How to get a residency in Spain for non EU citizens.
In this article I am sharing my personal experience of becoming a Spanish resident for a non EU citizens (spanish residency for americans, if I would be more definite), via applying for a non-lucrative residency visa which allows to stay in Spain for a year. And after the first year there is a very easy process to continue this type of visa for the next two years and finally get a permanent residency. I will tell you how long it takes and what steps you need to do to get Spanish residency fast.
Visado de Residencia no Lucrativa gives you a right to live in Spain without a right to work there, in other word you get a Spanish residency. You can work from home (online for instance) or have a business in another country or even have a business in Spain, but you cannot be hired by any Spanish company (officially).
In 2014 my husband and I started to travel around Europe, looking for a place where we would like to settle down and to raise our kids. One day I will right down all the pros and cons we had about many Mediterranean countries (we wanted to live only near the ocean), but here I just mention that in 2015 we decided to try to move to Spain. For a few months we traveled inside of Spain, moving from North (Catalonia) to South (Malaga), trying to choose a perfect place for our family. We chose Alicante and immediately after coming back to the USA started to prepare all the documents to get a residency in Spain.
Also to read: “How to get a return permit while waiting for your residency card“.
We looked at the different opportunities to get a residency in Spain, read a lot of information on the Internet and decided to try to get our visas by ourselves, without the lawyers. Our visas were approved very fast and I will try to describe as detailed as possible how we reached this goal.
But before the idea of getting a residency in Spain will grow in your mind and you`ll involve yourself into researching about the details, please check your own situation according to these two big and the most important questions:
- Do you have enough income? Visa no lucrative – it`s a type of residency which requires to have a stable monthly income or a certain amount of money on your bank account. So you need to earn not less than 25 600 EUR per a year for one person. If you are planning to bring to Spain a family, you should increase this number to 6 500 EUR for each dependent. If you don`t want or cannot to show a monthly income, than you can just print your bank account statement, but make sure that the amount of money you have is double (not 25 600 EUR, but 52 200 EUR).
- Do you have a place to stay will you be able to find a place to stay? One of the requirements is to show that you have a place to live in Spain (hotels are not counted). There are two ways to do it: to buy a property in Spain or to sign a lease contract for not less than 1 year.
If you think that you can qualify according to two main requirements for getting a non-lucrative visa to Spain, listed above, than you can spend your valuable time reading this article till the end. If not, may be you should try to get a different type of visa (residency) to Spain, like student visa, working visa or investment visa.
You may be also interested in reading: “What do you need to know before buying a property in Spain“.
During the process of preparation the documents for getting your visa to Spain, I would recommend to start with those you have to wait for the longest:
– Criminal record check (by the end of 2015 we had to wait for this paper for almost a half of a year, because the computer system failed down and all the information was researching and putting in the order almost manually).
To be able to order you criminal background in the USA, you need to get your fingerprints in the local police department, than send them and an application to the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation and wait for the results. When your criminal background will arrive you need to get an apostle on it, and this actually also takes some time.
Important note: if you lived in another country for the last 5 years for more than 6 months, you will have to order a criminal record check also from this country. It was my case. I had to order my criminal background in the US and at the same time in Russia. If you have to do the same thing, just keep in mind that Spanish consulates accept the criminal record checks no more than 3 months old, so you need to be very proactive with managing the timeline of ordering these kind of papers from different countries! In my personal experience I ordered my Russian criminal background too early and when my American criminal record check arrived, my Russian one was already expired, so I had to order a new one.
– Deed or lease contract. In our case we actually bought a property in Spain before we started this visa process. So we had a deed. But for those who are not planning to go so far yet, it`s very important to have a lease contract. And this is also could be kind of tricky. You need to have a lease contract for a year (or longer). In theory it`s possible to do it online, using the real estate agencies. We honestly tried to do it (before we bought a property), but it absolutely didn`t work for us. When you will come to Spain and will try to have any kind of business with Spanish people, you probably will understand me better. For now I just would like to mention that nothing is easy in Spain. A long story short, it`s almost impossible to get an answer to your email and not always possible to reach somebody in Spain by phone… So if you are planning to sign a lease contract, the best way to do it is probably to go to Spain and do it there. And because this particular step could take a lot of time (and maybe even a few trips to Spain), may be it would be a good idea to start the whole journey of getting a residency visa to Spain with this step.
