check, the medical certificate and the bank papers each have to be recent on the day of your appointment, so the plan counts backwards from that date.
- Four months before: book the appointment. Slots go early in spring and autumn.
- About three months before: order the FBI check and its federal apostille, and any police certificates from other countries.
- In the last two months: the medical certificate and the health insurance policy.
- In the last weeks: the bank letter and the latest statements, so they show the current balance.
- Appointment: you hand in the file. The consulate usually decides in two to six weeks.
- Visa granted: you collect it within a month and enter Spain while it is valid, usually 90 days.
- In Spain: register at the town hall and give your fingerprints for the residence card (TIE) within a month of arriving.
After the first year
The first permit lasts a year from your arrival. The renewal is filed in Spain, at the immigration office of your province, in the 60 days before it ends. It lasts two years, and the next one two more. After five years of legal residence you can apply for long-term residence, and after ten, for citizenship. The long-term guide covers both.
Since the 2025 regulation, the renewal needs real residence in Spain for more than 183 days in each calendar year. Long trips home count against you. You also show the means again, this time for the two years ahead:
| Household | For the two years | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| You alone | €57,600 | €2,400 |
| A couple | €72,000 | €3,000 |
| A couple and one child | €86,400 | €3,600 |
| A couple and two children | €100,800 | €4,200 |
The office has three months to decide. If it does not answer, the renewal is granted. The renewal guide covers the 183 days, the documents and what happens if you file late.
Taxes, briefly
Living in Spain more than 183 days a year usually makes you a Spanish tax resident, taxed on your worldwide income. As a U.S. citizen you also keep filing in the U.S. The Beckham regime, which helps many remote workers, does not apply to this visa. I do not give tax advice. If your savings sit in investments or you draw a pension, see a cross-border tax adviser before you decide, not after.
What I do, and the fee
I check your means against the line before you spend anything. Then I build your document list with a date for each paper, counted back from your appointment. I draft the sworn statement that you will not work, the letter explaining your plans and both application forms. I review every document before it goes to the translator, assemble the file in your consulate’s order and prepare you for the appointment. After approval I stay with you for the TIE, and I file your renewals here in Spain.
The fee is $2,400 flat for the main applicant and $500 for each family member. Half on signing, half once your file is complete and before your appointment. The consulate’s own fees, about $153 per person, are paid at the appointment. Apostilles, sworn translations and insurance are paid to the providers, and I tell you what to expect before you order anything. A renewal is $900, plus $300 per family member. Full pricing.
Questions people ask
No. The visa is for people who will not work, in Spain or remotely for anyone. Keeping a U.S. job while holding it puts the renewal and your tax position at risk. If you want to keep working, the Digital Nomad Visa is the visa built for that.
€28,800 a year for the main applicant, which is 400% of the IPREM index, and €7,200 a year for each family member. That is €2,400 and €600 a month on a 12-payment basis. U.S. consulates publish about $32,000 and $8,000, but the file is read in euros, so aim above the line.
Yes. Liquid savings that cover the year count, and so does passive income such as Social Security, a pension, dividends, interest or rent, or a mix of both. A salary does not count. The consulate looks at a bank letter with your average balance over the last twelve months.
At the Spanish consulate that covers the state where you live, in person and by appointment. Most use a BLS visa centre. There are eight consulates in the U.S., and each keeps its own document list.
Plan four to six months from the first document to the visa in your passport. After the appointment, consulates usually decide in two to six weeks. The law gives them a month, and silence counts as a refusal.
Yes. Your spouse and children apply with you, each with their own forms, medical certificate and insurance. Each family member adds €7,200 a year to the money you show. Children under 18 need no criminal record certificate.
In Spain, at the immigration office of your province, in the 60 days before your permit ends. The renewal lasts two years. You show the means for both years and that you lived in Spain more than 183 days in each year. If the office does not answer in three months, the renewal is granted.
Living in Spain more than 183 days a year usually makes you a Spanish tax resident, taxed on your worldwide income, and the Beckham regime does not apply. As a U.S. citizen you also keep filing in the U.S. Talk to a cross-border tax adviser before you decide.
More on the Non-Lucrative Visa
Retiring in Spain from the U.S.: the Visa, the Money, the First Year
The Non-Lucrative Visa for retirees: how much money, Social Security from Spain, why Medicare is not enough, taxes in brief and the first year.
How Much Money You Need for Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa, and How to Prove It
€28,800 a year for one person in 2026, €7,200 per family member. What counts, the bank letter consulates want, and why you prepare in euros.
The Bank Letter for Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa, With Wording to Bring
Opening date, 12-month average and 31 December balance, signed on letterhead. Sample wording for your branch, timing and the sworn translation.
Health Insurance for Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa: What Consulates Accept
An insurer authorised in Spain, full cover, no copays, no waiting periods. What the certificate must say, what gets refused and when to buy.
Why Non-Lucrative Visa Applications Get Refused, and How to Avoid It
Means read in euros, recent deposits, signs of work, the wrong FBI apostille, stale papers, insurance and translations: the ten avoidable refusals.
How Long Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa Takes, Consulate by Consulate
The appointment, the one-month decision and the pickup. What silence means, what each consulate is known for and a realistic calendar.
Can You Work Remotely on Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa?
No, and it usually surfaces at renewal or in your tax return. What counts as work, what does not, and the visa built for remote workers.
The Medical Certificate for Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa: Wording and Timing
The exact International Health Regulations 2005 wording, who can sign it, the three-month clock and the sworn translation.
Renewing Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa: the 183 Days and the Two-Year Means
The renewal is filed in Spain, lasts two years and needs more than 183 days a year in the country. Figures, documents and deadlines.
From the Non-Lucrative Visa to Long-Term Residence and Citizenship
Two renewals to five years, long-term residence and its absence limits, then ten years, the DELE, the CCSE and the U.S. passport question.
Check your case
The free assessment takes two minutes. It asks where you live, what you live on and who comes with you, and tells you where you stand against the line and which consulate is yours. I read every answer and reply within a day.
Sources: Ley Orgánica 4/2000, art. 31 (BOE) · Reglamento de Extranjería, RD 1155/2024 (BOE) · the consulates' own pages, linked from each consulate guide. Last updated: 7 October 2026.