Spain non lucrative visa: Is apostille or notarization required for SSA benefits letters?

Question

“For Spain non lucrative visa SSA Benefits Letter in Los Angeles or other consulates.. did you get this apostilled, notarized and/or officially translated? thanks!”

Answers

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

“BLS Houston in March, sworn translation submitted with the original copy with no translation stamp on the original. Visa approved.”

“I got mine officially translated.”

“Hi! My parents just had their appointment in LA yesterday – letter was translated and we used Google translate!”

“In LA, we had ours officially translated, no apostille, no notary. That is what we gave them and they took without question.”

“I only officially translated mine.”

“Miami BLS – Plain SSA letter no translation, notarized or apostille necessary.”

“Apostille is actually not even possible on SSA or VA letters as they are not wet signed. We tried every approach to get it done because we thought we needed it. They refuse to do it. But luckily it’s not needed.”

Conclusion

According to Spainguru’s Facebook group members, the requirements for SSA benefits letters vary slightly depending on the consulate. For the Los Angeles consulate, an official translation appears to be sufficient—no notarization or apostille is required.

Some applicants even reported success using Google Translate.

In other locations like Houston, a sworn translation was accepted without an apostille or notarization. Meanwhile, at the Miami consulate, the plain SSA letter was accepted as-is. It’s also worth noting that SSA and VA letters generally cannot be apostilled because they lack a wet signature.

Applicants should follow their specific consulate’s guidance, but in general, a professional translation should be adequate.

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