What is the Minimum Vital Income? (Ingreso Mínimo Vital)

The IMV is a non-contributory benefit from the Spanish Social Security that guarantees a minimum income to those who do not have it. It is defined as a “citizen’s subjective right”, meaning that it is the citizen who must request or exercise his/her right to receive this benefit. It can be requested as an individual or as a family unit (the request must be signed by all adult members of the family) that suffer from a situation of vulnerability (domestic violence, monoparental families) and/or have a very low level of income.The IMV is calculated taking into account the difference between the real income of the individual or the family unit and the minimum wage guaranteed in each case, defined by the IMV threshold. The IMV must be requested by one adult between 23 and 65 years old, or 65 years old in case that person is in charge of a minor or a dependent. 

The minimum threshold is 462 euros for one adult, in case there is no other source of income. If the adult has a monthly income of 200 euros, the IMV will provide 262 euros. In the case of the family units, this threshold is increased by 139 euros per month for each additional family member (minor or adult), to a maximum of 1015 euros. 

The basic requisites to request the IMV are:

• All beneficiaries must have Spain as their legal residence.
• Be registered in the unemployment registry in case of not working.
• Have no more income than the total IMV minus 10 euros, taking into account family members to calculate this amount (from 462 euros to 1015 euros per month, depending on the family unit).

• In addition, single adults that request the IMV must have been living alone for the past 3 years with at least 12 months within that period with affiliation to Social Security.

The IMV is intended to reduce poverty in Spain, and the requisites to access the benefit are very strict. It is unlikely that a UKN living in Spain will have to request it, if we receive an enquiry asking for info, we can provide the following link, where a person can quickly check if he/she is eligible to access this benefit.