This is the firsthand experience of a Spainguru community member navigating the Spain Non Lucrative Visa process through the Boston Consulate.
If you read the online reviews and various expat sites, one might be nervous about interacting with the Boston Consulate and applying for the Spain Non lucrative visa via the Boston Consulate.
The Boston Consulate operates differently than other Consulates as it relates to scheduling NLV appointments and its accommodations’ requirement. The social media posts were enough to make us concerned as we began our NLV preparation.
Ultimately, our in-person interaction with the Boston Consulate was quite positive and the outcome successful as our NLV Visa was approved quickly. Even so, given the jitters we had at the outset, I thought it might be helpful to outline how we prepared for our Boston Consulate NLV experience.
Overall, it probably took us about 4 months to gather the requisite documentation before we reached out to the Boston Consulate via email to request an appointment. Below is an overview of the steps we took to prepare and then to apply for the NLV as a family of three (two retiring adults and a teen) for an appointment.
Marriage & Birth Certificates
We had to order our marriage certificate and child’s birth certificate from different states and that took time as there was no fast delivery option to select. Upon receipt of these documents, we then mailed these documents to the different states’ Secretary of States to get them apostilled.
Once we received the apostilles in the mail we sent copies to the approved sworn Spanish translator via email to get the translations. Digital sworn translations are permissible so everything was done via email.
FBI fingerprints
Based on comments from others on expat sites, I recognized that this might take some time and we knew these checks could not be older than 6 months by the time we secured a Consulate appointment.
We first went to the post office but the post office fingerprinting was unhelpful because their machines could not capture our finger prints (our daughter is under 18 years old so there was no need to get hers done).
We opted to go to our local police station and they did the fingerprints and then we mailed in both sets to the address provided. It takes longer to get the results when you mail them in than when you do them at the post office.
FBI background check Apostille and Sworn Translations
Upon receipt of our background checks, we engaged a private Apostille service to get our FBI background checks apostilled. They do not do translations for Spain.
It was pricey but we immediately were provided with a date that we’d get the apostilles back. They were right on time and it took maybe 2-3 weeks
We didn’t know it at the time but later we learned that we had to turn these (apostille FBI checks) over to the Boston Consulate before we could get an appointment scheduled.
Sworn translation of our apostilles and documents were done by a Spanish sworn translator. For our purposes, I found her to be professional, fast and reasonably priced. All communications and translations were done via email.
NLV Forms
In order to accurately fill out the NLV documents that we had to turn in, we actually paid for an online guide that walks you step by step how to complete every single line of the NLV forms. I was super nervous and wanted to ensure the forms were 100 % accurate. (The forms were completed accurately according to the Boston Consulate when the time came).
Health Insurance
Obtaining one year approved and paid in full health insurance is required. The first mistake I made was calling a random EU insurance company and that sent me spiraling. Thanks to SpainGuru, I learned that engaging an insurance broker was so much better. All my questions were answered and fears alleviated by talking to different brokers.
Sanitas, DKV, etc are all options….We waited to pay for the insurance in full until we were confirmed to have a Boston Consulate appointment. The health insurance’s one year certificate must be in Spanish when you submit it to Boston.
Accommodations
Boston requires a 3 month lease. We were told “no Airbnb”. We opted to engage “Blueground” in Spain for a 3 month lease. Although Blueground can be pricey we knew it was not a scam because we’d stayed in a very nice Blueground short term apartment in Madrid previously and had a positive experience. The lease provided to the Consulate must be in Spanish.
School
Our daughter is older than “16” so school is not mandatory for her in Spain. Even so, we still did some digging just in case they asked us what we were considering.
Employer Termination Letters
We knew we were retiring but at the time of requesting an appointment we were still working. We had plans to retire at a future date. SpainGuru was helpful in providing a Sample Employment Termination Letter for Spain Non Lucrative Visa Application that my husband and I used to draft for our employers to edit and sign.
HR provided us with letters on company letterhead that confirmed our titles, start date and future termination date; and the letters also stated that we were not intending to consult or work remotely in any capacity once our employment ended. We then had our termination letters translated.
Letters of Intent
We wrote letters in English about our “why” Spain for retirement and then translated them into Spanish. We then had them notarized in both English and Spanish. Here’s a letter of intent template.
Financials
We had our Financial Advisor provide a letter on bank letterhead stating that all of our retirement funds are “readily available” to us. This is to show you have liquidity-another tip I learned from SpainGuru.
We had the Advisor letter translated into Spanish; 3 months of bank statements -not translated; and 3 years of the first two pages of our 1040 tax returns (not translated).
