How much income do I need for Spain's non-lucrative visa in 2026?

€2,400 a month, €28,800 a year, for the main applicant, which is 400% of the 2026 IPREM of €600 a month. Each family member adds €600 a month, €7,200 a year. Savings can stand in for income if they cover the full period: twelve months at the first application, twenty-four at each renewal. Files with a clear margin above the minimum are approved more readily.

Can I work remotely on a non-lucrative visa?

No. The non-lucrative visa prohibits all gainful activity: employment in Spain, professional services, and working online for a foreign employer. The consulates state this explicitly. If you plan to keep a remote job, apply for the digital nomad visa instead, which exists for exactly that case and requires €2,849 a month of remote income in 2026.

How long does the non-lucrative visa last?

The first permit lasts one year, counted from the date you enter Spain. Each renewal grants two more years, under article 64 of Real Decreto 1155/2024, provided you keep the income, the insurance, and more than 183 days a year of real residence in Spain. After five years of continuous residence you qualify for long-term residence, which removes the income test.

Does the non-lucrative visa make me a Spanish tax resident?

In practice, yes. Renewal requires more than 183 days a year of real residence in Spain, and spending more than 183 days in a calendar year is exactly what makes you a Spanish tax resident, taxed on worldwide income. Anyone holding the visa to renewal is on both sides of the line, so take tax advice on pensions and investments before applying.

Do I need to own property in Spain to get the non-lucrative visa?

No. The visa has no property requirement, and a rental contract covers the accommodation question. A home you own is useful supporting evidence of ties and accommodation, but the decision turns on the income test, the insurance, and the clean criminal record. Buying first neither qualifies you nor speeds the file, so most applicants secure the visa before they complete a purchase.

The Non-Lucrative Visa for Spain: 2026 Requirements

By David Los · September 2026 · Residency & Visas

The non-lucrative visa (NLV) lets non-EU citizens live in Spain full time without working, on proof of passive income or savings. In 2026 the main applicant must show €28,800 a year, which is 400% of the IPREM income indicator, plus €7,200 for each family member who joins. The visa bans all work, including remote work for a foreign employer. The first permit runs one year from your entry into Spain and renews in two-year blocks under Real Decreto 1155/2024, and renewal now requires more than 183 days a year of real residence, the same line that makes you a Spanish tax resident. This guide covers the 2026 numbers, the document list, the consulate timeline, and what a non-lucrative budget buys on the Costa del Sol.

Who the non-lucrative visa is for

The non-lucrative visa is for people who can pay for life in Spain without earning money in Spain: retirees on pensions, and applicants living on savings, dividends or rental income from outside the country. Since the golden visa ended in 2025, it is the route most full-time movers use. The ban on work is total. The consulates spell it out: no employment, no professional services, and no working online, so a remote job with a foreign employer disqualifies the plan, not just the paperwork. Remote workers use the digital nomad visa instead, and both routes are compared in our guide to residency and property in Spain.

The 2026 income requirement: €28,800 plus €7,200 per person

The financial test is set as a multiple of the IPREM, Spain's public income indicator. The main applicant must show 400% of the monthly IPREM, and each family member adds 100%. The IPREM has been frozen at €600 a month since 2023 because the state budget has been rolled over each year, so the 2026 figures are €2,400 a month for the main applicant and €600 a month per dependant. The funds must cover the whole period requested: twelve months at the first application, twenty-four at each renewal. Consulates accept passive income, savings or a combination.

Household	Monthly proof	First application (1 year)	Each renewal (2 years)
Single applicant	€2,400	€28,800	€57,600
Couple	€3,000	€36,000	€72,000
Couple with two children	€4,200	€50,400	€100,800

Own arithmetic at the 2026 IPREM of €600 a month: 400% for the main applicant plus 100% per family member, projected over the period each permit covers.

