Question
I am in the ultimate last stages of my Spain Non Lucrative Visa in New York. I have 7 more business days to submit the following: last three years of taxes and 9325’s translated by a sworn translator.
Do I fork out the $$$money to get every page translated for my taxes for 2021, 2022, 2023 or is there an acceptable alternative to save some money but still be accepted?
I saw somewhere that someone submitted 1040’s (just the first two pages) in Spanish and it was fine but I’m scared to take the risk this far into the process.
Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
“Keep in mind that whom you see at the consulate also determines what is asked for. We also used NYC in October 2024. We arrived with 3 years of 1040 forms, in English. At our appointment, the person that attended us requested every additional schedule we filed, plus the 1040s in both languages.
She then gave us 10 days to return with the documents or our application would be ‘closed’. Because we had to expedite our request to meet the deadline, the translation cost doubled. My husband downloaded the Spanish 1040 and one other schedule for each year. That saved us about 1/3 of the cost.
We still paid over $5,000.
Since you don’t know whom you will be assigned to at the consulate, I strongly encourage you to get three years of tax forms translated before your appointment, or risk getting a consulate employee who requests they be translated on short notice.
Good luck. I hope all goes smoothly for you. PS: here’s the kicker: I am an interpreter/translator, but I cannot translate my own documents for official purposes.”
“I agree with getting the Spanish version of the 1040s and transferring the information. I had my appointment in December and they accepted it. I got the 9325s officially translated. You can PM if you want info on the translator I used; she was fast and helpful in answering questions promptly.”
“I downloaded 1040 forms in Spanish and typed all the info from the English forms. 0 translator expense.”
“I applied in NYC and all went well. Get the 9325s officially translated… the first 2 pages of 1040s are what you need. Submit English and transfer the info to the 1040 official Spanish form.”
“I very recently submitted all NLV docs to the NYC consulate; here is what I did and they accepted them:
- 1040 form – first 2 pages for each year, downloaded from IRS site the 2021, 2022, 2023 tax form Spanish templates, filled those out on your own. They accepted them, no need for sworn translation.
- 9325 form – one page per tax year. I had this sworn translation, total of just 3 pages. I saw in another post that they did it, and so did I just to be very safe. Hope this helps.”
“I only gave one year of my income tax. I brought the English one, printed out a blank Spanish one, and filled it out. I only gave the first two pages. That was for Los Angeles.”
“We translated the 9325s but not the 1040. We were approved.”
“I did mine NLV in New York. I spent money on translating and it was not necessary at all.”
“I also read they don’t need all the tax schedule attachments since they are just verifying income. Could depend on the office.”
“You don’t need to have them translated. What consulate are you using? I used Miami and that was not a requirement.”
Here are Spainguru’s recommended Sworn translators.
Conclusion
Applying for the Spain Non-Lucrative Visa at the New York Consulate involves careful preparation, especially regarding the submission of tax documents
Applicants have shared varied experiences: some were required to provide fully translated tax returns, while others successfully submitted Spanish versions of the 1040 forms without official translations. A common approach includes:
- 1040 Forms: Complete the first two pages using the Spanish templates available from the IRS, potentially avoiding the need for sworn translations.
- Form 9325: Obtain sworn translations for these forms, as they confirm tax return acceptance.
Given the inconsistencies in requirements, it’s advisable to prepare both English and Spanish versions of your tax documents. Consulting directly with the New York Consulate or recent applicants can provide the most current guidance.
Join our community!
Make sure to join our dedicated Spanish Non Lucrative Visa group here!
