Is the Spain non-lucrative visa fee refunded if you are refused?
A stake, not a deposit
If the visa is refused, do you lose the £500?
Call them Jordan. It isn't their name. Jordan was planning to apply for Spain's non-lucrative visa on their own: no firm, no lawyer. They had the fee in mind, £500. And before paying it, they asked the question most people only ask afterwards. If the first application is refused, do I get another go, or do I lose the £500?
The first reply was four words. "You lose the fee."
Someone asked whether they at least tell you why. The rest of the thread filled in how it tends to work. At the appointment, if something isn't right, they usually say so there and then, and you can fix it on the spot or go away and fix it, with no fee charged. Sometimes you're given a few days to send extra documents. If you still don't qualify after that, it's start again.
One member's application was questioned over the wording on their medical certificate. The wording was in fact correct, and the visa was approved. Their point: the people checking make mistakes too, so check everything and question anything that looks wrong. Others said you can appeal, and that they had seen members appeal successfully.
So the answer to Jordan's question was both blunter and kinder than it first sounded. Yes, the fee is gone if the visa is refused. It's a stake, not a deposit. But there are chances to fix things before it comes to that, and one more after.
That first, plain answer matters to anyone comparing quotes from firms, not only people applying alone. Most quotes say what you'll pay. Few say what happens if the answer is no. A government fee is lost on refusal. A firm's fee is usually due whatever the outcome too, unless the quote says otherwise. And a second application, if you need one, is a new set of costs: the fee again, and perhaps new documents and translations.
The price of a visa isn't only what you pay to apply. It's what you'd pay if you had to apply twice.
So put two questions to any firm before you pay: what happens to your fee if the visa is refused, and is a second application included?
For Spain's non-lucrative visa, we have fees from 8 firms on file. The typical fee is about €950. The middle half sit between €762 and €4,625. Some cover the application only, some the full package.
See what firms charge for this visa
Based on a real case, shared publicly in an online group and anonymised. Fees on file as of October 2026.
