Retirement visa in Spain

• The visa is for a non-EU citizen who wants to live in Spain without any work or professional activity and has sufficient, guaranteed means to live on. Spain’s regulation does not make you be retired.
• It does not allow any work, including remotely online. You sign a commitment not to do paid work, on site or online, while you live in Spain. Washington points remote workers to the separate telework visa.
• Family members can apply with you: a spouse, registered partner or proven stable partner (one year of continuous life together, unless you have a child together), unmarried minor children, and adult children who have a disability or cannot provide for themselves because of their health.
• You cannot apply while inside a no-return period you agreed to when you went home voluntarily, and you must not be a threat to public order, security or health. Spain checks its own criminal record and a police report on you.
• Washington asks applicants who are not US citizens to show legal residence in the United States, such as a green card or a long-term visa. Holders of B-1/B-2 visas cannot apply there.

Sources: Consular Section, Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text). Checked 16 October 2026.

• The test is 400% of Spain’s monthly IPREM indicator. With the 2026 indicator that works out at about €2,400 a month, or about €28,800 for the first year. To be safe, have more than €29,000 for the year. The Ottawa, Canberra and Wellington pages state only the percentage and no euro figure.
• For each family member you add 100% of the IPREM, about €7,200 a year. To be safe, have more than €37,000 a year with one family member and more than €44,000 a year with two.
• The regulation sets the amounts as minimums, counted per month over the length of the permit. You can show either enough money for the whole period or a regular source of income.
• Washington lists accepted evidence: three months of statements for all your bank accounts, bank certificates with a sworn translation, proof of any other regular income, and your latest tax return. Canberra asks for a three-month bank statement signed and stamped by the branch, or evidence of regular income.
• Foreign accounts must be described with the bank’s name and address, the full account identification, the opening date, the balance at 31 December of the year before you apply, and the average balance over the last year.
• If your means come from shares in companies in Spain, you give a certificate from the company and a declaration that you do no work in it.

Sources: Consular Section, Embassy of Spain in Ottawa (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Embassy of Spain in Australia (consular section), Embassy of Spain in Wellington (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text). Checked 16 October 2026.

• The main documents are the national visa application form, Form EX 01, a recent passport photo, and a valid passport with two blank pages, valid for at least one year and not issued more than ten years ago.
• You also sign an affidavit, with a Spanish translation, covering your background, why you are moving, how long you will stay, the commitment not to work and a Spanish address for at least the first three months.
• Health insurance must be recognised in Spain, cover all risks of the public system with no deductibles, co-payments or limits, run for one year with start and end dates, and be kept for your whole stay. Insurance cards and travel insurance are not accepted.
• A medical certificate issued within 90 days says you have no disease that could seriously affect public health under the 2005 International Health Regulations. Washington wants a physician’s signature; Ottawa asks for your family doctor.
• You need a criminal record certificate covering the last five years from each country where you lived for more than 180 days, apostilled or legalised and translated by a sworn translator. Wellington and Canberra ask for the past five years; Ottawa applies the 180-day rule to time outside Canada.
• Washington advises, but does not require, a lease of at least three months signed by both parties or a property deed, an employer termination or sabbatical letter if you are of working age, and a private school enrolment letter for school-age children.
• Family members add proof of the relationship: civil registry certificates, a partnership registration, or at least one year of partnership evidence, plus proof of disability or dependence for adult children.

Sources: Consular Section, Embassy of Spain in Australia (consular section), Embassy of Spain in Ottawa (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Embassy of Spain in Wellington (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 16 October 2026.

• You apply for the visa at the Spanish consulate that covers where you legally live, in person and by appointment. The application for the visa is also the application for the residence permit.
• Washington applications go through the BLS Spain visa centre. Ottawa does not take online applications, and Wellington accepts only people who live in its district.
• Washington gives a legal decision period of three months, extendable if an interview or more documents are needed; checks with other authorities can take up to three months from when the consulate forwards the file. Ottawa and Wellington state one month from the favourable residence decision.
• The regulation gives the immigration office one month to decide on the residence permit once the consulate sends the file. If that month passes without an answer, the request counts as refused.
• Washington, Ottawa and Wellington say the visa is valid for one year (365 days). The Canberra page says 90 days, so ask which applies. Within one month of arriving you apply in person for the foreigner identity card (TIE).
• A refusal is in writing. Washington says you can ask the consulate to reconsider within one month, or go to the High Court of Justice of Madrid within two months. Ottawa says a visa is collected within one month of approval.

