Last Updated on April 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
“Does anyone know if I need to submit a criminal background report from Spain as part of my Spain non lucrative visa application?
I lived in Spain for just under a year in 2022–2023 on a NLV. I am applying to the San Francisco consulate. I know that they say it’s necessary for all countries that you’ve lived in during the past five years, but I don’t know if this includes Spain.”
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These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
“If you were in Spain for a period of time they check for you; you just need other countries you were in within the 5 years.”
“I had the same issue. I lived in China and was in Spain for 10 months during COVID. I provided 4 years and 2 months of criminal records, and they said because I was in Spain, they checked with Spain. Maybe different embassies have different rules but that was my experience last year.”
Conclusion
For the Spain Non Lucrative Visa, applicants who have resided in Spain do not typically need to submit a separate Spanish criminal background report. The Spanish authorities can access this information internally.
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Explore Cities →However, applicants will need to provide criminal records from any other countries where they have lived during the last five years.
Experiences can vary slightly depending on the consulate, so it’s advisable to verify with the specific Spanish consulate handling the application.
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Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
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