Last Updated on April 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
Looking to move to Spain soon on a Spain non lucrative visa. What documents need a sworn translator?
Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
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Start the Moving to Spain Hub →“All documents that are not in Spanish must be translated by a sworn translator registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain. The main ones are criminal record certificates, birth and marriage certificates for dependents.
As for those that prove economic means, such as bank certificates, some consulates accept them partially translated but you would have to verify with your consulate.”
“Marriage certificate and/or birth certificate, for dependents. Police report and apostille. Health certificate, if it isn’t already in Spanish. Some consulates require financial records to be translated, if they aren’t printed in Spanish.
If a letter of intent is required, it needs to be translated. Your health insurance policy should be printed in Spanish. If a lease or home ownership in Spain is required, it should be in Spanish.”
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Explore Cities →“I got mine in LA Consulate and needed sworn translations of:
-Letter of intent
-Apostilled FBI Report
-medical (doctors) certificate, or use template that has English and Spanish translations on it”
“In a not sure about a NLV other members may know, but all our documents could NOT be older than 3 months from the ‘date of issue’. This included our birth certificates ????. If the ‘date of issue’ doesn’t appear on the document that’s fine.
This was very costly after having paid for a registered translator, then having to repeat the process.”
“Most of them. I recommend you do the prep through an immigration lawyer.”
“Here you can find 2 recommended Spanish sworn translators and a self-service sworn translation service with urgent service (48hs/24hs/12hs delivery): https://spainguru.es/sworn-translations-spanish…“
Conclusion
The feedback from the community clearly outlines the need for sworn translations of key documents for the Spain Non Lucrative Visa application.
Required documents typically include criminal record certificates, birth and marriage certificates, and potentially financial records, depending on the specific consulate’s requirements.
Utilizing a sworn translator ensures accuracy and compliance with Spanish Consulate’s legal standards.
The community also suggests considering hiring immigration experts to ensure a smooth application process and possibly avoiding the high costs associated with re-translation if documents are dated.
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