Updated August 11, 2026

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Residency on your own means

Residency in Spainthe no lucrativa

A status for those who live on their own means and are moving to Spain. No investment is required: income or capital from €28,800 a year is evidenced. The family receives the status with you, and after five years European Union long-term residency opens up.

Go through your situation

The conditions are checked against regulation RD 1155/2024
Working since 2004
We run the visa, the TIE card and the renewal

A Spanish residence card under the no lucrativa status

from €28,800 a yearMeans for the applicant

The family togetherA spouse, children and parents

Permanent residence after 5 yearsEU long-term status

01 / About the program

How the residencia no lucrativa works

This is a national visa for third-country nationals who can support themselves without working in Spain. The consulate issues the visa and after entry the TIE residence card is arranged. The programme requires no investment: what is checked are the means, the insurance and the absence of convictions.

You cannot work in Spain

The law expressly calls this status a permit to reside without carrying on employment or professional activity. Remote work for a foreign employer is arranged on a different status — the digital nomad visa.

The means are measured from the IPREM

The requirement is 400% of the IPREM for the applicant and 100% of the IPREM for each family member. With an IPREM of €600 a month that is €2,400 a month, or €28,800 a year, plus €7,200 a year for each relative.

You have to live in the country for real

Renewal requires more than 183 days of residence in Spain in the calendar year. The status is not designed for those who want a card and one visit a year.

The first year, then two-year renewals

The first permit is issued for a year and the renewal for two. After five years of residence European Union long-term residency opens up.

02 / What you get

What the status gives you

Life in Spain

The right to live in the country for the whole term of the card, to enter and leave freely and to move around Schengen for up to 90 days in every 180.

A status for the family

A spouse, minor children and dependent parents are arranged together with the applicant. For each of them 100% of the IPREM is added to the means requirement.

Schools and medicine

Children are enrolled in state schools and the family uses medicine under an insurance contract with a Spanish company. The children’s schooling is checked when the status is renewed.

The road to permanent residence

Five years of lawful residence open up European Union long-term residency. The years on the no lucrativa count if the 183-day requirement was met.

A change to a work status

After a year the status can be changed to a permit with the right to work or run a business — where the conditions of that ground are met.

Tax planning

Living there more than 183 days makes you a Spanish tax resident with all the obligations on worldwide income. The regime is worked out before the move, not from the results of the first year.

A preliminary assessment

Calculate the budget for your family

Set out who is applying with you. With the calculation you get the full Spanish picture: the means required for your composition, the budget for the move, the timeline by stage and a plan of action.

Who is applying for the residence permit?

Get the calculation

about a minuteno calls and no obligationsconfidential

The full calculation for your family composition
The timeline for each stage of the process
A plan of action: where to start

A Spanish residence card and a set of no lucrativa documents

03 / Why people apply

Why people arrange the no lucrativa

This is a status for moving, not a fallback document. It is taken by families with rental income, a pension or capital who need Spain as a place to live.

A move with no investment

The Spanish investment programme has been closed since April 2025. The no lucrativa remains the main option for those moving on their own means.

Education for the children

State schools, international lycées and universities at resident rates. For families that is most often the main motive.

The climate and the infrastructure

The coast, developed medicine and direct flights. Spain remains the most straightforward direction for a family move.

A base in the European Union

The residence card gives travel around Schengen and access to European banks as a local resident.

A path to a passport

The general naturalisation period is ten years of residence; for citizens of Ibero-American countries, Portugal, Andorra and the Philippines it is two.

Clear criteria

The amount of means is tied to the IPREM by regulation. A case either meets the formal requirements or it does not — there is minimal discretion.

04 / Travel

Where you can travel on the residence card

The TIE card gives the right to live in Spain and move around Schengen, but it does not replace an EU passport and gives no right to work.

Mode 01

Spain without limits

Residence, entry and exit for the whole term of the card. At the same time the status requires real residence: more than 183 days in the calendar year.

Mode 02

Schengen, 90 days in 180

Travel around the Schengen countries without a visa — up to 90 days in every 180.

Mode 03

Work is forbidden

Neither as an employee nor as a self-employed person in Spain. A change to a work ground is possible after a year where the conditions of the relevant permit are met.

Mode 04

The rest of the world on your own passport

You travel to third countries on your passport of citizenship: that is what sets the visa regime, not the residence card.

Sources: Organic Law 4/2000, articles 30 bis and 31, regulation RD 1155/2024 and the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399). Entry rules are set by the receiving states and may change.

05 / The composition of the application

Who can obtain the status

The applicant files first and the family is arranged at the same time or through reunification. Open a row to see the conditions.

