Spain · Passive income
Non-Lucrative Residence Visa (Visado de residencia no lucrativa)
Open. The income requirement is 400% of the IPREM for the main applicant, plus 100% of IPREM per dependant. This is widely quoted at roughly EUR 2,400/month for 2026, but the IPREM is fixed annually in the state budget and has been carried over in recent years. Confirm the current figure with the consulate before relying on it.
The NLV is the closest thing left to a Spanish Golden Visa, and it is a poor substitute. No work is permitted at all, including remote work, on the reading most consulates apply. Tax residency at Spanish rates is mandatory, with full wealth-tax exposure. It is a retirement visa that UHNW families are now being pushed toward for want of alternatives, and the tax arithmetic frequently fails.
Qualifying routes
Roughly EUR 2,400/month (400% IPREM) for the main applicant, plus roughly EUR 600/month (100% IPREM) per dependant. Some consulates accept liquid savings in lieu of recurring income.
The facts
- Minimum
- €28.8k
- Total landed cost
- EUR 2–5k in consular and legal fees, plus mandatory private health insurance with no co-payments.
- Route type
- Income requirement
- Timeline
- 2–6 months (The consular decision typically arrives within 1–3 months. The TIE card is issued after arrival.)
- Physical presence
- 183+ days per year. The NLV requires you to be tax resident, and renewals are refused for absence.
- Family
- Spouse or registered partnerDependent childrenDependent ascendants
- Permanent residency
- 5 years
- Citizenship
- 10 years (2 for Ibero-American, Andorran, Filipino, Equatorial Guinean, Portuguese nationals and Sephardic Jews)
- Language test
- DELE A2 plus the CCSE test
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationalsufficient passive income or savings at 400% IPREM plus 100% per dependantfull private health insurance from a Spanish-authorised insurer, no co-paymentsmedical certificate confirming no diseases with public health implicationsclean criminal record for the last 5 years, apostilledcommitment not to work in Spainresidence 183+ days per year
- No work of any kind is permitted, and most consulates read that to include remote work for foreign employers. Using an NLV as a covert digital nomad visa risks refusal at renewal. The DNV exists precisely for this.
- The NLV forces Spanish tax residency, which means worldwide income at up to 54%, Modelo 720 reporting, regional wealth tax and the Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes. For a EUR 10m+ family this can be a seven-figure annual cost. The visa itself is cheap. The consequence is not.
- Regional wealth-tax planning has been largely neutralised. Madrid and Andalucia's 100% rebates on Patrimonio no longer help, because the state Solidarity Tax simply collects what the region forgoes.
- The IPREM figure is set annually and has been rolled over in recent budgets. Quoted 2026 thresholds vary between sources. Verify with the specific consulate.
- Health insurance must be full-coverage, Spanish-authorised, with no co-payments and no waiting periods. Travel policies and many international plans are rejected.