Which Visa if wanting to run a Casa Rural?

@ep4500

Welcome to the expat.com forum and good luck with your potential move to Spain!

I'd guess that if you want to run a proper business with a full-time Casa Rural (and perhaps you even have your own living accommodation elsewhere) there might be all kinds of licensing, compliance/inspection, employment, and general business issues to deal with. And the NLV would definitely not be the correct visa for you. The NLV is for folks who won't work in Spain, and have sufficient passive income (rents, pensions, dividends, etc.) to support themselves. The NLV accepts savings too, instead of income (about 30k euros for main applicant). The Autonomo visa is more appropriate.

However, it's a bit of a grey area, I'd imagine, depending on how much (business) time you intend to spend on your Casa Rural, and perhaps how much of your Casa Rural (if it's your own home) you want to rent out. And, for sure, the Autonomo visa is a lot harder to apply for than the NLV!

If you can qualify for the NLV (you have either the savings or passive income required), I'd suggest it's a lot easier to get your NLVs first, and make your move to Spain that way. It could take you a while to find the right property, and perhaps you want to buy something fairly original and spend a lot of time renovating before it's even ready for action. You could then consider making a change to Autonomo status when you're already in Spain and you're ready to start operating your Casa Rural.

If you're not thinking about a full-time business, and you don't need the income... then perhaps it's more like a bit of low-key Airbnbing where you occasionally rent out a room in your own house in the country? Well, in this case, perhaps it's easier to quietly stick with your NLV.

@gwynj Thanks so much for taking the time to give some really helpful advice.