Summary: it is very important to show that you have a place to stay in Spain while applying for you residency. And because either process: buying a property in Spain or signing a lease contract could take more time than you probably expect, it`s better to start to move forward to get a deed or a lease contract as soon as possible and before any other step I am writing about in this article.
– Número de Identificación de Extranjero (NIE). Without this number (it`s like a tax pay id number) you will be not able to buy a property or to sign a lease contract in Spain. You also will need your NIE when you`ll decide to open a bank account in Spain. You can apply for NIE in Spain or in any Spanish consulate around the world. I would recommend to keep in mind that it could take for about a month to get your NIE, that`s why I put this step in my list of “steps, which take a long time”.

What other documents you need to be able apply for a Spanish residency?
- application form (two per a person)
- 2 passport photos (a white background)
- travel passport,
- national ID or green card
- marriage certificate if you are submitting the docs together with your spouse (must has an apostle)
- birth certificate for each child (plus an apostle)
- medical insurance (it must cover a repatriation and a medical treatment overseas for not less than 30 000 EUR)
- medical record** (Note: it`s very important that the medical record would include the follow phrase “This person doesn’t have the diseases which are listed in the International Health Regulations (2005).
- bank statment
- Modelo 790
- form ex-01
- a letter with the explanation why you are applying for a long-term visa to Spain
** Medical record check.
I`ve found out that the easiest way to get a medical record check in the US for Spanish embassy (consulate) is to visit a Spanish speaking doctor. There are many of them around all the states. But be sure that you get a medical record from a doctor who has a medical practice at the same state where you are going to apply for your visa to Spain.
I personally don`t understand why is it so important, but because of all our travels we got a medical record first in Arizona and submitted our docs for Spanish visa in Texas.. We were told that the medical record needs to be redone in TX, so we had to find another Spanish speaking doctor and to pay him for a medical record again. A good thing about it is this: a Spanish speaking doctor is that he/she can write a note in Spanish and you will not have to translate it.

Another important moment is this: if you are planning to get a long term visa to Spain for a child, even if it`s just a little tiny baby, you also needed to get a medical record check for your kid. We didn`t do it, may be because our daughter was just a few months old. And when we submitted our docs in the Spanish consulate we were told that a medical record check for a child is needed. So the very next day we had to visit a doctor again and to get a new medical record check for our little daughter. Each medical record coasted about $65 per a person.
Translation.
You will have to translate to Spanish all the documents. ALL. On the official websites of the Spanish consulates there is information that a translation must be done by a certified translator. However there is no “certified translators” listed. We decided to send an email to the consulate and ask where we could order a translation which would be accepted by the consulate. Here is the answer we got:
«Hello Mr. and Ms. ***,
The documents have to be translated by a certified translator. I would recommend you to get in contact with a translation agency that can offer you that service.
Best regards».
As a result we ordered a translation online from one of the translation services in the US. The translated docs were proved by Spanish consulate.
Spanish consulates in the US.
To get an appointment go on a website of the consulate managing the area you live in and follow the directions. A notification that you did everything right and have an appointment day comes to your email box. Mine looked like this:
«Appointment Scheduled
Anna,
Your appointment for VISA APPOINTMENT (VISA APPOINTMENT) on Monday, January 11, 2016 11:30am CST lasting 15 minutes has been successfully scheduled. To view your appointment details please visit view appointment details
In the moment that you will be aware of your impossibility to come, please cancel the appointment immediately.»
Advice #1. First impression is very important for spanish people. Remember that spanish are conservative and even a little bit of “old style’, so if doesn’t go wrong with your personal believes I would recommend to put on a nice clothe for the appointment, just assume that you are going to apply for a job in a law firm and present yourself as best as you can.
Advice #2. If you have children, bring them with you. Spanish love kids. And families.
Advice #3. Put all the docs in order. Spend some time and really organize everything nicely with the little notes where and what you have. My husband represented our papers in such a perfect order that it was so easy for a consulate found everything. The consulate was pleasantly surprised and even told us about it. I am not sure that we got our visas so fast only because of the organization, but… may be we got it fast and without questions because of our paper organization…. You never know.
Taxes and payments for a long term visa pay at the consulate, so bring some cash with you please.
Timeline.
