Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
When it comes to renewing the non lucrative Spain visa will this be an issue? I use Wise for all my Spanish DDs, etc and am very happy with it but they do not allow joint accounts so it’s all in my name only.
I’ve heard that they want to see evidence of a ‘Spanish’ account with typical transactions when it comes to renewal. Is the fact that it’s a) Belgian and b) not a joint account (even though hubby’s pension will likely be paid into it) going to cause issues? If so, is there an alternative that isn’t one of the awful physical Spanish banks?
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These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“What I’ve heard is, depending on the place you do the renewal, they will require a traditional Spanish bank account. All of the banks are more or less the same. I’ve heard good and bad stories about them all. Just make sure to read the conditions (especially fees, etc) when you open an account.”
“No, not at all, they will ask to see the Iprem required either through the pension letter or money in the bank, the reason they ask for bank statements is to check movement of you living in Spain, so paying for utilities etcc, if these show on Wise, then that is fine for 3 months previous, if they are not happy and want to see more then they will request further proof and give you a list to supply, it also depends on who picks up your renewal requests too and if they are happy with that they see or not.”
“I’ve heard ING Bank is acceptable. ING is dutch but they have a physical subsidiary in Spain. They offer Spanish IBAN and mortgages in Spain. So not purely an online bank.
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