Last Updated on June 12, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
This article is based on a real firsthand experience shared by a Spainguru community member who applied for the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco process as a family in April 2026. It documents a family of four completing four separate appointments at the San Francisco BLS office, and it focuses on the document nuances that matter when dependents, an infant, and a toddler are part of the application.
Firsthand Experience: Spain Non Lucrative Visa San Francisco for Families
The following is the applicant’s own account of the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco process, lightly edited for length and to remove identifying details. The voice and structure are preserved.
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Start the Moving to Spain Hub →Getting the family reservation was the first battle. The process of securing a Non-Lucrative Visa at the San Francisco BLS office began with a persistent search for an appointment. After checking the portal every 5-10 times a day for weeks, a random assortment of appointments opened on the 4th of the month at 1am until 3am that morning.
I scheduled all four as individual prime-time appointments for my family over the course of those two hours, and I had significant website issues. Appointments were taken, appointments were not taken, random website errors, booking account issues, everything. As I ran into the gamut of errors, the only advice is don’t give up until all appointments are gone.
Very stressful. One note: be prepared with the 200KB photo, and don’t worry if you upload your spouse’s photo in place of your infant. In the end, I secured appointments over three different days spanning three weeks in April, and my two dependents are an infant and a toddler in a state I no longer live in. I lucked out and just so happened to be in Spain at the time of booking, so the scheduling occurred at breakfast time.
Arrival and the “Dis-Appointment”
Upon arrival at the building, security directed us to the floor housing the Spain BLS office. The office was efficient; we were greeted immediately and checked against the appointment list. We arrived at 8am for our first set of two appointments at 8:30am and 9:30am. I let the employee know upfront that I had four appointments over three weeks with two young children, and I’d like to get as much done as possible in one day.
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Explore Cities →The same staff member who checked us in handled both of our appointments. She immediately confirmed that we were NOT able to complete additional appointments, and she could only complete the two we had for the day – the baby and myself. She also mentioned that she would hold all applications and submit the entire package at the end of the fourth appointment.
The Forms: EX-01, 790, and the Family Detail
She requested the appointment letter first. Then she requested the application, the photo, EX-01, and the 790 form. For EX-01, my attorney gave us the 2011 version with 3 sections on the front. Make sure to have the 2024 version with 4 sections on the front. She gave us updated forms to complete by hand.
Dependents have to fill out all four sections, while the primary applicant and spouse do not have to complete all four sections. As for the 790 form, the directions explicitly say that if you do not have a Spain address, write the US address. The BLS employee made us redo the form and put the city and province we intend to live in. My attorney noted this afterward, so it will be interesting to see where it lands. The photo was printed and collected in European size (35 x 45 mm).
Most of the items that required a signature needed the signature of both parents, like the application forms and the disclaimer.
Financial Documents, Taxes, and Insurance
The BLS employee asked for financial documents. We provided a stamped and signed 12-month bank letter. She also asked for the last three months of financials and whatever else we wanted to submit. I provided the last three months plus December statements from 2025 and 2024.
For taxes, I submitted the 1040 transcript from the IRS website – 2024, 2023, and 2022, printed in English and in Spanish. That was my favorite part of the appointment, because that was 50+ pages I didn’t have to carry around anymore.
Health insurance was through Sanitas. There are multiple requirements here; make sure they are all included in your health plan. I also asked whether the full year needs to be paid upfront. Some said no, but the overriding response was yes. I had general and specific conditions printed for my plan – another 50+ pages my attorney recommended having on hand just in case. If you want to compare what qualifies, the dedicated health insurance for Spanish visas resource walks through accepted policies for the NLV.
Civil Documents, FBI Check, and Payment
Marriage certificate: I drove to Sacramento to apostille two original certificates and had them sworn-translated, printed in color and black and white. All she collected was a color copy of the sworn translation, which already contained photocopies of the apostille and marriage certificate. I still feel like the consulate may want the originals, but we will see in the next appointments.
Birth certificate: they took my sworn translation with the certificate copy and apostille. They did not take my original birth certificate. For passport and proof of residency, she checked my ID, took color copies of the passport and ID to prove residency, and took my US passport.
Letter of intent: it was my understanding the letter of intent is optional while the self-affidavit is required. I had a letter of intent notarized in English and an AI-translated Spanish version, also notarized, plus the self-affidavit stating I will not work. As I am self-employed, I had no resignation letter. The affidavit, written by my attorney, was notarized, apostilled, and sworn-translated.
FBI background check: this was straightforward and can be done in a few weeks by providers in Washington DC who can apostille in person on your behalf, which cuts the wait time significantly. For US citizens, the consulate fee is $153 paid by money order. I got mine from Chase. The Walgreens/Western Union and USPS across the street from SF BLS are no longer options for the money order; a money order from your bank is easy to obtain. The miscellaneous BLS fee of $20 was paid by debit card.
