“How much do I need to earn?” is usually the first question we hear, and the honest answer is that it depends on the route. Spain doesn’t have one income requirement — each residence permit has its own, tied to a different reference index. Here are the 2026 figures, route by route, and what they actually mean for your file.
The figures at a glance
| Route | Approximate monthly amount | What it is based on |
|---|---|---|
| Digital nomad visa | Roughly €2,800 for one applicant | About twice Spain’s minimum wage |
| Non-lucrative residence | Roughly €2,400 for the main applicant, about €600 more per family member | Four times the IPREM index |
| Student stay | About €600 | 100% of the IPREM |
| Highly qualified professional / corporate transfer | No single figure | A salary that matches the role and the sector |
| Self-employed and start-up routes | No fixed figure in law | The business plan and the funds behind it |
These are approximate amounts for 2026. The sections below explain where each one comes from.
Digital nomad visa
The digital nomad visa asks for income of around twice Spain’s minimum wage — in 2026 roughly €2,800 a month for a single applicant. If your family comes with you, the amount goes up: the first family member adds about 75% of the minimum wage, and each further one about 25%.
This has to be income from remote work for a company or clients outside Spain. Savings can sometimes support a borderline case, but they don’t replace the income requirement.
Non-lucrative residence
The non-lucrative residence is for people who will live in Spain without working. The reference is four times the IPREM index: roughly €2,400 a month for the main applicant, plus about €600 a month for each family member.
Two things make this route different. Savings can be used, not only regular income such as a pension, rent or dividends. And you have to show the total for the full year, not just a good month — the consulate wants to see that the first year is covered.
Student stay
For a student stay, the requirement is the lowest of the main routes: about €600 a month, which is 100% of the IPREM, for the length of your studies. Tuition and accommodation that are already paid can change how the calculation looks in practice, so it’s worth checking your own case rather than relying on the headline number.
Highly qualified professional and corporate transfer
Here there is no single monthly figure to quote. For the highly qualified professional permit, the salary has to be above the threshold set for highly qualified profiles, and the authorities check that the role and the pay match that profile. For an intra-company transfer, the same logic applies: the salary must be consistent with the position and the sector.
In both cases the employer is examined as closely as the employee — the company has to be solvent and have real activity.
Self-employed and start-up routes
For self-employed residence and the start-up route, the law doesn’t set a fixed income figure. What is assessed is the project: the business plan, and whether you have enough funds to launch the activity and support yourself while it grows. Concrete evidence — money in the bank, signed contracts, letters of intent — weighs more than projections.
How the money has to be proven
Meeting the number is only half the job. The file has to show it in documents:
- Payslips or invoices for the income itself.
- Bank statements showing the money actually arriving in your account.
- Contracts — employment contracts, client agreements, rental contracts, pension certificates.
Documents issued outside Spain must be apostilled and translated by a sworn translator, which takes time. And consulates don’t only add up totals: they look at whether the income is stable and where the funds come from. A file that tells a consistent story is treated very differently from one with a sudden, unexplained deposit.
Why the figures move
Every threshold above is tied either to Spain’s minimum wage or to the IPREM index, and both are revised by the government. A figure that was correct last year can be wrong today, so always confirm the current amount at the time you apply — we do this for every client before the file is built.
Where to start
At LAVCOM Partners, the first call is free and is with our advisor, who checks your income against the right route; our partner lawyers in Barcelona then prepare the file. If you’d rather start on your own, our free pre-assessment takes a few minutes and tells you which Spanish residence permit fits your situation.
Sources (checked against official sources on 6 October 2026): Real Decreto 126/2026, SMI 2026 (BOE) · IPREM 2026 (SEPE) · Visado de teletrabajo de carácter internacional (exteriores.gob.es) · Residencia no lucrativa, Ministerio de Inclusión · Real Decreto 1155/2024 (BOE).
This page gives general orientation. The right route and the exact requirements are confirmed only after reviewing your file.