Over 18
Means of 400% of the IPREM for the year
Medical insurance from a Spanish company with no excess
No convictions over the last five years of residence

In a registered marriage or a registered partnership
Adds 100% of the IPREM to the requirement
Cannot work on this ground either

The children of the applicant or the spouse
Each adds 100% of the IPREM
They must be enrolled in school — that is checked on renewal

Unmarried and supported by their parents
They evidence study and financial dependency
Each adds 100% of the IPREM

The parents of the applicant or the spouse
They evidence that they are being supported
Each adds 100% of the IPREM

06 / Cost

What means have to be evidenced

The programme has no investment: what is evidenced is the ability to support yourself without working. The sum grows with the family composition — 100% of the IPREM is added for each person.

A single applicant · 400% of the IPREM

€28,800

≈ $33,000

Evidenced At the date of filing and on renewal

A bank statement for the last twelve months
A pension, rent, dividends, interest or accumulated capital
The funds must be available to the applicant, not to third parties
Work in Spain is not allowed on this ground

The applicant and a spouse · 400% plus 100% of the IPREM

€36,000

≈ $42,000

Evidenced At the date of filing and on renewal

For a spouse 100% of the IPREM is added — €600 a month
The marriage is evidenced by documents with an apostille and a sworn translation
The means may belong to either spouse
Medical insurance is arranged for each person with no excess

A couple with a child · 400% plus 100% twice

€43,200

≈ $50,000

Evidenced At the date of filing and on renewal

For each child 100% of the IPREM is added — €7,200 a year
The children’s enrolment in school is checked when the status is renewed
Dependent parents are included on the same rules
Housing in Spain is evidenced for the whole family

The composition of the application

The main applicant

Spouse

Minor children

Dependent adult children

Dependent parents

The thresholds are given on the 2026 IPREM (€600 a month) and the requirements of regulation RD 1155/2024. On top of the means come the consular fee, the fee for the TIE card, the medical insurance, the housing and the support. This is a preliminary calculation, not a decision of a state authority.

07 / Comparison

The no lucrativa against the neighbouring options

Spain is compared with Portugal and Italy: everywhere income is evidenced, but the requirements and the rights under the status differ.

	Spain	Portugal D7	Italy	Greece FIP	Cyprus permanent residence by income
Requirement as to means	from €28,800 a year	from €11,040 a year	from €31,000 a year	from €24,000 a year	from €50,000 a year
The right to work	No	Yes	No	No	No
Residence requirement	from 183 days a year	Yes, real	Yes, real	Yes, real	A visit every 2 years
The term of the first card	1 year	2 years	1 year	2 years	open-ended
The qualifying period for citizenship	10 years	10 years	10 years	7 years	7 years

The thresholds are given as at the date this page was updated. The Spanish residency by investment programme has been closed to new applicants since 3 April 2025. The requirements for Greece and Cyprus are set out on the pages of those programmes.

Full program comparison →

10 / How it works

How the process works

STEP 1

The preliminary check

We work out the sum required for the family composition, go through the source of the means and check for obstacles from convictions and past refusals.

STEP 2

Preparing the file

A bank statement for twelve months, documents on income, medical insurance from a Spanish company, police clearance certificates and a medical report.

STEP 3

Legalising the documents

The apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish. The requirements as to form are strict: a document drawn up wrongly is returned without consideration.

STEP 4

Filing at the consulate

The file is filed in person at the consulate for the place of residence. The decision is taken within a month, and silence means a refusal.

STEP 5

Entry and the TIE card

Once the visa is issued you have to enter Spain and file for the residence card within a month: the biometrics and the registration of residence.

STEP 6

Residence and renewal

We keep the record of days, the renewal for two years and the preparation for long-term residency after five years.

The investment programme is closed — for a move, your own means are what is left.

SpainThe European Union and SchengenRegulation RD 1155/2024

Go through your situation

11 / Our role

Why people arrange the no lucrativa with us

Refusals on this ground almost always come down to the documents: the wrong insurance, an insufficient statement, mistakes in the legalisation. We close those gaps before filing.

The right insurance

The policy must come from a company licensed in Spain, with no excess and no waiting period. An ordinary international policy does not qualify here.

Proof of means

A single sum in the account is not enough: the consulate looks at the movement over a year and the origin of the money. We prepare the statements and the explanations in the accepted format.

Legalisation with no returns

The apostille, the sworn translation, the validity of the certificates. A mistake at that stage costs a month of waiting and a new appointment.

Support after the move

The TIE card, the registration of residence, school for the children, the renewal and the move to long-term residency.

12 / Team

Who runs the Spanish residency process

The application is run by a permanent team: an immigration lawyer, a documents specialist and a family coordinator.