It took about 4 months to get all the docs ready. And before about 5-6 months we were in the process of negotiating a purchase contract and transferring a deed to our name. So I would say that from the day when we said to each other: “Let`s move to Spain, why note” till the appointment day at the spanish consulate where we submitted all the papers for getting a spanish residency, it took about a year fro us.
It took time. It took energy. It was not easy. But…. Our applications were proved for just 17 days! It was fast. And I know for sure that it was fast because of all our preparations. Many steps on the long road of getting spanish residency we fulfilled by ourselves, but for some worked we hired people and paid. For instance, we paid for getting our NIE, for transferring a deed to our names, for translation… But we didn`t pay for getting a spanish residency, we got it by ourselves. I know that many firms offer this kind of service. And their price is over $2000 per a person. At the same time nobody cannot guarantee that you`ll get you visa. That`s why we decided to rely on ourselves and we succeed.
Also to read: “How to get a return permit while waiting for your residency card“.
What did we get?
When we got the information from the consulate that our visas are approved, we come back to the consulate and got in our passport a national spanish visa, “D” category. According to the information on this visa, you have 90 days to get into Spain. This visa just give you a right to cross a spanish border. But an actual residency will be given to you only in Spain, not in the US or any other country where you are applying for it.
I will try to write a post about submitting the docs for getting a residency card in Spain. But at the end I would like to repeat one more time the list of the docs we represented to the consulate to get our long term visa to Spain:
- Application for a national visa (2 per a person)
- 2 passport type photos, white background
- Passport
- Green card if not a citizen of the US
- Form Modelo 790
- Form ex-01
- Birth certificate + apostil (for a child)
- Criminal record check + apostil
- Medical certificate
- Medical insurance
- Marriage certificate + apostil
- Proof of ownership, leasing or renting a property in Spain
- rational why applying for spanish residency
- Bank statements (not less than 25 600 eur per a main applicant and 6 500 eur per each dependent).
I hope it will help at least some of you. If you have any additional questions please don`t be hesitate to ask me in the comments section.
You may be also interested in reading: “What do you need to know before buying a property in Spain“.
at 12:50 am
I might be betanig a dead horse, but thank you for posting this!
at 10:29 pm
Thank you for this! We are very close to starting this process as well, but want to make sure we can go from Non Lucrative Visas to permanent resident/citizens/EU passport holders. My husband has a passport from a country that allows him to apply for citizenship after only 2 years of residency in Spain (he is also a US citizen). Does this mean after 2 years living there on our non lucrative visas that we can then apply for citizenship? Didn’t know if the type of visa or residency affected if we can apply after only 2 years.
at 12:54 pm
Hello Kris! I am glad if you found the article useful. As for your question, as far as I understand Spanish law, you can apply for a citizenship after 2 years of legal residency in Spain (if you qualify). And for sure you can “go from Non Lucrative Visas to permanent resident/citizens/passport holders”. Good luck!
at 6:31 pm
Hello,
My wife and I are also looking to start this process soon. We were wondering how you decided Alicante (We are really interested in Alicante, Valencia, and Madrid). Also, is it difficult to complete your US taxes at the end of the year or pretty straight forward as that is where your income is coming from?
Thank You!
Gary
at 1:06 pm
Hello Gary! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family, wish you to have a great year! As for your question, Alicante is the best choice for us because of it`s unique qualities. This city is not too big and not too small, it has the best weather (ask locals in Madrid and in Valencia and they all will prove my words) and many sunny days. Alicante has clean beaches and sea and at the same time it`s a city with different kind of social activities: cinemas, theaters, night clubs, restaurants and etc. Besides Alicante has very unique way of celebrating holidays, for example Semana Santa (a Holly Week) and San Juan (in June) it`s something what everybody must see because there are no words to describe it… Well, all of this plus 2.5 hours on a speed train to Madrid and 2 hours to Valencia make Alicante so very perfect for living (at least for us). If one day you and your wife will decide to come, please let me know, my husband and I will be happy to give you a little orientation around the town and have a small chit-chat:)
at 4:11 am
Hello, I previously posted about how my wife, Kiki, and I are interested in the non-Lucrative visa and to let you know if we are ever in Alicante. We know it’s last minute, but wanted to mention that we will be there next week on Tuesday, March 20th. Would you two happen to be available to meet up and chat at all?
at 8:52 am
Sorry Garry, I just saw your comment a few minutes ago. If you are still in Alicante we will be happy to meet you, please let me know, using my contact form on the autor`s page because it goes straight to e-mail box. Wish you to have a great vacation, Anna.
at 10:16 am
Hi there,
How did you get your Residency card once you had your D Type visa?