Medical certificates
We found the bilingual medical certificate document online and sent those to our doctors the month before requesting our Consulate appointment. Be mindful that they cannot be older than 3 months old at time of the Consulate appointment.
Proof of New England Residency
Copies of our drivers’ licenses in color, front and back.
Passports
Color copies of our passports’ photo page and signature page on plain white paper background.
Passport Photos
We had photos taken at AAA to be glued on the NLV forms. We waited until our actual appointment to glue them on the forms just in case we had made a mistake. We brought blank forms with us in case an error had been made. I also brought a glue stick with me to the appointment.
Copies of Documents
I kept originals of every single document. When copying apostille documents, do not separate the pages of the apostille.
Compiling Documents
I prepared binders for the three of us and organized the documents based on the order of documentation requested on the Consulate’s webpage. I had all originals and then copies of the originals. I found out later I didn’t need all these copies, but I was too nervous then not to have them with us.
Preparing Our Request for an Appointment
You can only get an appointment after sending an email to the Boston Consulate. There is no BLS or third party. No lawyer or third party can request an appointment for you, which is what we were told.
Given this, we simply modified a version of our letters of intent and sent our email request in Spanish only. We stated that we were seeking appointments for the three of us and gave our reasons for seeking an NLV.
We also mentioned that we would be ready with all required documentation at the appointment. My husband was the primary applicant since he’s older and was retirement eligible sooner. The email was sent from his account.
Securing an Appointment at the Boston Consulate: Lessons Learned
Patience
I had assumed that we would send an email in Spanish requesting an appointment for the three of us and then we would get an appointment set immediately. This was not the case. The first email we sent in February 2025 asked for an April appointment, and we were told, “No, send an email in March for an April appointment.”
We waited until March and sent the nicely worded letter of intent in Spanish asking for an appointment in April.
Consulate’s Response
The first response from the Consulate was, “Please send us copies of your passports.” We did this, and then several days passed. Then we got an email stating that our email—really our modified letter of intent—saying that we would provide the Consulate with notarized letters stating that we would not work while in Spain would not be sufficient.
The Consulate representative made a random comment that Spain has concerns about “fraud” with people working while on the NLV visa, and that was it. The email said nothing else and asked for nothing more. Then it was just silence.
We were confused about how to respond since we had already said we were retiring. We were advised by a third party we had engaged for oversight to take steps to get official employer termination letters prepared and to send those to the Consulate.
This took us several days. We then attached the HR termination letters to the email thread and said, “Per your request, please find our employers’ termination letters.”
Additional Requests
There were some days of more back and forth, asking us to email them the FBI background checks with apostilles. We turned those over. Then the Consulate asked us via email for proof that we live in New England. We sent copies of our driver’s licenses.
Appointment Confirmation
A few days later, we received the email with the date of the appointment—two weeks out—and a request that we confirm we would be there. Hurrah! It took us three and a half weeks overall to get an appointment date scheduled, given the email exchanges. And yes, it was nail-biting, as I was aware that some people were never able to get an appointment.
Please understand that to get an appointment scheduled at the Boston Consulate, the email responses can vary, so know that not all requests will look the same. The goal is to get an appointment before your documents expire.
Day of the Appointment
When we had our appointment in April 2025 there was only one woman handling all NLV requests. As a team of one, looking back at the prior email requests, it seems that perhaps she is trying to determine pre-appointment whether an applicant really is likely to satisfy all the requirements for NLV approval.
It has to be overwhelming for her handling this volume solo. Thankfully, the in-person experience was positive and she (she had a trainee with her) was personable. She kept commenting that we were very prepared and overly qualified, so we took that as a positive sign.
The only nit was the money orders. The website said we needed money orders of $140 (per person) and then another set of money orders of $12 (per person) but in the email she had sent to us, the email said $11 instead of $12. Since the Consulate emails we’d received always were so vague and sometimes looked like form letters we were too nervous to veer away from the website (the emails from the consulate also instructed us to review the website in advance of the appointment) so we brought three money orders for $12.00.
Once we got there she advised us that Spain had changed it to $11.00 but she noted that no one had updated the Boston website. She had to spend time addressing this in the back office so we waited for some time until she worked it out and then it was a non-issue for us.
She gave us our passports to hold on to and advised that we would hear something within one month.
NLV Decision: We received our NLV visa approval in just 9 business days (she sent an email saying the visas were approved for our family), and then we drove back to the Consulate the following week to bring in our passports so she could add the visas to our passports.
We are thankful we made it through the Boston Consulate experience, grateful for the support and so excited to begin our new adventure!!
Disclaimer:
This content is based on personal experiences and community insights. It does not constitute legal advice. For personalized guidance, consult a qualified immigration lawyer.
