Last Updated on April 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
“I’m in the process of finishing up my Spain Non Lucrative Visa application. I have a question for those of you who applied at the San Francisco Consulate. This requirement is only for San Francisco.
When submitting taxes – instead of having taxes officially translated, I was told that I could print out U.S. treasury forms in Spanish (I already have forms in Spanish) and fill in the data and turn that in.
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Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
“I successfully applied last spring so it’s possible the requirements have changed but I printed them in English as-is and submitted them without translations. Good luck to you!”
“I, too, submitted a copy of my taxes in English, just a few weeks ago. They were sufficient.”
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“What about a cover letter or a letter explaining why I want to move there, do I do it all in English or Spanish? I’m fluent in both.”
“This will have to be translated and notarized.”
“I submitted my cover letter to SF in both languages, but not officially translated.”
“I submitted my letter in Spanish.”
“We have NLV applications through San Francisco. For the tax forms, my husband filled out a Spanish form with our numbers and included those along with the English language copies.”
“We did not have to translate tax returns, applied Feb this year, moving to Spain in two days!”
“I submitted untranslated tax returns. Got my visa November 2023.”
“SFO Consulate: I did exactly that and had no issue.”
Conclusion
Applicants at the San Francisco Consulate have had varying experiences with the requirement for translating tax documents when applying for the Spain Non Lucrative Visa.
While some applicants were able to submit their documents in English without translation, others chose to include both English and Spanish versions to ensure compliance.
It seems that the consulate may offer some flexibility, but it’s advisable to prepare for possible requirements of translations or to consult directly with the consulate for the most accurate guidance.
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