Keeping a Good Thing Going: Renewing Your Non-lucrative Visa

Sponsored by Klev&Vera International Law Firm.

Retired expats from Catalunya’s glorious Costa Brava to the laid-back charm of Malaga and the famous “ghost villages” of Galicia may squabble playfully over who has it best, but one thing they all seem to agree on is that they want to stay.

While securing residency in Spain is fairly straightforward for most EU nationals, the process involves a bit more paperwork—and leg work—for third-country nationals. Fortunately, the non-lucrative visa (often referred to as the "retirement visa") is one of the easiest ways to obtain residency in Spain. The first time you apply for your non-lucrative visa you must do so at the Spanish Consulate in your country of origin.

Once you have secured your non-lucrative visa, it will be valid for a period of one year. If you wish to continue to reside in Spain for longer, though, you must renew your visa or risk losing your residency permit. Unlike the initial application process, the renewal application must be submitted in Spanish territory.

Renewing your residency is one of the most common procedures in Spanish Immigration, however, it can be very confusing if you are not familiar with the process and don’t have a good command of Spanish.

Generally, to renew your non-lucrative visa, you will need the following documents:

• Application Form EX01 (two copies).
• Fee Form 790-052 (paid and stamped).
• Your passport (valid for at least one year).
• Copy of all the pages of your passport.
• Your current Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjeros or TIE (often referred to as a resident card).
• Health insurance that complies with the requirements of the Immigration Office.
• Proof of sufficient and stable income for the next two years (monthly, more than four times the current year’s IPREM for the main applicant, and additionally, one IPREM for each family member).
• Your address registration in Spain (padrón) no more than three months old.

If you have children of school age you will also need to request a report from their school, and submit a copy of their birth certificates. Don’t forget that any documents not issued in Spanish must be translated by a translation service that’s recognized by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

NOTE: In general you should have copies of all documents and have the originals with you as well at the time of submitting your documents.

You should begin the renewal application process 60 days before your current TIE expires. You are allowed to apply up to 90 days after the current card expiry date, however, the immigration administration may impose a fine for not submitting your application in due time.

When you submit your renewal application, the validity of your TIE will be extended past its expiry date provided that you submitted your application before on time. Once submitted, the process can take up to three months, however in practice you will usually receive a resolution letter (carta de resolución) before then.

Should I Hire a Lawyer?

You can carry out the renewal of your non-lucrative visa on your own; the overall process is not very complex. To do so you will need to submit your renewal application in person in one of the immigration registries in your place of residence. Or, if you have an officially recognized digital signature (or digital ID), you can submit your application online.

However, there are advantages to using a lawyer to help you through the application process, particularly if you don’t speak Spanish well. Navigating Spain’s bureaucracy is challenging for Spaniards, so if you don’t speak Spanish or one of the regional languages, you risk filing your application incorrectly and losing your residency.

Hiring legal services to help you with your application eases the process considerably. Your lawyer can provide you with the most up-to-date forms, make sure you have filled them out correctly, examine your supplementary documents to assure they fulfill all the immigration requirements and answer any questions you may have.

Additionally, using legal services can speed up the process significantly. Since immigration lawyers submit applications electronically, the processing time is dramatically reduced and you will receive your resolution much sooner than if you submit your application in person. When the Immigration Office has a resolution, your lawyer will receive notification and can download your resolution letter from the online platform immediately.

One Last Thing:

To complete the process, you must apply separately for your new TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjeros) and you must do so in person. TIE applications are processed at National Police offices and, like many administrative processes, you must make an appointment in advance to submit your application.

It is very important that you request an appointment to file your TIE application within 30 days of the date on your resolution letter. To do so make an appointment online here. Don’t be alarmed if you are unable to get an appointment date within the 30 day time period; what’s important is that you request and secure an appointment (of any date) within 30 days of your approval date. Also, you should know that quite often there are no appointments available; you may have to make multiple attempts over a period of days before you are able to schedule an appointment.

When you have successfully made an appointment you will receive an email with your confirmation document attached. You will need to print it out and bring it to your appointment along with the following documentation:

• Three recent passport-sized photos.
• Your passport, and a copy of the main page.
• Your current TIE.
• Your resolution letter.
• Fee Form 790-012 (paid and stamped).
• Solicitud de la Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (EX-17).

At the appointment you will be fingerprinted and given a temporary residency document and a date when your card will be available. It is usually about a month before you can pick up your card, though timing may vary depending on where you file. Your renewed card will be issued for two years and after the second renewal—five years of temporary residency—you can apply for long-term residency.

For over 15 years Klev&Vera has specialized in attending the legal needs of international clients in Spain. Klev&Vera’s multilingual team of lawyers and paralegals have many years of experience in big law firms, the public sector and international projects. If you are looking for professional legal advice you can contact them at the Klev&Vera office in Barcelona.

Originally published March 2019, updated January 22, 2023.

Sponsored by Klev&Vera International Law Firm.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information available on this site is for general informational purposes only. Laws are subject to change and do so regularly. While the Barcelona Metropolitan endeavors to ensure that the content is accurate and up-to-date, users should seek appropriate legal advice before taking or refraining from taking any action based on the content of the website or otherwise.