Sources: Consular Section, Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text), Embassy of Spain in Ottawa (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Embassy of Spain in Australia (consular section), Embassy of Spain in Wellington (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 16 October 2026.

• The Washington consulate’s visa fee is $140 for US citizens from 1 January 2026, paid to BLS, not refunded, and revised quarterly. The same table lists $313 for Australian citizens, $789 for Canadian citizens and $106 for other nationalities not named, which would include New Zealanders.
• Washington also lists a residence permit fee of $13, paid through form 790-052.
• Ottawa’s fee table, dated 31 December 2025 and applying from 1 January 2026, lists C$1,085.00 for the non-lucrative visa and C$17.70 for the initial residence permit (form 790, code 052). Ottawa takes Canadian dollars only, and says fees are not refunded if the visa is refused.
• Canberra and Wellington give no fee amounts on their non-lucrative pages: the residence permit fee is paid with form 790, code 052, and you confirm the visa fee with the office.
• The Australian Federal Police national police check costs A$57, or A$114 with fingerprints. The RCMP federal fee for a Canadian check is C$25 per check, plus any local fingerprinting fee. The New Zealand Ministry of Justice does not charge for a copy of your own record.

Sources: Consular Section, Embassy of Spain in Ottawa (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Embassy of Spain in Australia (consular section), Embassy of Spain in Wellington (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Australian Federal Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, New Zealand Ministry of Justice. Checked 16 October 2026.

• The first residence permit lasts one year.
• You renew in the two months before it expires. A renewal filed in that window keeps the old permit valid until it is decided, and one filed up to three months after it expired also does, though a penalty procedure can follow.
• To renew you must still meet the means test, have kept health insurance, have school-age children in school, have paid the fee, and have lived in Spain for more than 183 days in the calendar year.
• A renewed permit lasts two years, unless you qualify for long-term residence. The office has three months to decide and silence counts as approval.
• Renewal can also look at whether you met your tax and Social Security duties, and at an integration report from your region.

Sources: Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text). Checked 16 October 2026.

• Long-term residence needs five years of legal, continuous residence in Spain. Absences of up to six months in a row do not break continuity if they total no more than ten months in the five years (eighteen for work-related absences).
• The article we read counts legal residence in general and says nothing special about non-lucrative years, so ask the immigration office how your own years would be counted.

Sources: Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text). Checked 16 October 2026.

• You are a Spanish tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, counting short absences unless you prove tax residence elsewhere, or if your main base of economic activities or interests is in Spain. Residence covers the whole calendar year.
• A residence permit and tax residence are separate questions. A tax resident pays personal income tax (IRPF) on income from all sources, subject to treaties.
• Spain’s special regime for people moving to Spain lists employment, company administration, entrepreneurial activity and highly qualified work as its grounds. The page does not mention people who do not work, so nothing here assumes it applies to a retiree.
• The wealth tax has a general allowance of €700,000 for residents, but regions set their own: the Tax Agency’s manual for 2025 lists €500,000 in Catalonia, €1,000,000 in the Valencian Community and €3,000,000 in the Balearic Islands.
• Tax residents in Spain must file form 720, an information return on accounts, securities, insurance and property held abroad, between 1 January and 31 March of the following year. The 2013 text we read was later changed, so check the current thresholds.

Sources: Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency), Boletín Oficial del Estado. Checked 16 October 2026.

