Applying for a non lucrative Spain visa at L.A.’s Spanish consulate

Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi

Late March 2023: Started looking for appointments to apply for the non lucrative Spain visa after sending my background check for an apostille… (bad move haha). It took me 3 weeks to find an appointment for a month out.

April 18 2023: Found an appointment for May 18

May 18 2023: Was super nervous but in the end the people at the consulate were very nice. I had an appointment at 11:30AM but arrived 20 min early. They call your name out when they are ready for you. They were running behind so they called my name around 12:20.

There was an older lady and younger lady who helped me. The older lady said to me as I sat down that if I don’t have any of my required documents, she couldn’t accept my application, even if I’m from Utah or Colorado. I said ok, I understand and off we went. Both were very nice and efficient. Good thing I had a checklist I found online for the LA consulate because they asked me for every document in the same order as the checklist… only documents that weren’t on the checklist that they asked me for were a ‘letter of intent” and my 2022 tax forms (only the first two pages). Luckily I had them.

She asked me why I would like to live in Spain and if I understood that I am applying for a visa that I can NOT work. I told her yes I understand. She then asked about which day I wanted to arrive in Spain and I told her mid-July 2023 and she put July 15 on my application. Everything went smoothly and she gave me back the medical certificate, state background check, and the tax form and said to hold on to them as I needed them for when I go to Spain. (Yay!? That made me think that she is confident about my application?)

She gave me a receipt with a tracking number on it so that I could see the status online. She then said, “by the end of this morning, all of your documents will be in Spain”. I asked her how long it would take to be approved and she replied, “3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks, we don’t know” lol so then I guess Spain is the one who decides, not the consulate?

That was it. The application/interview took about 20 minutes and I was out.

A few people came in without an appointment and they were turned away without quickly. So make sure to have an appointment as they will not entertain taking someone without one.

Today: It’s been three weeks so far and still waiting for an answer. On the tracking website, it still says “en tramite”. We’ll see how much longer it’ll take! Good luck to everyone else applying!

Author: Felix Barrera

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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