The IPREM stands at €600 a month (€7,200 a year) in 2026, unchanged since 2023 under the prorogued state budget; the non-lucrative visa requires 400% of it for the main applicant and 100% per family memberSource: Ley 31/2022, state budget IPREM provision, prorogued through 2026, Boletín Oficial del Estado · 2026 · View market data →

How to apply: documents and the consulate timeline

You apply in person at the Spanish consulate that covers your place of residence, before you move. The rules sit in articles 60 to 64 of the immigration regulation, Real Decreto 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025. The core file is the same everywhere, with small local variations, so check your own consulate's checklist:

National visa application form and form EX-01, one per applicant, plus a passport valid for at least one year with two blank pages.
Proof of funds at the 2026 thresholds above: pension letters, bank statements, dividend or rental records.
Health insurance, public or private, from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, covering everything Spain's public system covers. Consulates require full coverage without co-payments.
Criminal record certificates from every country you lived in during the past 5 years, apostilled, issued within 6 months, with a sworn Spanish translation. UK applicants use the ACRO certificate.
A medical certificate, issued within 90 days, stating you have none of the diseases with serious public health repercussions under the 2005 International Health Regulations.
The visa fee, plus the residence permit fee on form 790 code 052.

The legal decision period is 3 months, extendable if the consulate asks for an interview or more documents. Once approved, you collect the visa within 1 month, enter Spain while it is valid, and apply for the TIE residence card within 1 month of arrival. The one-year permit runs from the date you enter Spain, not from approval.

The non-lucrative visa file requires proof of 400% of IPREM, authorised health insurance with full coverage, apostilled criminal record certificates covering 5 years and a medical certificate; the legal decision period is 3 monthsSource: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, non-lucrative residence visa requirements, Consulate General of Spain in New York · September 2026 · View market data →

Renewals and the 183-day rule

The first permit lasts one year and each renewal grants two more, under article 64 of Real Decreto 1155/2024. You apply in the two months before expiry, or up to three months after with a possible fine, and a renewal filed on time keeps the old permit valid until the decision. The 2025 regulation added the requirement with the biggest consequences: to renew, you must have actually lived in Spain for more than 183 days in the calendar year. That ends the old pattern of holding the permit while mostly living elsewhere. You must also show funds for the next two years, insurance held throughout, and school enrolment for any children of school age. After five years of continuous residence you qualify for long-term residence, which drops the income test entirely.

The renewed non-lucrative authorisation is valid for two years and requires real and effective residence in Spain of more than 183 days in the calendar year, under the immigration regulation in force since 20 May 2025Source: Real Decreto 1155/2024, articles 60 to 64, Boletín Oficial del Estado · September 2026 · View market data →

What a non-lucrative budget buys on the Costa del Sol

The visa tests income, not the price of your home, so a modest income file and a comfortable home are not in tension. Across our live Costa del Sol inventory of 7,851 resale listings in September 2026, the median asking price is €660,000 and the median apartment asks €495,000. The towns where full-time movers actually settle sit both sides of that line: Fuengirola, 443 listings at a €550,000 median, La Cala de Mijas at €615,000, and La Duquesa in the quieter west at €349,000. Estepona, the coast's deepest market with 867 listings, asks a €625,000 median. Current asking prices for every town are on our live price pages, and every active home is on our Costa del Sol listings.

Median asking prices, September 2026: €660,000 across 7,851 active Costa del Sol resale listings, €495,000 for apartments, €550,000 in Fuengirola, €615,000 in La Cala de Mijas, €349,000 in La Duquesa and €625,000 in EsteponaSource: Hometailor market data · September 2026 · View market data →

Whether residency comes first or the home does, the wider picture sits in our residency and property guide, and the monthly budget question is answered with real numbers in our cost of living guide.

Plan the purchase around your move with a local advisor

Written and reviewed by

David Los

Founder & Head of Research, Hometailor · Last reviewed: September 2026

Born and raised in Sweden, David has spent over a decade analysing property markets on the Costa del Sol and has guided hundreds of international buyers through Spanish purchases in English, Swedish and Polish. He writes and reviews all research content at Hometailor, and triangulates everything before it publishes: independent lawyers, agents inside and outside Hometailor, and the live market data behind this site.

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