Did you have to submit any more documents etc?
at 2:20 pm
Hello Carly, no additional docs needed. All the docs we got back from Spanish Consulate in the USA, plus local empadronamiento (it`s a registration at a local municipal department and looks like a paper, showing your address in Spain and with whom you live). Also after you`ll apply for your residency card you`ll have to get your fingerprints and that`s pretty much it. I will try to describe the process of getting a residency card when in Spain in a separated article to make it more clear.
at 4:48 pm
Hello there,
First, happy new year to you and your lovely family and thank you for sharing your details experience!
I’m a us citizen myself and i’m trying to get this non lucrative visa for my mother. However, she doesn’t have any proof of monthly income.however, she does have a little more than 55k euros at hand. Based on your knowledge, could she be considered for the non lucrative residence? Finally, is she allowed to open her own little business (autonomous entrepreneur)such as an e commerce? does she need to present a business plan , etc?
your assistance is appreciated!
Kind regards
at 12:09 pm
Hello Amine L! Happy New Year to you and your family as well! As for your question, 55K is enough to qualify for a non-lucrative visa, absolutely enough! When your Mom will get her residency card she will see at the bottom of the card a special note: not allowed to work. Practically it means that she will not be able to be hired byone of the Spanish companies (at least legally). On another hand she can be a business owner, it`s what my husband and I do. At the same time, I have to tell you that an official requirement for business owners is that you can own a business but you can (legally) do a work, other Spanish people can do. For example, you can be an owner of a bakery but you will have to hire people who will work their, do you understand me? In our case we are the owners of the apartments for rent, we can collect rental payments and meet the tourists, but formally we cannot clean the apartments… To be able to do this kind of business activity, you don`t need a business-plan. But if your Mom wants to open her business and actively work by herself, she probably needs to qualify for a different type of visa and to represent her business plan and to explain what is so unique for Spain in her business idea that she must get a visa:) I hope my explanations are clear enough, if not please don`t hesitate to ask me again. Wish you and your Mom luck, she sure will love Spain!
at 12:22 am
Great post and I can’t tell you how helpful it is.
My wife and I were full-time travellers before deciding to settle in Croatia in early 2017. We went through a similar process to what you went through in Spain, the major difference being that we didn’t have to go back to Canada to apply for a Visa (it was done here in Croatia and we could stay here while the request was being processed).
Just a few weeks ago we looked into renewing and they’ve thrown in a few more requirements. Looking further down the line, we looked at Permanent Residency and it requires a language test in 5 years (can’t defer it, would mean starting the 5 year process all over again). And then our landlord decided to sell the apartment we are staying in. Long story short, we decided that Croatia is not in our long term plans.
So we’re on the hunt for a new base, with the longer term goal of getting Permanent Residency. Spain makes sense to us, we both speak Spanish.
Leasing an apartment (we had to do the same in Croatia) – because we travel full-time, it would easy to go to Spain to look for a place. And maybe get medical examinations. But then how long do you think the rest of the process takes until you get the Visa and come back to the country? And can you easily rent an apartment in Spain months in advance? (or will you be out of pocket paying rent while back home finalizing the paperwork?)
– Argg, and then because we have been in Croatia more than 6 months we have to get a criminal record here too? (by the way, how would they know if we were in Croatia for a year?)
It always seems very complicated and I know from the process here that if you just follow the steps and know how to proceed you eventually get to the end of the tunnel. Once you get that Visa and get on Spanish soil I would think the going is easy (I wrote a similar post on Croatia – all sounds complicated but it retrospect it wasn’t too bad).
– was renewing the 2nd year easy?
– sorry, an “apostle” -what is that? (I’ve just heard of it in the biblical sense)
– Have you looked into Permanent Residency? It would be one of the conditions for us – we are now in our early 50s and looking down the road for permanent Residency in Europe.
– Didn’t know much about Alicante. Did you have any other cities on your short list before deciding on this city?
– any regrets?
I’ll browse your site for more. We need a little break after our Croatian experience and will enjoy travelling full-time again, but my wife always reminds me that we need to eventually work towards something so I’ll probably need all this info in a couple of years.
