living in spain

You will need to complete the Non Lucrative Visa (NLV) process.

I successfully completed the NLV process in May 2021 (and renewed in May 2022) - the process is as follows...

You need to apply for an NLV at the appropriate embassy / consulate in the UK. Broadly speaking, London serves the south of England; Manchester from the Midlands to the North West and Edinburgh for the very north of England and all Scotland. The consulate websites, visas sections, provides the list of requirements, which I've copied below, with my additional comments in bold:

LIST OF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR A NON LUCRATIVE RESIDENCY

1 Passport or travel document valid for at least 6 months beyond the intended arrival to Spain with at least two blank pages to affix the visa.

2 One completely filled and signed National Visa Application Form.

3 Ex-01 form and 079-052 fee form to be paid at the Consulate on the day of your appointment. The visa and appointment fee totalled approx. £1,050 for two of us.

4 One recent passport colour photograph. (No more than six months old)

5 For non-British citizens: A UK residence permit valid for at least 3 months. It can be either in form of Visa stamped on the applicant’s passport or a Residency Card. If you are a 'normal UK subject / citizen, this doesn't apply.

6 Medical (Health ) Certificate signed and stamped by a registered doctor. This Certificate must literally state that the Applicant does not suffer of any illness which represents a risk or a danger for the public according to the International Health Regulations of 2005. The document must be translated by a Sworn Translator only, and with the Hague Apostille if the country is a member. Otherwise the document must be verified by the Spanish authorities in the country of issuance. My doctor charged £25 per certificate, using a template provided by my Spanish solicitor.

7 Certificate of Good Conduct issued by the country or countries where the applicant has resided in the past five years. The document must be translated by a Sworn Translator only, and with the Hague Apostille if the country is a member. Otherwise the document must be verified by the Spanish authorities in the country of issuance. This is a Police Certificate which is obtained from the ACRO website, at a cost of, I think, £55 per person - turnaround time was about 10 days.

Note - docs 6 & 7 had to be notarised (my UK solicitor charged £25 to do all our documents). The Hague Apostille is an additional government service, which costs £30 per document and has a turnaround time of about 10 days.

8 Full health cover for applicant and, if applicable, family member. There are specific policies, which must not include 'co-payments' which are acceptable for the NLV. Many companies offer these. We used Sanitas (which is part of BUPA), as our bank had a linked offer. I have seen DKV recommended by other people on this forum. The policy needs to be paid up front for a year and be 'live' at the date of the NLV application. We were 50 & 48, with no pre-existing conditions and our policy cost around £1,200 for the two of us. I have seen people with pre-existing conditions getting quotes as high as £6,000 pa each. It's important to shop around as prices vary significantly. If you are already in receipt of your state pension in the UK, then you can apply for a form S1 to obtain state healthcare in Spain, instead of having to pay for private healthcare (but I'm not familiar with that process, as it didn't apply to me).

9 Means of maintenance in Spain in form of 2300 € per month for the main applicant. Each additional family member will need € 580 per month. In general, €35,000 pa for a couple.

10 All documents must be translated into Spanish - and where it specifies a 'Sworn Translator', these are specific translation companies that charge a lot of money (however, our Spanish solicitor included this in her price).

Although I would say that I am quite confident and competent in completing forms, gathering evidence, etc.; as many forms needed to be completed in Spanish (and mine is very limited) we used a Spanish solicitor (Raquel at BeGlobal Attorneys) to assist in preparing all the paperwork, making the appointments, etc. but there is still quite a bit of work you need to do yourselves. I would certainly recommend Raquel to anyone undertaking this process.

You also need an address in Spain where you will initially be living - this can be owned or rented.

For the 'means of maintenance' I provided evidence of cash in bank accounts, shares, premium bonds, rental income from a property I own and rent out in the UK, and my pension pot.

In total, the process took about 12 weeks and cost around £2,300 (excluding the cost of the private health insurance) - of which the solicitor's fees were approx. £1,000. When you get the NLV, you then have to enter Spain within 3 months and then start the rest of the process (below) within 1 month of entering.

When we got to Spain, we then had to attend the Foreigners' Office at a specific Police Station to have fingerprints taken; and be added to the padron at the town hall. Approx. 5 weeks after this, we collected our TIEs from the Police Station.

This NLV lasts for a year, then I renewed in May 2022 for a further 2 years, then I will need to renew in May 2024 for a further two years, then you can get permanent residency. Fortunately, whilst you still need to prove 'means of maintenance' and private health insurance, the renewal process is less onerous than the initial application!

Hope this helps - and happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks for the mail. 2300 euros seems a high figure ,

eddie

I would expect that if you do all the work yourself and it's for one person, then you could probably do this for around £1,000; but then you need to add the health insurance cost; and ensure that you can fulfill the 'means of maintenance' criteria.

Hi. I meant the monthly income needed for 1 person. 

Yes - but that's the rules.

You, obviously, don't have to spend it, but you need to show that you have the required amount.

That is what the Spanish government has decreed. Since Brexit they are able to keep out people who are not able to contribute to the economy.

Too bad most of them are here already.. got in quick enough so as not having to go through the above processes! lucky eh

Unfortunately it went up in January to 2400 euros per month.

Yes but at least they have put this in place now, and cannot blame them.

Just look at the UK, 7 MILLION A DAY for for keeping you know what, and the tax payer foots the bill.

Who has got it right?