Residency without the right to work (no lucrativa): financial requirements for 2026

Who no lucrativa suits

Residencia no lucrativa is a permit to live in Spain without carrying out work activity in the country. It was created for people who do not need a local employer:

• owners of property and other capital living on rent and dividends;
• pensioners with a confirmed pension;
• families with savings who want to live here for a year or two and look around;
• investors whose income does not depend on where they are.

The key restriction: you cannot take up salaried work in Spain on this status. Consulates treat active remote work for foreign companies inconsistently: some turn a blind eye, others refuse. If your main income is remote work, the digital nomad visa is the more honest and reliable route. No lucrativa is about passive money.

The 2026 amounts: counting from IPREM

The financial bar is tied to the IPREM index. In 2026 it remains frozen: 600 € per month, 7200 € per year (12 payments). The no lucrativa requirement:

• 400% IPREM per month for the main applicant - about 2400 € per month, that is 28 800 € per year;
• plus 100% IPREM for each family member - about 600 € per month (7200 € per year) per person.

Three practical points:

• some consulates count from the annual IPREM in 14 payments (8400 €) - the thresholds are then higher; check your consulate's page on the website of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• the money must be traceable: the origin of the funds and the account history over recent months matter;
• you can show a combination: account balances, regular rental income, pensions, dividends, investment portfolios.

Documents

An approximate package for the main applicant:

• the applications on the prescribed forms and the visa questionnaire;
• a passport with sufficient validity, plus copies;
• proof of funds: bank certificates and statements, deposit and investment certificates, leases on your property, pension statements - with a sworn translation;
• private health insurance from a Spanish company or one operating in Spain: full coverage, no co-payments and no waiting periods;
• a criminal record certificate with an apostille and a sworn translation;
• a medical certificate confirming the absence of illnesses on the WHO list;
• proof of accommodation in Spain (rented or owned) - not every consulate requires it, but it strengthens the dossier;
• payment of the consular fee.

For family members you additionally prepare marriage and birth certificates - also with an apostille and a sworn translation.

The filing process

1. Diagnosis. We calculate your amounts against the current IPREM and the requirements of your specific consulate, and check the sources of funds.
2. Assembling the dossier. Certificates, apostilles, sworn translations, insurance - allow 3-6 weeks for this.
3. Filing at the Spanish consulate in the country where you legally reside: in person, by appointment.
4. The decision. Benchmark: 1-3 months. The consulate may request additional documents or invite you to an interview.
5. The visa and entry. After approval the visa goes into your passport; in Spain you arrange the padrón, fingerprints and the TIE card.

The first permit is valid for roughly 1 year. To renew it you need to actually live in Spain - a dormant permit with a visit every six months will not get renewed.

Taxes and life on no lucrativa

No lucrativa is a deliberate move, not a backup plan. Two important consequences follow from this:

• Tax residency. Spending more than 183 days in a calendar year makes you a Spanish tax resident: you become obliged to declare worldwide income (IRPF) and, with major assets abroad, to file the information return (modelo 720). Rates and double taxation treaties are worth calculating before the move.
• Actual residence. For renewal the administration looks at whether you really lived in the country: long absences put the renewal at risk.

The good news: the status gives you a full life - renting and buying property, bank accounts, schools for children, a driving licence, healthcare through insurance. And after 5 years of legal residence the path to permanent residency larga duracion opens.

Renewal and changing status

• Renewal. Filed from inside Spain before the permit expires. Under the new regulation (RD 1155/2024) renewed permits are usually issued for 4 years at once. Funds are confirmed again - for the new period - along with actual residence.
• Switching to work. After the first year a modificacion is possible: a change to a permit with the right to salaried work (with a contract) or autónomo (with a viable project).
• Larga duracion. After 5 years of continuous legal residence - permanent residency with the right to work without restrictions.

The strategy of a year on no lucrativa, then a work status is one of the most popular: it gives you legal entry without an employer and time to build your life here calmly.

How Krepko does this for you

In no lucrativa the details of the dossier decide the outcome: how the money is presented, which insurance, what form the translations take. We run the process for you:

• we calculate the amounts against your consulate's requirements and help package the sources of funds correctly;
• we select insurance that meets the visa requirements;
• we prepare certificates, apostilles and sworn translations;
• we assemble the final dossier, prepare you for filing and the interview, and after entry arrange the padrón and the TIE.

Legally significant steps are performed by licensed specialists - lawyers, gestores, sworn translators. Read more on the Residency in Spain service page; to have your situation calculated, leave a request - the review is free.

Sources

• Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores - consular services and visas
• IPREM - the current value of the index
• BOE: Real Decreto 1155/2024 - the immigration law regulation