Question
“Must my passport be valid for the expected duration of an Spain Non Lucrative Visa renewal period? We’re due to renew in the next couple of weeks (2nd renewal as we’re at the three-year mark of having arrived in Spain) but my passport will expire in November 2024.
Can I still submit now as planned, or do I need to get a fresh passport first?”
Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
“You can renew mid-cycle, but you’ll need to present both the old and new passport when you renew the next time.”
“I’m not an expert, but I believe your passport must be valid for at least one year from the time you apply for your NLV renewal.”
“6 months.”
“Yes, for the initial application for sure it needs to be valid for the expected year-long duration of the initial residency period. I just wasn’t sure where the line stood with respect to renewals.
But even if it is only six months from the time of submission, then I’m already out of date, so guess I’m going to renew the passport then do the submission. Fortunately, I have time. Current TIEs don’t expire until August. I was just hoping to get ahead of it.”
“If your current TIE expires in August, then ideally you would have submitted the renewal in June. Of course, you can still do it later as you know. We just renewed in Valencia.
We applied on March 13 and finally got a letter saying approved on June 26. Toma de huellas appointment is July 29. And then hopefully pick up TIE around the end of August.”
“In most places, you get the Toma de huellas appointment whenever you can get it because availability is poor. I had friends that didn’t get the appointment for almost a year, and there was no problem… other than not having the TIE and of course, maybe needing a regreso for travel.”
“I wouldn’t risk it. I think you need 6 months minimum on your passport. If you renew via the Madrid embassy, lately it’s been taking no longer than 4 weeks. You will need to make copies of the old passport and the new one.”
(Lawyer answer) “You should renew it first, OR you can apply with the old one and renew while it processes. But, if you are in one of the places that’s taking 3-6 weeks only to process renewals, then obtain the new passport first and submit it for the renewal.”
“You should renew it first since, without passport validity, they will only renew your residency up to your passport expiry date.”
Conclusion
When renewing a Spain non lucrative visa, the validity of your passport is crucial.
Most advice and official guidelines suggest that your passport should be valid for at least six months from the submission date of your visa renewal application.
However, if your renewal processing time overlaps with the expiration of your current passport, it’s advisable to renew your passport first to avoid any complications.
Always ensure that you have valid documentation that aligns with the expected processing times and requirements set forth by Spanish immigration authorities.
Join our community!
Make sure to join our dedicated Spanish Non Lucrative Visa group here!
