@sanmaid
Greetings! And welcome to the expat.com forum. Good luck with your move to Spain...
As @kevin4626 says, your EU passport allows you to move to Spain.
With your passport you can stay indefinitely (although you should register as EU citizen). Your husband enjoys the 90 days visa-free allowance with his UK passport.
It's indeed possible for your husband to get the NLV (no lucrativa visa) as mentioned. But it's far easier to do it on the basis of your EU passport.
This is a two step process (both done at an immigration office in Spain using their online appointment booking system or cita previa). I've included the official immigration links too (in Spanish, but I'm sure you can use a translating brower like Google Chrome to view them).
- first, you do the EU Citizen Registration (which gets you a little official certificate, signifying you are a Spanish resident).
- second, you then apply for "family reunification" for your husband, as family member of EU citizen.
It's a bit of bureaucracy, so they have some requirements for you to meet. These are proof of funds (such as pensions or savings) to support your life in Spain, proof of health insurance (usually a private Spanish health insurance policy, or if you're retired a UK S1 form), and proof of address (long-term rental contract or deed for your new home in Spain).
It's not a difficult process, so you can be confident that you can move to Spain, if you want to. So I don't think it should be an issue that dissuades you from making the move, and signing a rental contract.
I'd agree that owners would often prefer employed tenants, but I'm sure many retirees have managed to find something. I'd suggest you just decide which area you want to live, then go out and spend a few weeks looking around the region, and viewing properties. I'd guess that a local agent would have no trouble finding a number of rental options for you to look at. For research, you could also have a look at idealista which has lots of listings all over Spain, so you can see what kind of property you can get for your budget.
The cita previa online is here:
The Spanish immigration portal is very helpful and tells you exactly what documents you need, and what you need to do. Many people just follow these directions and go to immigration on their own (we did, and we did exactly the process described above for me and my Brazilian partner). If you're lacking Spanish, it's safer to take a translator/helper. You can also, if you'd prefer some help, engage an immigration attorney (more expensive) or a local gestoria (cheaper).
Working in Tenerife
Internet in Spain
Working in the Canary Islands
Popular neighbourhoods in Seville
Accommodation in Madrid
Customs in Spain
Developing your social circle in Seville
Buying a property in Seville
