Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
Where do we need to go to pick up our non lucrative Spain visa if we have already moved to Málaga? Our consulate office is San Francisco. We are planning for the worst case scenario which would mean applying for second passports in late August in order to get our girls established with schools in September.
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These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
”If you already applied and got approved, you have to pick up your NLV at the consulate. The entire family must go”
”I believe in SF consulate you send your documents by post, and then they send it back to you by post too, but if you are here in Malaga that means you didn’t send your passport, unless you requested a second passport to travel out of the US, which is something you can do.”
”When you send all the paperwork, then you will also have to send your passports with it, saying that you still have time to get back on time for when the schools start”
”You have to go back there and get them and then enter with them to get a stamp to get them “activated” they would mail them in the mailer you give them to whatever address”
In conclusion, according to Spainguru Facebook group members, it seems that the general consensus is that you would need to go to the consulate to retrieve it. It is mentioned that the entire family should go together. Another response indicates that once you send all the required paperwork, you would have to retrieve your passports from the consulate and have them stamped to activate the non lucrative Spain visa. It is also mentioned that they would mail the passports with the NLVs in them to the address you provide.
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