Most US applicants understand that the non-lucrative visa needs a national visa application form. What surprises people is that the same file usually references a separate residence authorisation form, the EX-01, and that two different payment forms with almost the same name — 790-052 and 790-012 — appear at different points in the journey. None of these is complicated on its own. The problem is that they look interchangeable, they are named in a way that invites confusion, and they belong to different stages and different offices. Getting them straight avoids paying the wrong fee, arriving at an appointment with the wrong receipt, or holding up the physical residence card.
This page is deliberately narrow. It does not repeat how to complete the consular visa form — for that, see how to fill Spain's national visa application form. Here the focus is the EX-01 residence form and the 790 fee forms: what each one actually does, which stage it belongs to, where it is paid, and the mistakes US applicants make when they treat all this paperwork as one undifferentiated pile.
On this page
A map of the forms The EX-01 residence authorisation form The two 790 fee forms, side by side 790-052: asking for the permission 790-012: receiving the card How the forms line up with the process Families: one set per person Common form-and-fee mistakes Frequently asked questions
"Clients rarely fail on the forms because the questions are hard. They stumble because two fee slips look alike and belong to different offices at different moments. Once you know 052 is the request and 012 is the card, the paperwork stops being intimidating."
— Lola Jurado · Immigration lawyer, Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Málaga (nº 10907)
A map of the forms
It helps to separate the paperwork into two categories: request forms, which ask the administration for something, and fee forms, which are simply payment slips. The national visa application form and the EX-01 are request forms. The 790-052 and 790-012 are fee forms. A request form describes who you are and what authorisation you want; a fee form generates a bill you pay at a bank or online, and you keep the stamped proof.
The EX-01 residence authorisation form
The EX-01 is the official application form for a temporary residence authorisation, and it is the form used for the initial non-lucrative residence. In a US non-lucrative visa file it typically sits next to the national visa application form: the national visa form asks the consulate to issue the visa that lets you enter Spain, while the EX-01 is the formal request for the underlying residence authorisation. Several consular checklists include both, which is why applicants who prepared only the visa form sometimes get caught short.
The EX-01 is a general residence form, so it covers more than one situation. That is exactly why the box you tick matters. For a retiree or passive-income applicant, you are requesting the initial temporary non-lucrative residence, not a work authorisation, a student stay or a family-based permit. Selecting the wrong type of procedure is a classic error precisely because the form is generic. The personal-data fields should match the passport and the national visa form character for character: same surname order, same passport number, same nationality. Any mismatch between the EX-01 and the visa form is the kind of small contradiction that makes an officer look harder at the rest of the file.
Because official forms are updated from time to time, do not reuse an EX-01 PDF that someone shared two years ago. Download the current version, complete it cleanly, sign it, and keep the details identical to the rest of the folder. If you are ever unsure which residence version applies to your situation, that is a legal-positioning question worth confirming rather than guessing on the form.
The two 790 fee forms, side by side
The two payment forms are where most of the confusion lives, because both begin with "790" and both are extranjería (immigration) fees. The difference is what each one pays for and which office is behind it.
| 790-052 | 790-012 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it pays for | Processing the residence authorisation | Issuing the physical foreigner card (TIE) and biometrics |
| Plain-English role | "Asking for the permission" | "Receiving the document" |
| Channel behind it | Immigration / Foreigners' Offices (and consular filing) | National Police |
| Typical stage | With the residence application | After approval, at the TIE appointment in Spain |
| Paying it | Often generated and paid electronically | Frequently paid at a Spanish bank in person |
790-052: asking for the permission
Form 790-052 is the fee for processing the residence authorisation itself. In the non-lucrative context it corresponds to the initial temporary non-lucrative residence authorisation, and it is the fee tied to the EX-01 request. It is generally the immigration-side fee, which is why it is associated with the residence application rather than with the police card. Amounts are set by the administration and can change, so confirm the current figure and the exact box on the live form rather than trusting a number from an old blog post.
Practically, the 790-052 is often generated online, and in many cases it can be paid electronically through the tax-agency payment gateway or at a collaborating bank. What US applicants should take from this is simpler than the mechanics: the 052 belongs to the "we are still deciding your residence" phase. If someone tells you to pay a 790-012 while your residence has not yet been granted, that is a signal to slow down and check which fee actually applies to your step.
790-012: receiving the card
Form 790-012 is the National Police fee for foreigner documentation — in the non-lucrative journey, the fee for the Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, the physical TIE. It is the fee you pay once your residence is approved and you attend the biometric appointment in Spain, where your fingerprints are taken and the card is produced. In other words, it is the "receiving the document" fee, not the "asking for permission" fee. For the appointment itself and what to bring, see our guide to the TIE card appointment and fingerprints.
