Spain · Visas and residency
The non-lucrative visa lets you live in Spain without working, and it is the usual residence route for British retirees. As of September 2026 the main applicant must show 400% of Spain's IPREM index, €2,400 a month, plus €600 a month per dependant, and hold full health cover from an insurer authorised in Spain. You apply in person in the UK, through BLS.
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See what fits →The visa is for non-EU citizens who will live in Spain on their own means without any work or professional activity, which fits retirees living on pensions and savings. The Edinburgh consulate states that remote work for a company outside Spain is not allowed on it either.
A spouse or partner can apply with you, as can children under 18 and adult children who depend on you through disability or ill health. Each person completes their own forms and pays their own fees.
The visa is built for people who live in Spain for most of the year: renewing it requires more than 183 days' residence in each calendar year. For winters of up to three months you may not need a visa at all; see the 90-day rule and EES border checks.
The threshold is a multiple of the IPREM, a public income index fixed at €600 a month in the 2023 budget law. That law has been rolled over since, so the IPREM is still €600 in 2026. The main applicant needs 400% of it and each dependant a further 100%.
| Who | Per month | Per year, 12 payments | Per year, 14 payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main applicant (400%) | €2,400 | €28,800 | €33,600 |
| Each dependant (100%) | €600 | €7,200 | €8,400 |
| Couple (500%) | €3,000 | €36,000 | €42,000 |
12 payments: the monthly amount multiplied by 12. 14 payments: the percentage applied to the IPREM's alternative annual value of €8,400, which includes two extra payments (Ley 31/2022, additional provision 90).
Which annual figure applies has long been disputed. Spain's Supreme Court ruled in March 2023 (STS 416/2023), and again in February 2024, that for this permit the IPREM is counted without the two extra payments, which gives the 12-payment figures. The regulation in force since May 2025 frames the test as a monthly amount held for the life of the permit, and the Manchester and Edinburgh consulates' checklists state €2,400 a month for a year. The London consulate's page gives only the percentages. If your means fall between the two columns, ask the consulate or a Spanish immigration lawyer before applying.
Pensions, savings that cover the year, or a mix of both can count. The consulates' checklists ask for:
You need public or private health insurance from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, covering everything the Spanish public health system covers. The Manchester checklist specifies no excess, no co-payments and no waiting period; Edinburgh's says travel insurance is not accepted.
If you receive the UK State Pension or certain other exportable UK benefits, you may qualify for an S1, under which the UK funds your Spanish state healthcare. You request it by phone from the Overseas Healthcare Services team and register it with Spain's social security (INSS). All three UK consulates accept the registration receipt instead of private insurance.
After a year living in Spain you can also join the public system through a monthly payment scheme, the convenio especial. Healthcare costs are covered in retiring to Spain from the UK.
Each applicant needs the national visa form, the EX-01 residence form, the 790-052 fee form, a recent colour photo, proof of address in the consulate's district, and a passport valid for at least a year, with two blank pages, issued within the last ten years. Two documents need planning:
Both, plus any marriage or civil partnership certificate, need a Hague apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office and then a sworn Spanish translation by a traductor jurado; the apostille itself needs no translation. The paper apostille costs £45 per document and can take up to 25 working days, and ACRO certificates cannot use the faster e-Apostille.
At their published maximums, ACRO and the paper apostille take 55 working days between them before translation, and both certificates must still be in date on the day you apply. Sources: ACRO; GOV.UK; consulate checklists.
You apply in person at the BLS centre for the consulate whose district you live in, booking through the BLS website.
| Consulate | Covers | Apply at |
|---|---|---|
| London | Greater London, South East, South West and East of England, Channel Islands | BLS, 20 St Andrew Street, London EC4A 3AG |
| Manchester | Wales, Isle of Man, North West England (not Cumbria), Yorkshire and the Humber, East and West Midlands | BLS Manchester |
| Edinburgh | Scotland, Northern Ireland, Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Tees Valley | BLS, 6 Dock Place, Edinburgh EH6 6LU |
London's fees from 1 January 2026 are £516 for the visa (the rate for UK citizens), £9.60 for the residence authorisation (form 790-052) and £14.85 for the BLS service. That is £540.45 per applicant, paid at submission; the Manchester and Edinburgh checklists say fees are not refunded if you withdraw or are refused. Both consulates publish their own sterling lists.
The London consulate gives a legal decision period of two months from the day after you apply; the Manchester checklist (December 2025) and BLS London say three months. Either can be extended if you are asked for an interview or more documents, and an approved visa must be collected in person within a month.
