Question
The Chicago consulate requires you to have a signed 3-month lease or to already own property BEFORE you can even apply for the non lucrative Spain visa. How would one get a signed rental agreement without being in Spain and without having a Spanish bank account? Does anyone have experience with this? And why am I not seeing this requirement at any other consulate?
– Lease of minimum 3 months signed by two parts of it.
– If the applicant own a property must present Title deed of property or Nota Simple.
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“It’s also required in Houston I believe. Someone here got their AirBNB to do it.”
“I chose a few airbnbs I liked, sent the hosts messages in Spanish explaining the situation and asking if they’d be willing, I had 2 that said yes. They need to write you a contract and then provide the nota simple. I paid the first month on Airbnb and will pay the other 2 to him directly without the Airbnb fees”
(A “nota simple” is an official property registry document in Spain that provides a brief summary of a property’s legal and physical characteristics, ownership history, and any charges or liens against it. It is often used in real estate transactions as a way to verify the property’s legal status and ownership information.)
“It’s exactly why I don’t provide assistance with non lucrative Spain visa applications at the Consulates in the US. Too many Consulates, too many differences to keep track of!”
“Idealista is the place to look, if you are going to try to contract without seeing a place first then use a recommended agent and just know the fee is high but worth it if it keeps you from having to make a separate trip here to find a place.”
“Move to florida first. The miami consulate seems the easiest. Miami does not require a lease. But you really have to move there because you have to submit a drivers license to prove you do.”
“I’m so glad I had just moved to GA… the Miami consulate was super easy! I just wrote my aunts address and that’s it!”
“I know it’s crazy, but every consulate has different rules for the non lucrative Spain visa. Some only require the name of the city you’re moving to. Others require up to a 12 month lease. Welcome to Spanish bureaucracy! Once you get here it’s not much better. Every region has its own rules.”
“I went through the Chicago Consulate in the fall of 2021 and at that time the requirement was a one year lease. I made a trip here to open a bank account and lease an apartment. I got a NIE number before coming. It was tough but I got it done.”
“Jesus. That’s such a giant wall to climb. Like others said I’d say an Airbnb would but the easiest option but certainly not the cheapest unfortunately. Another option which is probably equally as expensive but maybe not… come to Spain as a tourist for two months or less and find a place while you’re here. I would give yourself more than two weeks as it’s not always easy to find a place lately without a guarantor so I’ve heard, but u believe it’s possible. I would be careful doing anything exclusively online though because that’s how people get scammed. Another similar idea, if you have a really good friend to look at the places here you could have them look at the place for you.”
“Houston has same requirement. Worked through local realtor that was referred. Managed to find and secure in a week. They helped explain the requirements. Same in Houston. Rented for 6 months, wired the money via international transfer. No issues.”
“When we applied through Houston they required proof of ONE YEAR! Ridiculous to have to prove a future residence before being approved to live there. We bit the bullet and bought a house before we even got our visas. We knew we’d qualify for the visas so weren’t worried, but it’s a stupid rule.”
“You can also try Spotahome, a web portal to rent property in Spain for several months.”
In conclusion, the process of obtaining a non-lucrative visa for Spain can vary significantly depending on the consulate. The Chicago consulate at the moment requires a signed 3-month lease or proof of property ownership before the visa application, which has caused some difficulties for applicants. However, some members of a Spainguru’s Facebook group suggested solutions, such as using Airbnb and contacting hosts in Spanish to write a rental contract and provide a Nota Simple. Some also suggested using recommended agents or moving to another state with more relaxed requirements, like Miami in Florida.