Thanks for the very helpful post!
Frank (bbqboy)
at 9:38 pm
Hello,
Happy New Year! We ar applying for this visa from Turkey. Our appointment at the Consulate is on February 7th. I have asked the Consulate the documents to submit and there is a proof of accommodation only. We will be renting a temporary hotel room until we leas a flat while we are in Spain. Do you think we should lease a flat in advance since this is difficult. We do not know how long does it take to get our visa issued.
at 9:44 am
Hello Aykut! I actually think that you have better chances to find a good apartment with a reasonable price for rent while in Spain. Wish you luck with your journey!
at 3:09 am
Hi. Fyi, I was just approved for a Non Lucrative Visa and I did NOT need to have an actual address in Spain (rented or purchased). I only needed to let them know the city I wanted to move to.
This was the San Francisco consulate so maybe that made a difference. They understood that I once I get to Spain, I will be in temporary housing (hotel or AirBnB) while I look for an apartment to rent. I actually didn’t even need to tell them that. It wasn’t a big deal. On the forms that asked for an address in Spain, I wrote the city and left the rest of the address fields blank.
at 9:41 am
Thank you Therese for you comment, I am sure it will be helpful for some of the readers and congratulations on your visa to Spain!
at 5:08 pm
Hello Anna,
Thank you so much for all this information. We are currently living in Spain with the non-lucrative visa and I am trying to figure out how to get the residency card for myself and my two children. I know I have to make an appointment at the “Delegación del Gobierno” but I am not sure how to go about that on line. Do you have any suggestions? What should I bring to the appointment? Where do I need to go to get my finger prints? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Kate
at 9:21 am
Hello! I am so happy to find your information! I am a Canadian citizen, I teach English on-line for a school in Asia, but I would also like to relocate to Spain hopefully permanently. Firstly, as an on-line worker for a non-Spanish company,what visa should I apply for? Secondly, I am hoping to establish my own on-line language service while living in Spain, so what are the procedures for setting up this virtual kind of company in Spain? Does setting up this type of on-line business in Spain, working from home in Spain give me any fast-track to permanent residency or Spanish citizenship? I look forward to hearing from you! Alicante or Malaga seem to be on my list of places to live!
at 1:47 pm
Hello Jewel! I am glad that you found my information useful. As for your questions, I would think that a non lucrative visa like my husband and I got would be fine for you. You also could try to get en interpreter visa if you are planing to open your own business in Spain. At the same time if you will show your regular earnings right now and will get a non lucrative visa, you can come to Spain and “investigate” a business climate here, continually using your existing company for business, and then to apply for an interpreter visa staying in Spain. We personally don`t have a spanish company, we ask our lawyer to open a branch of our american company here, in Spain and got a local tax id number, that`s pretty much it. As for the “fast-tracking” thing, the answer is “no”, if you were not born in one of South America countries or are you are not a refugee…. You need to be in Spain legally for 5 years to get a permanent residency hear or you need to apply for a golden visa via investing 500 000 EUR in spanish real estate market. There is nothing faster as far as I know and I really researched it before we came to Spain. I hope it helps a little and I wish you good luck!
at 6:02 am
HOLA hope your keeping well. We are looking to apply for a Non Lucrative Visa for Spain. Could you please advise, if we purchased a property in Spain to live in are we allowed to rent it out for a couple of months over summer as at that time we will be away from Spain. If we are allowed which country do we pay tax on the income.
at 8:52 am
Hola could you please advise if under the Non Lucrative Visa after 183 days do you become a resident for tax purposes in Spain or does this remain with your country of origin.
at 5:32 am
Hola. Thank you so much for this article. Truly answers questions so well for non eu citizen . I have been considering purchasing a small property and relocating to Spain as I have a small business locally here in Harare so would split my time between there and here. My questions are:
1. What is involved in the medicals , blood tests and chest X-rays I’m guessing ?
2. With an income abroad if one applies with the intent of purchasing a property and initially gets a year long lease confirm a bank account with about USD 60,000 would be sufficient?
3.Can one do any short courses or does non lucrative visa prohibit study as well as work ?
4. How is the 5 years for permanent residency calculated ? Do you have to have lived continuously without leaving the country at all or are there short exits allowed?
