Last Updated on April 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
Getting ready for the Spain Non Lucrative Visa application at BLS in San Francisco. Other than the FBI Report and Marriage Certificate (with the respective apostilles), are there any additional documents that require translations by an approved translator?
Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
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The FBI background check was also sworn translated. I created a one-sheet ‘Financial Statement’ summarizing my assets, and this document, prepared by me in Spanish, was also notarized.”
“I was just sent home with my visa, as they would not accept it because of the beneficiaries listed on my statement. They assumed that the beneficiaries were also on my account. I have to get certified birth certificates and certified ID of each of my beneficiaries, then reapply.”
“I suggest having all your letters translated by a sworn translator. It’s pretty cheap insurance.”
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Explore Cities →“In case you don’t have this yet, we just came back from our L.A. BLS appointment yesterday. They requested a notarized, translated ‘Sworn Letter of Non-Employment’ for our NLV. I put a letter together while there and asked the BLS representative to review and edit it so it’ll pass the requirement.
Just need to get it notarized and translated now while they’re holding our application until we email it back to them.
They also asked for our Letter of Intent/Motivation Letter to be notarized. These are additional documents that were not on the official requirements but were requested at the time of submission.”
“There have been several posts regarding the San Francisco consulate since the switch to BLS. Like those in LA, applicants in SF were also asked for the sworn letter. One member shared an example of the letter, both in English and Spanish.”
Conclusion
According to members of the Spain non lucrative visa community, applicants at the San Francisco consulate should be prepared to have several key documents translated by a sworn translator.
These include the FBI background check, marriage certificate with apostille, and any financial documents that certify the availability of funds.
Additionally, it is recommended to have a sworn letter of non-employment translated and notarized, as well as a financial statement summarizing assets.
While not officially listed in the requirements, several applicants have reported that these documents were requested during their appointment. Ensuring that all necessary documents are properly translated and notarized can help prevent delays in the application process.
Non-Employment letter template for the Spanish non-lucrative visa
SWORN STATEMENT OF NON-EMPLOYMENT
I, [NAME], residing at [CURRENT ADDRESS] hereby declare under penalty of perjury that I am not currently employed and I do not have any intention to seek employment in-person or remotely while residing in Spain. I understand that providing false information on this statement may result in legal consequences.
Signature:
Date:
Notary Public:
All the information in this article is based on personal experience and is not official.
Letter of Intent template
Here’s a template for a general letter of intent.
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