Here you can find Spainguru’s recommended NLV related services: https://spainguru.es/services-for-spanish-visas/
What Was Collected for the Dependents
For my child’s appointment, I had a hunch more should have been collected, because the parents’ birth and marriage certificates were not taken. I offered them multiple times. Here is what BLS did collect for the dependent:
- Appointment letter (with the wrong photo)
- Application, EX-01, 790 form, photo
- Proof of residency (passport copy)
- Passport original
- Bank letter – 12-month average, stamped and signed
- Bank statements – 3 months
- Birth certificate original + copy, plus sworn translation of the marriage certificate (translation included a photocopy of the certificate and apostille)
- Health statement, health insurance letter in English + Spanish
- Disclaimer form, money order $153, BLS fee $20 by debit card
What they did NOT collect: parents’ birth certificates (original), parents’ marriage certificate (original), tax documents, and bank statements beyond three months. Not collected and not required at the dependent appointment: FBI check, letter of intent, and self-affidavit.
I brought my dependents hoping to submit the remaining applicants, but I had to return. After the appointment I confirmed by email that I did not have to bring the dependents again – my spouse and I could represent the remaining dependent. Day 2, for the second dependent, collected the same documents with the same representative, and again no parents’ originals. Day 3, for the spouse, finally collected the original marriage certificate with apostille and sworn translation, all financial documents again, the self-affidavit, the letter of intent in both languages, and the FBI check with apostille and sworn translation. No original birth certificates were submitted for the primary or spouse.
After 2.5 weeks of appointments and three trips to a city 800 miles away with dependents, our family application was officially submitted from BLS to the Spanish Consulate, confirmed by text notification.
Join Spainguru’s Spain Non Lucrative Visa Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spanishnlv
Spain Non Lucrative Visa San Francisco: What This Experience Reveals
One family’s Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco account is most useful when you pull out the patterns. The Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco experience above surfaces several nuances that family applicants in particular should plan around.
Document Requirements: Which Civil Documents Belong to Whom
A key clarification from the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco discussion is that birth certificates are tied to the minor dependents, and the marriage certificate is tied to the spouse – not to the primary applicant. That explains why the primary’s appointment did not absorb the parents’ originals. Family applicants should map each civil document to the specific applicant it supports:
- Minor dependents: their own birth certificate (apostilled and sworn-translated).
- Spouse: the marriage certificate (original, apostilled, sworn-translated) was ultimately collected at the spouse appointment.
- Primary applicant: no original birth certificate was taken; the sworn translation with embedded copies was accepted.
The EX-01 Form Trap for Families
For the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco, this case shows the importance of form versions. An outdated 2011 EX-01 with three sections was rejected in favor of the 2024 version with four sections. The family-specific nuance: dependents had to complete all four sections, while the primary and spouse did not. Bringing the current form, pre-filled correctly per applicant type, avoids redoing paperwork by hand at the counter.
Tax Returns and Bank History: What Was Actually Requested
The applicant submitted three years of IRS 1040 transcripts (2024, 2023, 2022) in English and Spanish, a stamped 12-month bank letter, and three months of statements plus voluntary extras. Notably, tax documents and statements beyond three months were not collected at the dependent appointments – they were attached to the primary and spouse packages. This indicates the financial backbone of a family application rides on the adult applicants, not the children.
Health Insurance for a Family Application
Health insurance through Sanitas had to meet multiple conditions, and the consensus the applicant heard was that the full year is paid upfront. For a Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco family file, each applicant, including the infant and toddler, needed a qualifying policy with a letter in English and Spanish. A particularly important nuance is having the full general and specific conditions printed, as an attorney recommended.
The 790 Form Address Question
Although the 790 instructions say to use a US address when you lack a Spanish one, the BLS employee required the intended Spanish city and province. This contrasts with the printed guidance and shows that on-the-day instructions at this office can override the form’s own directions. Family applicants should be ready to state where they intend to live.
Payment and Photo Logistics
For the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco, the $153 consulate money order is best obtained from a major bank; the nearby USPS and Walgreens/Western Union were no longer options for this applicant. The $20 BLS fee was payable by debit card. Photos were collected in European size (35 x 45 mm) at 200KB for the online upload. For a broader walkthrough of how the visa works, the Spain Non-Lucrative Visa guide and the dedicated non-lucrative visa deep-dive site are useful next reads.
Spain Non Lucrative Visa San Francisco: Appointment Booking Challenges
Booking is widely described as the hardest part of the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco process. In this case the applicant checked the portal 5-10 times a day for weeks before a batch opened unexpectedly between 1am and 3am on the 4th of the month.