Thank you once again for this very resourceful article. Answered so many questions for me so far. I hope you are enjoying your Spanish experience and new home :)
at 9:13 pm
Hello,
I’m a highly skilled professional who has a Masters degree which happens to be from a Spanish institution. I will be gainfully employed by a UK-based company which allows for remote work and want to move back to Spain to work from there.
My salary would be well over the minimum requirement for Spain – between USD 50-65K. However, I don’t have much savings as I’m in my early 20s and I’m a citizen of a Caribbean country. Not sure if non-lucrative visas extend to applicants of all nationalities. I also wouldn’t be able to able to prove much savings either – maybe under 10K.
Is it possible for me to get a non-lucrative visa or are the odds against me?
at 4:03 pm
Hi there. Can you tell hey how residency works for non-lucrative? I have been told that one can get permanent residency after a one year initial residency, then a two year extension, then five year (permanent). I can’t find any information to support that.
Thanks for the good information!
at 9:38 am
Hello James, the reality looks like this: 1 year, 2 years, 2 years, 5 years permanent residency.
at 7:54 am
Dear Anna, I have been living “inofficially” in Spain for 20 years. I am a US citizen and was told by my attorney (Spanish) that this unofficial status was OK so long as I lived quietly. Problems started when the Shenghen zone
began rigorously applying its rules in responce to increased terrorist threats. How do I approach my resident visa application whem I have been living in the country for 20 years plus. I have a right to reside in the UK but have not actually resided there for a while.
I would appreciate your thoughts.
at 9:37 am
Leonard, I hope you are doing well and apologize that it took awhile for me to come back to you. I know that there is a program in Spain, which allows you under the condition of living in Spain (without interruptions) for 3 years apply for an official residency. You need also to have a job offer in Spain, a job invitation or an official income to be able to qualify, also you need to have some level of Spanish. Please google it on the Internet, but I personally know people who went thru this process and they are totally fine with their official residency cards now. Good luck!
at 4:37 pm
Hi Anna, first of all let me say a huge thank you for such an innovative idea as to allow others in similar positions to yourselves a couple of years ago to have access to the trials and tribulations you went through and no doubt others will as well! To my own particular query, I am 62, a British citizen, married with a wife aged 40, also British. We own a property in Spain valued at 70,000 euros which we use as a holiday home for us, but do not rent out at all. We also have a small business here in the UK. We are planning on moving to Spain in the next 3/4 years and the non-lucrative visa seems to be a good idea for us. I have a pension from when I worked overseas which I can have paid into my current Spanish account which will, within 4 years, be worth about 15,000 euros plus I will have savings of another 45,000 euros to be able to transfer into the account as well if absolutely necessary. Can you tell me if my property value would be counted as part of the amount needed to have in Spain for this visa so I can leave my savings here in the UK or would I still need to transfer the savings into Spain to apply for the visa? Also is it possible for my wife and I to travel back to the UK most months after getting the non lucrative visa in order to ensure our UK business still functions correctly? (We would be looking to sell the business in about 6/7 years anyway). I thank you in advance for your help in this matter.
at 12:34 pm
Kevin, hello! I appreciate your nice words and happy to hear that my article was useful for you. AS for your questions, according to my personal experience, property value is not counted and you will have to show a regular income or savings to be able to apply for a non-lucrative visa. The main idea is that the Spanish government dosen`t want to have a situation when you will come to Spain and will have a place to live in, but no income and will be ended “on a street” begging for money:) I overshoot a little, but I hope you got the main idea of the necessity of showing a regular income or savings. After getting a visa and coming to Spain, get your temporary residency card and travel as much as you want, just remember that you need to try to spend in Spain for more than a half of a year or so, to be able to continue your residency in 1-2 years without problem. Wish you luck!
at 3:39 pm
Hi Anna , Really interesting viewing your experiences and thanks for making this public . We are South African and have been coming to Spain for the passed 15 years on a Schengen Visa . We own property so that is not a problem . What is of interest to me concerning the Non Lucrative Visa is the tax implications . As we spend more than 183 days in Spain , how are we taxed . On what income are we taxed . I am retired but do have income in my home country which is South Africa . Would appreciate any advice regarding this aspect . Thanks and regards, William.
at 8:43 pm
Hi William, if you spend more than 1/2 the year you will be a Spanish tax resident and you will owe income on your worldwide income. This is whether you have a non-lucrative visa or not – if you are already spending 183 days in Spain you are already liable for Spanish income tax.