NYC Consulate non lucrative Spain visa Application: Did you bring a letter of intent?

Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi

Question about the non lucrative Spain visa

NYC non lucrative Spain visa Applicants:

1. I notice many people on here talking about a letter of intent, but I do not see that listed in the requirements on the New York specific consulate requirements for NLV. Did you bring a letter of intent? And if so was it translated?
2. Does the FBI background check have to be notarized after it is translated?
3. Do bank statements need to be translated or notarized?
   Just getting started gathering my documents and planning to do everything on my own, so any tips appreciated!

Answers

These are the answers of some Facebook group members:

“Successfully applied for non lucrative Spain visa through NYC consulate in July 2022.

1. Didn’t need the letter of intent, but the interviewer asked us why we are applying. When we said we are retired, she asked, “nbut why Spain?” Then we talked about beaches, food, culture, etc. That seemed to be sufficient.
2. Bank statements need to be stamped by the bank. I don’t know if they actually had to be translated, but we had ours translated.
   The NYC consulate runs like a well oiled machine, and everyone there was extremely helpful, even though they were obviously extremely busy. It’s worth moving to one of the Mid-Atlantic states just so that you can work with this consulate!”

“I applied in NYC on Aug 22. I brought a letter of intent that was translated and notarized. My FBI background check was apostilled and translated, and my bank statements were sworn translated.”

“It’s requested as a letter / reason for applying. I understood this is best to personalize it and explain why you are seeking the visa. We included family fotos, explained we ate trying to get back to our Spanish roots. It’s your chance to let them get to know you to compliment all the transactional documentation. All needs to be translated.”

“

1. Lot of people include one even if not on list English is ok.
2. It has to be apostilled and then translated but not notarized
3. We didn’t in March when we did our last one there.”

“We used NYC Spanish consulate in March. They did not ask us for a letter of intent but they accepted ours (we wrote it in Spanish). We did not have the FBI background check notarized but it does need the apostille. We submitted three months of bank statements. They were not translated nor notarized. We did have a one page account balance for one year that was translated but they were not interested in that. It may depend on your agent so O would advise you to bring more than you need, not less.”

Related Spainguru Blog post: First-hand experience: My Spanish non-lucrative visa approval process (NYC consulate)

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Bruno Bianchi CEO & Spain Immigration Expert

Bruno Bianchi is the founder and CEO of Spainguru, Spain's largest expat immigration community with 150,000+ members. Since 2014 he has helped thousands of people relocate to Spain through expert guides, webinars and vetted professional services covering visas, residency, taxes and life in Spain.

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