• Digital nomad visa in Spain
• Work permit in Spain
• Family visa in Spain

• Visas in Spain
• Spain

1. Non-working (non-lucrative) residency visa, Consular Section, Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C.. Checked 16 October 2026. Written for residents of D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina; shows 2026 fees and IPREM. Exact figures: IPREM EUR 600 a month (EUR 7,200 a year); EUR 28,800 a year for the main applicant (400%); EUR 7,200 a year for each family member (100%).
2. Status table: Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Checked 16 October 2026. In force for Spain from 25 September 1978, the United States from 15 October 1981, Canada from 11 January 2024, Australia from 16 March 1995 and New Zealand from 22 November 2001.
3. US citizens abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 4 October 2026.
4. Foreign earned income exclusion, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 16 October 2026. Page updated 12 June 2026: the exclusion covers earned income for personal services; pension or annuity payments, including social security benefits, are not foreign earned income.
5. Spain tax treaty documents, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 4 October 2026. Lists the 1990 treaty and the protocol amending it (2013); the treaty text itself was not reviewed.
6. Totalization agreement with Spain, US Social Security Administration. Checked 4 October 2026.
7. Non-lucrative residence visa, Ottawa, Embassy of Spain in Ottawa (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 16 October 2026. In Spanish. For Ottawa and Gatineau; elsewhere Toronto or Montreal. Gives the means test as 400% of the IPREM plus 100% per family member, with no euro figure and no fee amount.
8. Consular fee table, Ottawa, Embassy of Spain in Ottawa (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 16 October 2026. In Spanish; page dated 31 December 2025, list applies from 1 January 2026. Non-lucrative residence visa CAD 1,085.00; initial residence permit (form 790, code 052) CAD 17.70. Canadian dollars only, by Canadian debit card, cash, money order or certified cheque.
9. Criminal record checks: processing times and fees, Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Checked 16 October 2026. Federal fee 25 Canadian dollars per check, collected with any local fingerprinting fee; about 3 business days with no match, up to about 120 business days if manual processing is needed.
10. Leaving Canada, Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 4 October 2026. Canadian residents leaving Canada.
11. Tax treaties in force, Department of Finance Canada. Checked 4 October 2026. Canada–Spain convention signed 23 November 1976; protocol signed 18 November 2014.
12. Canada–Spain social security convention, Government of Canada. Checked 4 October 2026. In force since 1 January 1988; protocol since 1 May 1997.
13. Non-lucrative residence visa, Canberra, Embassy of Spain in Australia (consular section). Checked 16 October 2026. Covers the ACT and Queanbeyan; others use Sydney or Melbourne. Gives percentages only, no euro figure or fee amount. The page states a visa validity of 90 days, which differs from the Washington, Ottawa and Wellington pages.
14. National police checks, Australian Federal Police. Checked 16 October 2026. Fee 57 Australian dollars (114 with fingerprints); most checks posted within 48 hours, fingerprint checks 15 to 30 business days; the page does not mention apostilles.
15. Treaties in force, Australian Treasury. Checked 4 October 2026. Table last updated 24 March 2026; Spain listed as in force.
16. Australia–Spain tax treaty text, Boletín Oficial del Estado. Checked 4 October 2026. Signed 24 March 1992; in force 10 December 1992.
17. Australia–Spain social security agreement, Boletín Oficial del Estado. Checked 4 October 2026. Signed 31 January 2002; in force 1 January 2003.
18. Non-lucrative residence visa, Wellington, Embassy of Spain in Wellington (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Checked 16 October 2026. In Spanish. For applicants resident in the Wellington district. Gives percentages only, no euro figure or fee amount.
19. Get your own criminal record, New Zealand Ministry of Justice. Checked 16 October 2026. Free; the Ministry aims to answer within 20 working days; the page says some countries want the record apostilled, which the Department of Internal Affairs does.
20. Authentication Unit: document requirements, New Zealand Government (govt.nz). Checked 16 October 2026. The unit apostilles New Zealand documents; the page lists no fee and does not name criminal record checks.
21. New Zealand–Spain tax treaty, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Tax Policy. Checked 4 October 2026. In force; signed 28 July 2005, effective in Spain generally from 1 January 2007.
22. New Zealand tax residence, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 4 October 2026. New Zealand tax residents.
23. Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 4 October 2026. Spain not listed.
24. Real Decreto 1155/2024, Regulation of Organic Law 4/2000: articles 61 to 64 (non-lucrative residence) and 176 (long-term residence-EU), Boletín Oficial del Estado (consolidated text). Checked 16 October 2026. In force from 20 May 2025; consolidated text read on 16 October 2026 (last updated 22 September 2026). In Spanish.
25. When an individual is resident in Spain, Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency). Checked 15 October 2026. In Spanish; page updated 21 July 2026.
26. Special regime for people moving to Spain (régimen especial de impatriados), Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency). Checked 16 October 2026. In Spanish. Grounds listed: employment, company administrator, entrepreneurial activity, highly qualified professional; five prior years of non-residence. Non-working people and the non-lucrative visa are not mentioned.
27. Wealth tax manual 2025: minimum exempt amount for people with a personal obligation to pay (residents), Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency). Checked 16 October 2026. In Spanish; page updated 17 March 2026. General minimum EUR 700,000; Catalonia EUR 500,000, Valencian Community EUR 1,000,000, Balearic Islands EUR 3,000,000 and other regional differences.
28. Orden HAP/72/2013, form 720 (information return on assets held abroad), Boletín Oficial del Estado. Checked 16 October 2026. Original 2013 text, which Orden HFP/1180/2023 later changed; filing period 1 January to 31 March of the following year. The consolidated text was not read.