This firsthand experience details the Spain Non Lucrative Visa process at the Los Angeles consulate, offering insights into requirements, documents, and practical tips.
“I’d like to share with everyone my experience on Wednesday -April 30th 2025- with BLS in Los Angeles.
My appointment was at 11:30am. There were a lot of people waiting. To my surprise, the office interviewed for visas for Spain, Germany, and Slovakia.
I had with me so many documents (doubles and even triples of everything). Everything was ordered in the manner the documents are listed on the consulate website.
I had lightly pasted my photo onto my application but panicked in the end and removed it because the BLS website has two different sizes listed (??). I even took with me glue and scissors.
The gentleman who finally called my name at 12:20 was pleasant but not overly friendly. He was efficient. He first asked for my application, passport, and photo. He took the photo (uncropped) and pasted it to my application. He used only the photo page from my passport printouts.
He took my bank statements (two copies) but never asked for the checking and savings accounts where I direct deposit my SS and pension (so I didn’t offer). Apparently, my savings and TIAA-CREF were sufficient. He took (and required) 3 years of tax returns (I only had one copy of those.)
I can’t remember if he took one or two copies of my notarized affidavit of non-working. (Here’s an example or Template of Non-working letter)
He took my statement saying I would live with my daughter (my plan is to get an apartment but I wanted to have an address in Valencia). My daughter had sent a signed statement saying I would live with her with a copy of their padrón. He didn’t ask for any such document.
He never asked for my Social Security statement or pension statement, but I offered those and he took them. He also asked for a statement on why I was moving to Spain—two copies, I think.
I’m fairly certain he took two copies (original and copy) of my apostilled criminal record and medical form.
There was an error on my 790; it was filled in with my current address but needed my Spanish address. I panicked, but he just used white-out and made the correction on both copies. It wasn’t a problem.
Finally, he asked for the fee. I said I had a money order for both fees—$151.00 (as stated on the website somewhere?)—and he said that was fine. He asked me when I intended to go to Spain and I told him July 1. He said that my 90 days would start from there. (I would assume if you aren’t sure, give them a date farther out).
Then he told me they had 3 months to process the visa but I would probably hear from them within a month. At that point, I could pick up my visa Monday to Friday between 3:00 and 4:00. (Really??) I was informed that for an additional $38 (OMG) I could come between 9:00 and 4:00 (and of course since LA is 2.5 hours away, I made the ridiculous payment.)
I think the whole “interview” took about 20 minutes. Just over-prepare (and hopefully you can carry all the papers lol). And good luck!”
Questions and Answers
Q1: Do I need to submit months of bank statements if I’m relying on investment income?
A1: It seems that some consulates accept a letter from your investment advisor confirming accessible funds, ideally translated. One user shared that Boston BLS accepted 3 months of bank statements plus a letter from their advisor (translated) affirming the funds were available.
Q2: Do I need to submit medical history documents (labs, x-rays, etc.)?
A2: No, only the required Spanish health insurance was submitted and accepted.
Q3: Do all application documents require copies? What about the marriage certificate and FBI check?
A3: Make duplicates of your documents just in case. The bank statements and three years of income tax returns were both copied and submitted. The FBI background check was apostilled and translated.
Social Security statements were translated but not apostilled. The marriage certificate was not specifically mentioned, but always best to follow your consulate’s checklist.
Q4: How many years of tax returns are required at the Los Angeles BLS?
A4: Three years were submitted and accepted.
Q5: Was proof of accommodation required?
A5: A letter stating she would stay with her daughter, including the address, was submitted. Although a signed letter and padrón copy were also available, only the printed statement with the address was taken.
Q6: How can I get the Form 790? Was it required?
A6: Yes, Form 790 is required. It was downloadable, and a printed version was accepted. Note: The consulate corrected an address error using white-out.
Q7: Was the disclaimer form required?
A7: The only notarized form required was the affidavit of non-working status.
Q8: What kind of health insurance is acceptable—touristic or long-term?
A8: A long-term health insurance policy is required. A short-term travel policy would not suffice.
Comments
“We were at LA on 4/21 2025, similar experience (ours took over an hour but there were 2 of us). We had tons of documents (backpacks!) and glue and scissors. We had 2–3 copies of everything. He didn’t ask for everything. Better to have more than less.”
“He only wanted the passport’s photo page. We had 12 months of statements, they only wanted 3. One mistake in a translation was fixed next day and emailed. Stressful but manageable.”
“We also paid extra to pick up during regular hours. He didn’t ask when we’d arrive in Spain, but we emailed it later.”
“I might advise not arriving in Spain until a few days into July. If you are there less than 183 days, you won’t be a 2025 tax resident. We are shooting for July 6 for that reason.”
“Very helpful! I’ll be using LA BLS and I’m also more than two hours away. This helps a lot.”
“The BLS office language seemed to imply confidence—more like ‘when’ you get the visa rather than ‘if’.”
Conclusion
Applying for the Spain Non Lucrative Visa through the Los Angeles Consulate appears to be a fairly efficient but detail-sensitive process. Key takeaways include:
- Over-prepare with multiple copies of all documents—even if some are not used.
- Three years of tax returns and proof of funds (savings or investments) were critical.
- Notarized affidavit of non-working status was required.
- Apostilles and sworn translations were needed for specific documents like FBI background checks. You can find recommended sworn translators here.
- You may need to correct forms onsite—this was handled without issue.
- An additional fee allows for more flexible visa pickup times.
- Be aware of potential tax implications based on your arrival date in Spain.
