Not all consulates post a specific number. This chart from the Spanish Consulate in Los Angeles will serve as a guide regardless of where you’re applying.
The numbers below are provided in euros. Click here to determine the current equivalent in US dollars.
Primary Applicant:
2,151.36 euros per month (25,816.32 euros annually)
Each Dependent Applicant:
537.84 euros per month (6454.08 euros annually)
If you’re in the fortunate position to be sitting on a big stock pile of cash or other guaranteed source of income you receive just by having a pulse, great! Print and translate a bunch of bank statements and you’ll be good to go.
Not your case? Bear in mind the following:
These numbers represent the minimum funds you must possess – the consulate always has the right to ask for more.
I know of one family who, during their application appointment, were told by the consulate officer that they needed to provide double the then published minimum and prove it within 24 hours. In other words, they had one day to convert about $50,000 in investments into cash and come back to the consulate with statements in hand showing they’d done so.
I do believe stories like this are rare, but you wouldn’t want that to you be if the market is on down day. Plan ahead. Ideally, you want paperwork that exceeds those minimum amounts.
What Do You Mean “Income from Non Working Sources?”
Think along the lines of the following:
- Cash savings
- Dividends from investments
- Annuities
- Royalties from intellectual property
- Distributions from a trust
- Rental property income
- Any other earnings you get just for having a pulse
How do you demonstrate the financial means?
You document it using honest to goodness paperwork. Paperwork that bears the name of the company, financial institution, or whatever organization you’re claiming you get this income from.
- Bank statements (minimum three months, though they might ask for more, especially if you’re barely meeting the minimum or they question the source of the money.)
- Investment portfolio statements
- Trust documents
- Letters from a financial adviser or bank official stating you’re the beneficiary of a Trust and how much money you get from it.
- Distributions from any businesses or partnerships
- Royalty Statements
- Pay stubs, in the event your time in Spain will be floated by a spouse, parent or other relative who won’t be residing with you in Spain.