There’s been a lot of hot air recently about Spain discouraging non-EU residents from buying property. None of this has been confirmed, however, you may be considering Spanish residency as an easier path to buying in the country. A Spanish lawyer takes you through your options.
Spain offers several routes for residency and the right one for you depends on your circumstances. A lawyer can help you choose the best option.
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In a recent webinar, on buying and moving to Spain, Raquel Perez, founder and managing director of Perez Legal Group said: “Legally, you can stay in the country without applying for a visa for 90 days [within a 180-day period]. If you want to prolong your stay, you will need to apply for a visa in order to become a resident and extend your stay.
“The staple requirements for all type of visas are that you are a non-[EU] national, you need to have private healthcare if you’re not older than 65, you have to have a clean criminal record for the previous five years, you have to be financially self-supporting, so you will not claim benefits and [you must] not be living in Spain illegally at the time of making the visa application. Those are the general requirements for any type of visa.”
Perez also explains that not all visas grant you automatic residency. With the non-lucrative visa, for example, you must visit Spain within 90 days of the visa being approved, buy the property if you have not already done so and attend your local police station, where your fingerprints will be taken. Only then, will you receive your residency card.
So, what are the visa options for non-EU nationals wanting to gain residency in Spain?
Golden visa
The golden visa is a popular residency-by-investment scheme. There are a few routes for how the investment could be made. The most popular is through a purchasing a property of at least €500,000. Alternative ways to qualify are to deposit €1m in a Spanish bank account, invest €1m in a Spanish company or invest €2m in Spanish government bonds.
Spain’s golden visa is ending on 3rd April 2025, so if you want to apply for it, you must act fast.
Digital nomad visa
As well as allowing you to stay in Spain for more than 90 days, the digital nomad visa offers significant tax advantages, similar to the Beckham Law (a tax regime that allows foreigners living and working in Spain to be taxed as non-residents for up to six years).
Non-EU nationals are not eligible for the Beckham Law, but they can apply for the digital nomad visa, which allows them to benefit from favourable tax conditions, including paying no tax on assets or income earned abroad.
For example, if you own rental properties in the UK and earn income from them, you won’t be taxed on that income in Spain. Instead, you’ll pay a flat rate of 24% tax on the first €600,000 of annual earnings in Spain, compared to the standard Spanish tax thresholds.
To qualify for this visa, you must be working remotely, either for a company located outside of Spain or as a self-employed freelancer with clients primarily outside of Spain.
Non-lucrative visa
The non-lucrative visa is designed for retired people. To apply, you need to contact the Spanish consulate in your home country. The Spanish Consulate in the UK has outsourced the visa application process to BLS International. You’ll need to attend an appointment in person at a BLS office with all the required documentation.
You’ll be asked to provide a criminal record certificate for the last five years, a medical certificate signed and stamped by your GP, confirming you don’t have any serious illnesses, a marriage certificate if you are applying with your spouse, proof of sufficient financial means (around €27,000 for a single person and €35,000 for a couple in the form of either savings or income) and private health insurance if you are under 65.
The non-lucrative visa is initially granted for one year. After the first year, it can be renewed for two-year periods.
“What I always recommend to clients is before they start, gather all the paperwork for the visa,” says Perez. “They [also] need to have two [other] things. One is the NIE number, which is the formal identification number…and two is a Spanish bank account.”
If you grant your lawyer power of attorney, they can arrange your NIE and bank account for you. They can also ensure your documents are correct, translated to Spanish where necessary and advise whether additional documents are required by the Spanish consulate.
“I always advise clients to have their savings in a Spanish bank account,” Perez adds. “In England, it’s quite difficult to find a bank [that] provides a certificate and sometimes the officer is not happy with bank statements. So, if they send the money to Spain – the savings for the approval of the visa – it will be much clearer and then we can obtain a certificate for the Spanish consulate.”
What if you have a partner who is an EU resident?
If you have a partner who is an EU resident, you may be wondering whether it’s easier to become a Spanish resident yourself. Do you even need a visa?
“It is much easier,” answers Perez. “Imagine the wife is British and the husband is Italian, for example. [The wife doesn’t] need a visa. But I always recommend them to gather all the paperwork before they come to Spain because once the wife enters Spain, [they have] only 90 days to [make it] legal.”
In addition to the paperwork, the non-EU resident will need to provide proof of around €10,000 in a Spanish bank account, private health insurance and a marriage certificate translated into Spanish. The couple will also need to register at the town hall.
“[Having a partner who is an EU citizen is] very helpful because nothing needs to be done in the Spanish consulate, they don’t need a visa and more important[ly], both can work in Spain [without a] working visa.”
One final piece of advice from Perez is to ensure you get a stamp of entry in your passport. “The entry date is quite important for the application of the residency permit,” she says.
Watch the full webinar with Raquel Perez
Download the Spain Buying Guide for everything you need to know about buying a home in Spain.
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