Question
Having real difficulty deciding in what order to arrange our move to Spain chronology. Finish work, sell our home, apply for a Spain Non Lucrative Visa. I know it’s been done thousands of times but any advice would be appreciated.
Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Spanish Non Lucrative Visa group members:
“We are hopefully moving there in November 2024. Below is a bit of a timeline of what we did when.
May: resigned/stopped working,
June: started gathering the Spain Non Lucrative Visa paperwork (ACRO takes the longest – 6 weeks – then you need to get it Apostilled and translated).
July: house on the market. End July: appointment made at BLS.
Start August: house sold.
Mid August: all paperwork in with Apostille and translations. End August: appointment at BLS.
Now it’s the waiting game.”
“It’s a difficult one I know. We followed the ‘rules’ as everyone tells you that you either need not to be working or have a letter saying you’ve resigned. At our appointment, they weren’t interested in our P45s or that we had stopped working. Who knows, we might get follow-up requests, but there isn’t rhyme or reason in the process.”
“When you have a private pension, you are allowed to take out 25% of the total pot tax-free in the UK. If you do this in Spain, you are taxed.”
“Buy a cheap static on a full-time site; use that as your Spanish address until your UK home sells. When your visa is granted, you don’t have to worry about being homeless.”
“If you become a Spanish tax resident and are not of pensionable age, you will have to pay capital gains tax on the sale of your UK home, which can be as much as 23%+ of the profit.”
“My timeline: I finished work, sold my house, rented an Airbnb in an income tax-free state (WA) to establish residency, and then applied for the NLV. I received the NLV within 4 weeks, set up pet movers and shipping through Send My Bag, and flew to Spain.”
“You need to finish work before you apply for an NLV. My stepdaughter is going through this now; take a letter from your employer to the appointment. It can take 4-12 weeks for the visa, although many are granted sooner, around 4-6 weeks.”
“No one under the Spain Non Lucrative Visa can work actively anywhere in the world, but certain passive incomes are allowed.”
“You can sell your house anytime, but if you’re in Spain for 183 days or more in a calendar year, you become a Spanish tax resident. If you move to Spain after the first week of July, you wouldn’t be a tax resident for that year, and wouldn’t need to file a tax return in Spain for that year.”
“Get house up for sale…. once you know its sold… apply for visa appointment. Hand notice in once you have appointment…. make sure house purchase goes through this year to avoid capital gains tax in spain”
“We sold our house (furnished) in the US first, retired, went to Europe and traveled all over for a year. Bought an apartment in Spain, and came back to the US this summer to apply for the NLV. The advantage for us was having a Spanish address, bank account and NIE already in place.”
Conclusion
When preparing to move to Spain with a Spain non lucrative visa, planning the timeline is crucial.
Several members recommend finishing work, selling your home, and applying for the visa in a well-thought-out sequence. Some suggest resigning from your job or at least having a letter confirming your resignation to meet the visa requirements.
You’ll also want to consider tax implications, especially capital gains tax, which can be avoided by carefully timing your move to Spain. Renting or purchasing a temporary residence in Spain before the visa is granted can also smooth the transition.
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Make sure to join our dedicated Spanish Non Lucrative Visa group here!
