Cost of retirement

Hi,

To be able to move to Spain and apply for residency you will firstly need to apply for a visa from the Spanish consulate in the UK. If you intend to retire then you will need the non-lucrative visa. You will need to prove that you have an annual income of around €34,000 for a couple. The income will be expected to come from rock solid sources such as pensions, investments and stocks, etc.

The Spanish consulate may accept savings in the bank as part of the income requirements. 

If you gain the NLV you will have to apply for residency within the first month otherwise it will become invalid. 

You will both need Private healthcare which will need to be fully paid up for a year as part of your application. When you have lived here in Spain you can apply for the healthcare through the Convenio Especial which gives you full access to the Spanish Healthcare services. 

There are a couple of other documents that you need to produce which will need to be translated into Spanish etc.

Steve 

Not sure that would satisfy Spain but would probably be adequate for Portugal if that were an option.

Nigel 

Is that because it’s in the form of savings rather than pension income.

Or is it not enough 

Lastly is there a way to check without selling up and burning our boats here in U.K. 😁

See below paragraph and the link below.

D7 ‘Passive Income’ Visa

If you want Portugal residency without making an investment, then the D7 visa may be more suitable for you.

Many Brits choose the D7 option for moving to Portugal after Brexit.

You can apply for the D7 visa in the UK (or wherever you’re legally a permanent resident) by visiting a Portuguese consulate and providing supporting documents.

The basic D7 visa requirements are:

Monthly income of at least the equivalent of Portuguese minimum wage (currently €705). However, we recommend having at least €1000 for the first applicant, plus 50% more for a dependent spouse, and 30% more for each dependent child under 18.

Savings for 12 months sufficient to cover each applicant to the levels described above.

NIF (tax number), and a Portuguese bank account. (Bordr offers a convenient online service for getting your NIF and bank account)

12-month rental contract in Portugal. This is a recently introduced requirement.

Criminal record check from previous country of residence.

Tebo53 has provided you with some great information. In my opinion £12,500 per annum (£1041.00 per month) for 2 adults isn't alot of income especially when/if you have to pay rent each month unless you intend buying a property. You must then factor in the cost of monthly electricity and quarterly water bills etc. Remember, if you enter Spain on a Non Lucrative Visa you will not be allowed to work.

I would advise that you speak with your nearest Spanish Consulate in the UK as they are the experts. You may find the following links useful:

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/Manchester/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/Visado-de-residencia-no-lucrativa.aspx

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-in-spain-including-the-balearic-and-canary-islands

https://www.gva.es/es/inicio/procedimientos?id_proc=17044

https://www.ageinspain.org/

We would intend to buy and be mortgage free .

Thank you for information 

I know that this question was aimed at Nigel but the quickest way to test the waters is to contact one of the the Spanish consulates in the UK. Each application is viewed on merit and if you have reasonable savings and a good income going forward, your application has a good chance of success.

Portugal may have less demands and I understand that the tax treatment for migrants is easier for the first 10 years (happy to be corrected here as it's a long time since we looked at this)

You'll need fully paid up private health care for the first year, after which you can join the Spanish health system for 60 euro per month, rising to 157 euro after 65. At 66 you can use your S1 to use the Spanish health. Don't forget that you will also have to show proof of funds at year 2 and 4 of your residency.

Good luck

Just to make clear, the S1 scheme only kicks in when you are entitled to State Retirement Pension from your parent country (UK), which is continually under review and as you point out in your initial post you will not be eligible until 2028 when you are 68 years old.

You can apply to join the Convenio Especial (as mentioned in previous posts above) when you have been officially resident in Spain for a continuous period of 12 months. Although this will give you full access to Spanish State Healthcare you will still be responsible for full prescription costs. Private Healthcare is similar in that you will be responsible for the full cost of prescriptions.

To check your eligibility to move to Spain it is best you contact your nearest Spanish Consulate for advice and information as they are the experts.

Don’t quote me I’m only passing info that a couple told me who were in a similar situation.

they in effect locked in around €40,000 which was long term savings ie untouchable for 5 years this in effect proved that the yearly income for Spanish rules was adhered to. I know it’s not income as such but it meant they always had that amount available each year.

things change all the time in Spain so you will need to apply for the NLV vía the consulate in Spain. The above happened last year and the consulate they used was in Manchester.