Title
Spain non lucrative visa Toronto: How Long Does It Take to Get an Appointment?
Question
I have a friend who wants to move to Spain. From your experience, how long did it take you to get your Spain Non Lucrative Visa if applied through the Toronto Spanish Consulate?
Was the process strenuous or straightforward? Which part of the process was difficult? Thanks for your replies.
Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
“Applied for an appointment on April 6 2024. Got an appointment date last week (October 7th 2024)—huge stress.”
“It’s taking a long time! Crazy! New system coming out in January 2025 where you can request your appointment online. From what I’ve heard, they’re rushing through the backlog before January.”
“We sold our house in August, expecting to move by mid-September. Now, we’re moving on November 1. Our house sold in two days, which was faster than we anticipated. It’s insane to be stuck waiting so long.”
“We’ve been trying to get an appointment scheduled in Toronto for our Spain Non Lucrative Visa for three months, and now all our apostilled and translated documents have expired. It’s hard to understand how people get through this in Canada.”
“Our experience was two years ago, and no translations or apostille were necessary. It took 2.5 months through the Toronto consulate, but even then, it was difficult and chaotic with delays and confusion for the next steps once in Spain. It’s even harder now with the added expenses of traveling to Toronto for appointments.”
“There are so many steps, but one mistake we made was not immediately booking a municipal appointment upon arrival in Spain. We didn’t have an address yet and wanted to sightsee first, which delayed our registration process.”
“I think the timing issue is the main challenge. Many of us got our documents together first, then requested an appointment, only to have everything expire. A better approach may be to request the appointment first, then gather documents, especially since Global Affairs has a 10-day turnaround.
When we did this, our documents expired and we had to scramble for replacements. Avoid applying in summer—student visas are prioritized, and everything shuts down for vacation. Hopefully, the new appointment system will be an improvement.”
“Every case is different, but Spanish consulates in Canada and the U.S. are overwhelmed with requests, so it’s a slow process. It can take months to get things approved, even once you’re in Spain.”
Conclusion
According to the experiences shared by group members, obtaining a Spain non lucrative visa through the Toronto consulate can be challenging and lengthy. Common issues include long wait times for appointments, delays causing document expiration, and added travel expenses.
Many have advised applying strategically, considering factors such as summer delays and prioritization of student visas. The upcoming online appointment system might help streamline the process, though applicants should still prepare for potential delays and complexities in completing the visa application.
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