The 790-012 usually appears later than the 052, and often has to be paid at a Spanish bank in person rather than fully online, so it is generally a step you take after arrival in Spain rather than from the United States. If you fly in expecting to finish everything in a single day, the card fee is one of the details that can catch you out, because it may need a bank stamp before the police accept it at biometrics.
How the forms line up with the process
Placed on a timeline, the paperwork stops feeling random. At the consular stage in the United States, you are dealing with the request forms — the national visa application form and the EX-01 — plus the 790-052 residence-processing fee, packaged according to your consulate's checklist. After approval, you collect the visa, enter Spain and start the residence life-cycle, and the 790-012 appears at the TIE appointment for the physical card. The visa lets you enter; the residence authorisation and the card give you your foreigner status in Spain.
Two caveats keep this honest. First, consulates package the initial file differently, so exactly which forms and fees go in the consular folder — and in what order — should follow the checklist you are actually given. Second, when you renew the residence at year two, you are back in EX-type residence-form territory with the residence fee again, and later a fresh card fee for the new TIE. For that later stage, see renewing the non-lucrative visa in year two. The pattern repeats: request the residence, pay the residence fee, then pay the card fee for the physical document.
Families: one set per person
Forms and fees are per applicant, not per household. A spouse and each child need their own EX-01 (or the residence request that applies to them) and generate their own fees, just as each needs a separate national visa application form and photo. It is easy to prepare a thorough file for the main applicant and then treat dependants as an afterthought, but the administration processes each person individually. When names differ across passports and certificates, keeping each person's forms, fees and receipts in their own labelled set prevents the file from looking disorganised.
Consistency across the household also matters. The residence type, intended entry, address in Spain and insurance should tell one coherent story across every family member's forms. If you are relocating as a couple or a family, build the paperwork as one plan and then split it into individual sets, rather than filling forms person by person and hoping they align. Our pages on the retired couple profile and bringing family to Spain go deeper on household planning.
Common form-and-fee mistakes
The first mistake is treating the EX-01 as optional because the national visa form already asks for a visa. When a checklist lists both, both belong in the folder. The second is choosing the wrong option on the EX-01, since the same generic form serves work, study and family situations as well as non-lucrative residence. The third is confusing the two fee forms — paying a 790-012 when a 790-052 was needed, or vice versa — because the numbers look alike. Remembering "052 asks, 012 receives" fixes most of this.
The fourth is assuming everything can be paid online from the US: the residence fee often can be, but the card fee frequently needs an in-person bank payment in Spain. The fifth is losing the stamped proof of payment; a fee form without evidence that it was actually paid is not much use at an appointment. The sixth is relying on an outdated PDF or an old fee amount, when both the forms and the sums are updated periodically. And the seventh, for families, is preparing one clean set for the main applicant while the dependants' forms and fees drift out of alignment. None of these is hard to avoid once you see the paperwork as a sequence of distinct steps rather than a single stack of "Spanish forms."
Frequently asked questions
Is the EX-01 the same as the national visa application form?
No. The national visa application form asks the consulate for the long-stay visa. The EX-01 is the request for the initial non-lucrative residence authorisation. Many US checklists include both, so submitting only one can leave the file incomplete.
What is the quickest way to remember 790-052 versus 790-012?
052 is for asking for the residence permission; 012 is for receiving the physical foreigner card. If your residence is not granted yet, you are in 052 territory. If it is approved and you are collecting the TIE and giving fingerprints, you are paying the 012.
Do I pay the 790-012 in the United States?
Usually not. The card fee generally comes later, in Spain, when you attend the biometric appointment for the TIE, and it is frequently paid at a Spanish bank in person. Follow your consulate's checklist for what belongs in the initial file.
Which EX-01 option applies to a retiree?
The initial temporary non-lucrative residence option, not a work, student or family-based option. Because the EX-01 is a generic residence form, confirm the correct box against the current official version to avoid selecting the wrong procedure.
Do fees and forms change?
Yes. The official forms are revised periodically and fee amounts are updated by the administration. Always download the current form and confirm the current fee rather than relying on an old PDF or a number from an older article.
Sources reviewed July 2026: Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration non-lucrative residence pages and the residence application (EX-01) form, the Spanish public administration Tasa 052 information and the 790-052 fee form published by Spanish consulates, and the National Police electronic office for the Tasa 790-012 foreigner documentation fee. General information only, not legal advice; form versions, fee amounts and consular packaging can change, so confirm the current forms and instructions with your BLS centre, Spanish consulate or the relevant office before filing.