Viktoria LebedevaManaging Director, Private ClientsThe strategy for the programme and complex cases

Karim NaserHead of Istanbul OfficeRunning the application legally and the documents

Tomas LinderCompliance and AML OfficerTaxes on the move and residency

Darya MelnikSenior Investment Migration AdvisorCoordinating the family and contact at every stage

14 / Reviews

Reviews from BRIDGES clients

Real reviews from the reviews page — with photographs and links to the case behind them.

BohdanShipowner

Malta · permanent residence

The maritime business loves Malta, and now I understand why. BRIDGES closed both the status and the fleet questions — with one team of lawyers.

Read the case

RodionAsset manager

Greece · Golden Visa

I considered three countries and chose Greece on the balance of factors: entry, taxes, logistics. They calculated all three options without any pressure — the decision stayed with me.

All reviews

ShahlaOwner of a language school

Greece · residence for the financially independent

I sold my share in the business and wanted a year by the sea without working. The financially independent route fitted perfectly: I showed the income, received the status and live in Glyfada.

All reviews

All reviews →

15 / Materials

Useful materials on Spain

Materials on the residencia no lucrativa: calculating the means, the documents and the order of filing.

The main materialPresentation

A Spanish residence permit without the right to work

The presentation gathers the essentials: the requirements as to means by family composition, the documents, the order of filing and what happens after the move.

Inside:

how much money is required for your family composition
what is accepted as evidence
which insurance qualifies and which does not
which relatives come into the application
which documents will be needed
how the filing and the issue of the TIE card work
how work with BRIDGES is organised

PDF · free · current as of August 2026

A short check: whether the means cover the family composition, whether you are ready not to work in Spain and to live in the country for more than half the year.

The list for the applicant and each family member, marking what has to be translated, certified and apostilled.

We calculate the means required, the budget for the move, the fees and the support.

All the materials are updated regularly by our team and are used when supporting BRIDGES clients.

16 / News

What has changed in the rules

2025-05-20

The new regulation under the aliens law (RD 1155/2024) came into force: the first permit is issued for a year and the renewal for two.

2025-04-03

Spain closed its residency by investment programme to new applicants. For a move on your own means the no lucrativa status remains.

2026-01-01

The IPREM for 2026 is €600 a month. The means requirement: €28,800 a year for the applicant and €7,200 for each family member.

Worth having

Review Spain Non-Lucrative Visa requirements

The short document we give clients before the start: the requirements as to means, the list of documents, the stages and the timelines — in one list, with nothing padded.

Inside the document

The means required by family composition
What is accepted as evidence
The current conditions for 2026

We will send it after a short form - no call or obligation.

17 / Questions

Answers to common questions

The requirement is 400% of the IPREM for the applicant and 100% of the IPREM for each family member. With the 2026 IPREM of €600 a month that is €2,400 a month, or €28,800 a year for the applicant, plus €7,200 a year for each relative.

A bank certificate with a statement of the account for the last twelve months. Documents on property, bank drafts, credit cards with confirmation of the available limit and other evidence are also accepted. What matters is the movement of the funds and their origin, not a one-off receipt before filing.

No. The law defines it expressly as residence without carrying on employment or professional activity in Spain. For remote work for a foreign employer there is a separate status — the digital nomad visa.

Renewal requires real residence of more than 183 days in the calendar year. That also makes you a Spanish tax resident, so the tax plan is prepared before the move.

The first permit is for one year. The renewal is for two years. The renewal application is filed within the two months before expiry or the three months after.

A policy from a company licensed to operate in Spain, with full cover, no excess and no waiting period. Consulates do not accept travel policies or ordinary international ones.

European Union long-term residency after five years of lawful residence. Citizenship under the general qualifying period after ten years; for citizens of Ibero-American countries, Portugal, Andorra, the Philippines and Equatorial Guinea after two.

The consulate takes the visa decision within a month of receiving the documents, and silence means a refusal. Allowing for preparing the file and the legalisation, the whole route takes around three to four months.

Yes, after a year of residence the status can be changed to a permit with the right to employment or self-employment — where the requirements of that ground are met.

A spouse or registered partner, minor children, dependent adult children and supported parents. Each adds 100% of the IPREM to the means requirement.

Actual residence of more than 183 days, the means being kept, valid insurance, the absence of convictions and the children’s enrolment in school.

The law sets no restrictions on citizenship. The practical difficulty is evidencing the origin of the funds and transferring money to a European bank; we go through that part before filing.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Tell us what outcome your family needs

We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.

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Anna Kovalevskaya, lead lawyer at BRIDGES GLOBAL

Anna KovalevskayaLead lawyer, citizenship and residency, 12 years of practice