If you are a British Citizen applying for Spanish Residency under the Withdrawal Agreement and you are not employed, (including students and persons in receipt of UK State pension) you will have to prove that you have sufficient income or means to support yourself in Spain.

The short answer is, more than €5,538.40.

The rules on how to show proof of sufficient means for Spanish Residency after Brexit under the Withdrawal Agreement are in Order PRE/1490/2012, of July 9, 2012 from the Spanish Government. The rules are designed to ensure that as someone not employed in Spain, you have sufficient means so as not to have to seek assistance from the Spanish social security system to live in Spain.

Order PRE/1490/2012, of July 9, 2012 states that any of the following can be used to determine sufficient means:

• Regular income (including income from work or of another type)
• Property titles, certified cheques, or documentation demonstrating that you receive capital or income from rent
• Credit cards accompanied by a bank certificate that accredits the amount available as credit on the card

The Order also states that the assessment of proof of sufficient means will be carried out individually, considering the personal circumstances of the applicant.

This means that the rules are open to interpretation by and what you need to show may vary among the provinces. The Order does indicate however, that the requirement of sufficient means will be considered satisfied if the amount of funds the person has is higher than the amount established each year by the General State Budget Law determining the right to receive a non-contributory benefit (Ley de Presupuestos Generales del Estado para generar el derecho a recibir una prestación no contributiva).

For the year 2020, this amount is indicated in the Royal Decree-Law 1/2020 (see Annex Section II, article 3) – the amount is €5,538.40.

Some provinces dealing with your Spanish Residency application may use other indicators to determine proof of sufficient means. These include:

• IPREM (Indicador Público de Rentas de Efectos Múltiples) which indicates regular income of at least €537.84 per month for an individual
• The Annual income index for accessing social benefits in Spain and the minimum state pension from the Seguridad Social which indicates regular income of at least €545.57 for an individual

In some provinces, it is sufficient to provide a bank statement from your Spanish bank (Certificado de Saldo) with a balance of more than €5,538.40. If you are providing a bank statement from your British bank, you will need to have your bank statement officially translated into Spanish and the final amount must be indicated in euros.

Other provinces may request to see regular income as opposed to a lump sum and you may be asked to provide 3-6 months of bank statements. It is at the discretion of the immigration authorities in your province to take into consideration your circumstances and determine if you have sufficient means to support yourself so as not to be a liability on the Spanish social security system. If in doubt, please contact the immigration office located in your province.

Note that all bank statements that are not in Spanish need to be officially translated before you submit your Spanish Residency application  – see the list of translators officially recognised by the Spanish immigration authorities here.