Spain non lucrative visa: HR letter requirement at the New York consulate

Last Updated on April 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi

Question

Had my appointment for the Spain non lucrative visa in New York today.

It went mostly OK, but the thing I feared came to pass—even though I had a notarized letter affirming that I would quit my job if my visa was approved, they want a letter from my HR confirming my end date. The problem is, I haven’t told my job yet!

To me, a very cautious person, quitting without knowing what’s next is putting the cart before the horse. Also, understand that I live in NYC, where the cost of living is 2x what it is in Madrid. I can afford to live indefinitely off 3.5% of my savings in Madrid, but not New York.

So, I have a few days to do some soul-searching and convince myself it’s worth the risk. Thanks for letting me vent.”

Answers

These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:

“Are you 100% committed to moving to Spain? If you’ve got this far with all the required paperwork, you must be pretty sure. And how much notice do you need to give anyway to leave work? Our visa in Manchester came after seven weeks. Good luck with your decision.”

“Just do it! It’s extremely likely you’ll be approved. I was faced with the exact same requirement for the Miami office. I got the signed acceptance of my resignation from my manager and was approved within days. If there is a hitch, you can live in Spain for six months of the year and travel for the rest.”

“I had to show an acceptance of my resignation to Miami.”

“Give it up. You’re not ready to move to Spain yet.”

“Tell them to fire you, and make the jump.”

“My two cents as a retired HR person & an NLV applicant:

1. NY is an ‘at-will’ employment state. With that, I’d say incorporate that in your sworn statement.
2. Here’s the template of the Sworn Statement of Non-Employment we submitted. You can replace the ‘I am not currently employed’ statement with something like this:

‘I am terminating my employment upon receipt of my NLV approval, in accordance with NY State’s “At-will employment” law, where an employee can leave their job at any time, without needing to explain why. I do not have intentions…’

This shows them you’re taking responsibility for the legal consequences if you don’t follow or deviate from their requirements.

Disclaimer: I drafted the above letter while we were with the BLS L.A. Rep., and I asked him to edit it so it would be acceptable to the Spanish Consulate. He edited it, and this was the final letter. Our application now shows ‘Processing at the mission,’ so our waiting angst is now in gear! Good luck!”

“Thanks for this! Unfortunately, this is very close to what I already gave them (and notarized), but apparently every region is different. I’m fuzzy on the distinction, but in NYC, the NLV is through the consulate, not BLS. Maybe that accounts for some of the differences.

Anyway, I’m leaning toward just biting the bullet and informing my boss about my plans sooner rather than later. It’s scary, yes, but I’m confident that this is the right move for me, so I might as well be upfront about it. (I think…luckily, I have the weekend to mull this over).”

“There is nothing preventing you from printing a letter from your employer that states your last work date and then having that letter translated into Spanish.”

“Unfortunately, that is a consulate requirement and not an actual Spanish law requirement. Sucks. Do you have a trusted supervisor with a management title that might sign a letter for you in lieu of HR? That’s what we had.”

“I’m the same, not sure when to hand my notice in, don’t want to leave myself without a job. Overcautious maybe.”

Conclusion

According to Spainguru’s Facebook group members, the New York Spanish consulate often requires a letter from an applicant’s employer confirming their resignation date, even if a sworn statement of non-employment is provided. While some consulates accept a notarized personal statement, others, such as Miami and New York, require official confirmation from HR.

Applicants facing this issue have considered alternatives such as having a trusted supervisor sign a letter, referencing New York’s “at-will employment” law in their sworn statement, or simply notifying their employer earlier than planned. The decision ultimately depends on the applicant’s risk tolerance and commitment to relocating.

The information in this article is based on personal experiences and is not official.

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Answers

These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:

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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