Non-Lucrative Visa Renewal Approval

Great news, my non-lucrative visa renewal was approved for 2 more years in Spain. Just 43 days after submitting my application online, the renewal was approved. I received a text message and email a week after the approval which notified me of the next steps.

Here is a quick summary and overview of the non-lucrative visa process for Spain:

What I Learned About the Visa Renewal Process…

it’s easier to apply and renew in smaller cities than big cities
approval is possible even if you don’t have 180 days in Spain
you definitely need your empadronamiento
the entire renewal application can be done online
it cost me <€40 for all of the fees and applications
I didn’t have to translate any documents
bank accounts + investments from the US were accepted
people in Spain are really fucking nice
you can apply for renewal after TIE expires
English is not spoken, so take a translator or a dictionary

Status of My Non-Lucrative Visa Renewal

Because I applied for my non-Lucrative Visa renewal online, I needed to install the Firefox browser and the digital certificate which I discussed in post #6 above.

I checked daily because I wanted to finalize travel plans as soon as I learned about the final decision. I went to this link to check the status. Though you can also go to Mis Expedientes.

When in process, the status reads “En Tramite”. And finally I checked one day and it said “Favorable”. After that I was waiting for something in the mail but instead they send me an email and a text message with links to download documents.

Going to the Police Station

I’m in the Galician autonomous region, in the city of Santiago de Compostela. I had to go to the national police station in order to submit the 2 documents I was sent online. It didn’t have any instructions as to what the police station was going to do – I assumed it would be fingerprinting.

It’s the national police station and not the local police. Policía National.

The first day I went there, the guy told me that the wait was too long and that I should come back tomorrow.

The next day, when I went back, another person at the information desk told me that they only give out 50 appointments for the day for extranjeros and they were done.

So he recommended that I return at 8am in order to secure an appointment for my visa renewal process. You cannot make online appointments for my region, though you can do so for other cities.

I ended up going at 7am and in hindsight I should have gone at 6am. The police station opens at 8:30am. They let you in and hand you a numbered ticket based on your position in line.

A few people, after getting their ticket number, went off to a cafe and came back. I got in line at 7am and I was the 21st person in the cue. I walked in to meet with the officer at 10:50 and I was out of there by 11:05.

Documents Needed for Non-Lucrative Visa Renewal

I didn’t know exactly what documents I would need but I didn’t want to have to go back to the police station so I decided to get everything together that I could.

I’m glad that I did because she asked me for photocopies of my passport and empadronamiento, both of which I had already uploaded for my initial application.

my passport and 1 photocopy of the passport
my expired TIE card
2 passport photos (she said I didn’t need them)
modelo 790-012 form – paid at the bank
Resolución Solicitud (this is the approval confirmation)
empadronamiento

The government emailed me document #5 for my visa renewal. The link was to a document I could download and take them to the police station. See the screenshots below for the documents confirming my non-lucrative visa renewal.

Picking up the TIE Card

I have to wait 35 days before I can go back to pick up the card. I’m not sure if I have to wait in line again or if I just walk up to the window – I figure it’s the latter.

I have to take my passport and my old TIE card with me when I go to pick up my new card for my non-lucrative visa renewal. The card should say that I have a 2 year stay in Spain. Of which, I have to spend 6 months from each year in Spain in order to renew for another 2 years.

12 replies on “Non-Lucrative Visa Renewal Approval”

Congrats. It must be a huge relief.

Thank you! Even though I was a couple of days short, I’m really amazed that they let me renew it. Super stoked because now I’ll have 2 years here and can still travel back and forth to the US when I want.

Do you have to pay taxes in Spain?

I’m not a resident here so I wouldn’t pay taxes here.

Did you mean you’re not a permanent resident? Thanks for the clarification?

with a non-lucrative visa, you are generally considered a temporary resident. After 5 years you can get approved for a 5-year stay which is a permanent residency status.

Congrats on your simple process. When submitting proof of finances, how many statements did you provide and were they they full statements or just summary pages? Thanks in advance.

I printed summary pages. If you can download the PDF statements that’s ideal. Be sure to include all pages. If it says “page 5 of 7” then don’t skip the past pages. They look for that, though they are quite lenient. I also included investment accounts which they accepted. I always create 3 copies, they only needed one.

So you submitted online but still had to go to the office in-person twice? How much easier was it compared to applying in-person outright? Is it worth it? Asking as I am contemplating which option is best for me right now. Thank you.

I felt it was much easier when done virtually. And I only had to go in person once and after that I’ll always be able to do it online since I now have the token.

When you say that you don’t actually need 180 day to be approved- what was your experience with that? Also, are they counting just 180 days or 186 days for 31 days in a month x 6 months? I’m renewing mine and going to be really close to the 180 days in my 3rd year before renewing. Any advice appreciated.

If you’re really close to 180 they won’t even care. It’s when your application is poorly done to begin with or you have a lot of things missing and you don’t have enough money and you’re short by several weeks. Otherwise, I’ve heard of only 1 or 2 people who didn’t get approved.