Since 20 May 2025 a residence visa can be issued for up to a year, and the London consulate says the visa is valid for one year. The Ministry of Inclusion's information sheet still says you must enter within three months at most, so entering within three months of collection satisfies both. Your first year of residence runs from the day you arrive.
Within a month of arrival you must apply in person for your TIE, the foreigner's identity card, at the foreigners' office or police station; a first card costs €16.08. Your NIE, the foreigner identity number, is assigned automatically once the residence application opens and appears on the card. Buyers who need one earlier can request it separately: see how to get an NIE number.
Spanish law also requires everyone living in Spain to register on the padrón, the town hall's register of residents, in the municipality where they spend most of the year.
Renewal is due in the two months before the permit expires; up to three months late is possible, with a risk of a fine. A renewed permit lasts two years, not four as some guides say: the four-year renewals in the new regulation apply to work permits.
| Stage | Length | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Initial permit | 1 year from entry | Income or savings, health cover, clean criminal record |
| First renewal | 2 years | More than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year; health cover kept up; means for two years |
| Second renewal | 2 years | The same |
| Long-term residence | Indefinite | Five years' continuous legal residence; absences of no more than six months at a time or ten months in total |
Residence and tax residence are separate questions, but this visa leads to both. You are tax resident in Spain for a calendar year if you spend more than 183 days there or your main economic interests are there, and Spain presumes it when your spouse and your dependent children under 18 live there. Tax residents pay Spanish income tax on worldwide income.
The UK–Spain double taxation convention, in force since 12 June 2014, makes pensions paid to a Spanish resident taxable only in Spain. The exception is pensions for service to the UK state or a UK local authority, which remain taxable only in the UK unless you are also a Spanish national.
Information, not advice. Confirm your position with a tax adviser who works in both countries and an independent Spanish lawyer (abogado) before you move.
The table compares the visa with the two other ways Britons spend long periods in Spain.
| Visa-free visits (90/180) | Non-lucrative visa | EU citizenship, e.g. an Irish passport | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time in Spain | Up to 90 days in any 180, counted across the Schengen area | No fixed limit; renewal needs over 183 days a year | No fixed limit; register within three months of arrival |
| Money | Enough for the stay, if asked at the border | 400% of IPREM, plus 100% per dependant | Enough not to rely on Spanish social assistance |
| Health cover | GHIC for necessary state care; travel insurance may be checked | Insurance authorised in Spain, or a registered S1 | Insurance covering all risks in Spain |
| Work | Business visits only | None, including remote work | Allowed |
| Paperwork | Passport rules; EES at the border | UK visa, then a TIE | Registration certificate (€12) |
| After five years | Nothing | Long-term residence | Permanent residence |
The EU route needs an EU passport. With an Irish-born grandparent, or a parent who was Irish when you were born, you can become Irish through the Foreign Births Register, which costs an adult €278 and currently takes about 12 months. Spanish citizenship normally takes ten years' legal residence and requires British applicants to renounce their previous nationality.
Spain's Golden Visa, which gave residence to buyers of property above a set value, closed to new applications on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, so owning a home now gives no right to live in Spain (see buying property in Spain). The digital nomad visa is for people still working remotely for companies abroad, not for retirees.
Compare other countries in retirement visas compared and Portugal vs Spain for retirement, and plan the move with the moving to Spain checklist.
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Talk to us about Spain →The main applicant needs 400% of the IPREM, which is €2,400 a month in 2026, plus €600 a month per dependant. That is €28,800 a year for one person or €36,000 for a couple on the 12-payment basis the Supreme Court endorsed in 2023; a 14-payment basis gives €33,600 and €42,000. Pensions and savings both count.
No. The visa is for living in Spain without any work or professional activity, and Spain's Edinburgh consulate says remote work for a company outside Spain is not allowed on it. People who want to keep working remotely are pointed to the separate digital nomad visa instead.
London's legal deadline for a decision is two months from the day after you apply; Manchester's checklist says three months, and either can be extended. Allow extra time beforehand for the ACRO police certificate (up to 30 working days) and paper apostilles (up to 25 working days).
No. Owning a Spanish home gives you no right to live there. The Golden Visa, which granted residence to buyers of property above a set value, closed to new applications on 3 April 2025. Owners who want more than 90 days in any 180 need a visa such as the non-lucrative visa.
More than 183 days in the calendar year: the regulation in force since 20 May 2025 makes real residence of that length a condition of renewal. That leaves room for long UK summers but not for a winter-only base, and it normally makes you a Spanish tax resident too.
Last checked 2026-09-28. Rules and rates change; this is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm your own position with an independent Spanish lawyer or tax adviser before you act.