Spanish Pension Life Certificate From Australia

If you receive a Spanish Social Security pension in Australia, you must prove you are alive, the "fe de vida", during set periods each year. The simplest way is the free VIVESS app, which needs no notary and no trip. Spain is moving from one or two checks a year to three, in January, May and September, from 2027.

Key takeaways

• Pensioners of the INSS or the ISM who live outside Spain must prove they are alive to keep being paid.
• In 2026 this was required twice, in the first quarter and in September. From 2027, Spanish Social Security says it will be three times a year: January, May and September.
• The free VIVESS app lets you do it from Australia with your phone and an identity document, usually with no notary.
• Other routes are a certificate from a competent authority where you live, the consular civil registry, or an appearance before Spain's labour and social security office abroad.
• The app also handles address, bank and tax residence updates, so it is worth setting up even if you use another route.

What is the Spanish "fe de vida" and who must provide it?

The "acreditación de vivencia", often called the fe de vida, is how Spanish Social Security confirms that a pensioner living abroad is still alive. It applies only to people receiving a Spanish Social Security pension from the INSS (the National Social Security Institute) or the ISM (the Social Institute for Seafarers) who live outside Spain. Pensioners living in Spain do not need to do it.

If you live in Australia and receive one of these pensions, you are in scope. The check applies whatever your nationality, and Spanish Social Security says the VIVESS app can also be used for pensioners who are minors and for ISM pensioners.

How often do you need to do it now?

This is the part that has changed, and the part most likely to catch people out. For years, the check was once a year, in the first quarter, up to 31 March. Spanish Social Security then announced that in 2026, for the first time, pensioners abroad had to do it twice: once between January and March, and again during September. It has said that from 2027 the check will be needed three times a year, in January, May and September.

Three checks a year changes the practical choice. Booking a notary or travelling to a consulate once a year is manageable. Doing it three times a year from Australia is a real burden, which is exactly why the app matters. Periods are announced by Spanish Social Security, and the app itself shows your next period, so check there rather than relying on a date you remember.

How does the VIVESS app work from Australia?

VIVESS is a free app from Spanish Social Security, available on Google Play for Android and on the App Store for iPhone. According to Spanish Social Security's own guide, it works from anywhere in the world:

1. Download the app and register. You do this only once. You can register with Cl@ve, a Spanish DNI or NIE, or your file number (número de expediente), which is printed on the pension revaluation letter sent each year.
2. Enter your country of residence and the personal details the app asks for.
3. Show your identity document, front and back, inside the frame on screen. The app accepts identity documents from different countries.
4. Look at the camera for facial recognition, which completes the video identification.
5. Register your fe de vida by pressing the button and signing, again looking at the camera.

The confirmation is immediate. The signed document goes to the INSS automatically, you can download a receipt in the app, and later you receive confirmation that it has been validated. The app also shows the next period in which you will need to prove you are alive.

What if you cannot use the app?

Not everyone can. Facial recognition can be hard for someone with limited mobility, poor eyesight or no smartphone, and a relative can help hold the phone but cannot stand in for the pensioner's face. Spanish Social Security lists three other ways to prove you are alive.

Route	What it involves	What to check
Consular civil registry	Proving you are alive before the officials of a Spanish consulate's civil registry	Which Spanish consulate in Australia serves your area, and how to book
Labour, migration and social security office	An appearance, in person or online, before Spain's Consejería or Sección de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social	Which office covers Australia; ask the Spanish embassy or consulate
Competent authority where you live	A certificate from an authority in Australia confirming you are alive	Ask Spanish Social Security which Australian authorities it accepts; a notary is the usual choice

The online appearance before the labour office is worth asking about if travel is the problem, because it avoids both the app and a journey. If you use an Australian authority, a notary will confirm your identity and that you appeared in person, which is what a life certificate needs. A notary does not certify anything beyond what they witness. For what a notary can and cannot do, see what a notary public does.

Is a notary or an apostille needed?

For most pensioners in Australia, no. The app route involves neither. A notary becomes relevant only if you choose the competent-authority route. Spanish Social Security's guidance does not ask for an apostille on a life certificate. If you are ever asked for one, it comes from DFAT, the only body that issues apostilles in Australia; an apostille confirms the signature and seal on a document, never its contents. Spain's status is shown on the HCCH status table. Do not pay for a notary or an apostille before checking whether the app would do the job.

What else can you do in the app?

VIVESS is more than a life certificate. Spanish Social Security says it can also be used, through the "+Gestiones" section, to:

• view or change your bank details and switch the payment method to bank transfer
• view or update your address
• send the certificate that proves your tax residence, and see how long an existing certificate remains valid
• request certificates, including the IRPF (Spanish income tax) certificate
• since 2026, prove that a spouse is alive, where the pension includes a minimum-pension supplement for a dependent spouse, through "Gestión Vivencia cónyuge"

Tax residence and entitlement questions belong with Spanish Social Security or an adviser, not a notary. For other foreign pension paperwork, see foreign pension documents and notaries.

What happens if you miss a period?

The purpose of the check is to keep your pension paid without interruption, so missing a period puts the next payments at risk. If you realise you have missed one, do it as soon as possible and contact Spanish Social Security about any payments that have been held back. With three periods a year from 2027, it helps to set reminders for January, May and September, and to check the app for the exact dates each time.

How do you prove you are alive for a Spanish pension from Australia?

1. Confirm you are in scope: an INSS or ISM pension, and living outside Spain.
2. Find your file number on the pension revaluation letter, or have your DNI, NIE or Cl@ve ready.
3. Install VIVESS and register once, showing your ID and looking at the camera.
4. Register your fe de vida during each open period, and download the receipt.
5. If you cannot use the app, contact the Spanish consulate or embassy about the consular registry or an online appearance before the labour office, or ask Spanish Social Security which Australian authority it accepts.
6. Keep your details current in the app, including address, bank and tax residence.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming it is still once a year. It was twice in 2026 and is due to be three times from 2027.
• Paying for a notary first. The app usually does the job for free.
• Relying on a remembered date. Check the period in the app or on Spanish Social Security's site.
• Letting someone else be filmed. The facial recognition must be the pensioner's own face.
• Forgetting the spouse check, if the pension includes a dependent spouse supplement.
• Losing the revaluation letter, which carries the file number used to register.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

A couple in Melbourne receive a Spanish retirement pension from the years he worked in Spain, with a supplement for his wife as a dependent spouse. Their daughter helps them install VIVESS and register with the file number from the revaluation letter and his passport. He looks at the camera, signs, and the receipt appears straight away. Because the pension includes the spouse supplement, his wife then proves she is alive through "Gestión Vivencia cónyuge". They set phone reminders for January, May and September, and never book a notary.

In short

Spanish Social Security pensioners living in Australia must prove they are alive during set periods: twice in 2026, and three times a year, in January, May and September, from 2027. The free VIVESS app does it from your phone with no notary or travel. If you cannot use it, the consular civil registry, an online appearance before the labour office or a certificate from an Australian authority are the alternatives. Our guide to proof of life certificates covers other countries, and our document notarisation page covers the notary route.

People also search for

• How do I get a proof of life certificate in Australia?
• Which foreign pension documents need a notary?
• Do Spanish authorities need an apostille?
• Is a notary the same as a Justice of the Peace?
• What can a notary certify?

Send us the letter you received and the pension it relates to, and we will explain each step before you book.