- Slots tend to appear around the end and beginning of the month – this family’s release landed on the 4th.
- Reports vary on timing: some applicants saw releases near 6am that were gone by 6:30am, while this family caught a 1-3am window.
- Expect website errors, account glitches, and slots that vanish mid-booking – keep trying until every slot is gone.
- For a family, each member typically needs an individual appointment, so you may be booking several slots back-to-back across different days.
Spain Non Lucrative Visa San Francisco: Processing and Submission Timeline
For this Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco family, the bottleneck was not consular processing but spacing the appointments. The four appointments spanned roughly 2.5 weeks across three trips, and BLS held the entire package until the final appointment before submitting it to the Spanish Consulate. The applicant received a text notification once the family file was forwarded. Standard NLV decision times after submission still apply and vary by consulate, so families should plan for additional weeks after the package leaves BLS.
Comments from Other Spainguru Community Members
The discussion generated several valuable insights from other applicants:
- Birth certificates pertain only to minor dependents, and the marriage certificate pertains only to the spouse, not the primary applicant.
- One commenter who applied at San Francisco in February reported using a USPS money order without a problem, which conflicts with the applicant’s 2026 experience that USPS is no longer accepted – confirming rules shift and vary by date.
- The national visa application, the EX-01, and the 790 form were all submitted together with the appointment letter.
- Ensure the EX-01 is the current four-section version; the older three-section form is outdated.
- For dependents, the applicant believed all four EX-01 sections must be completed.
- Several applicants confirmed making appointment-checking a near-daily routine, with releases around the end of March catching people who watched closely.
- Even two-adult couples with back-to-back appointments found the detailed family breakdown reassuring for preparation.
The thread reinforces that requirements and accepted payment methods vary across BLS dates and consulates, so always verify current rules before your appointment.
Non-Lucrative Visa Health Insurance Resources
- Health Insurance for Spanish Visas – requirements, costs, and which policies qualify for the NLV.
- Spainguru health insurance hub – overview of NLV, DNV, and student visa insurance needs.
- Adeslas vs Sanitas vs DKV – side-by-side comparison of the most common providers for visa applicants.
FAQ: Spain Non Lucrative Visa San Francisco
What documents are required for the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco appointment?
For the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco appointment, this family submitted the appointment letter, national visa application, current EX-01, 790 form, European-size photo, passport and copy, proof of residency, IRS tax transcripts, a 12-month bank letter, three months of statements, qualifying health insurance with English and Spanish letters, civil documents with apostille and sworn translation, the self-affidavit, an FBI check, and the fees. Exact requests can vary by applicant and date.
Which family members need birth or marriage certificates?
Per the consensus in this thread, birth certificates correspond to the minor dependents and the marriage certificate corresponds to the spouse. The primary applicant’s original birth certificate was not collected; a sworn translation with embedded copies was accepted.
Which EX-01 version should families use?
Use the 2024 EX-01 with four sections, not the older 2011 three-section form. In this case dependents had to complete all four sections, while the primary applicant and spouse did not need to complete all of them.
Do dependents need to attend the appointment in person?
This applicant brought the children initially, but after the first appointment confirmed by email that the dependents did not need to return. The parents represented the remaining dependent at later appointments.
How many months of bank statements are required?
The BLS employee requested the last three months of statements plus a stamped 12-month bank letter. The applicant voluntarily added older monthly statements, but only three months were strictly requested.
How do you pay the fees at San Francisco BLS?
The $153 consulate fee was paid by money order obtained from a major bank, as nearby USPS and Walgreens/Western Union were no longer options for this applicant. The separate $20 BLS fee was paid by debit card.
How hard is it to get an appointment for the Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco?
Very hard. This family checked the portal 5-10 times a day for weeks before slots opened unexpectedly between 1am and 3am near the start of the month. Reports of release times vary, so frequent checking around month-end and month-start is the practical strategy.
Does health insurance need to be paid for the full year upfront?
The overriding response the applicant heard was yes, the full year is paid upfront, and the policy must include all required conditions for each family member. Always confirm the specifics with your provider and the consulate.
Can I work remotely on the Spain non lucrative visa?
No. The Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco, like the NLV everywhere, does not permit working. This applicant, who is self-employed, submitted a self-affidavit stating they will not work in Spain instead of a resignation letter.
How long does the family submission take at BLS?
For this Spain non lucrative visa San Francisco family, the four appointments spanned about 2.5 weeks across three trips, and BLS held the full package until the last appointment before forwarding it to the Spanish Consulate. Standard consular decision times then apply on top of that.
If you are coordinating a household move alongside the application, the Moving to Spain guide covers the broader planning steps, and families with school-age children can review schooling options in the Spainguru education hub.
This article is based on the contributions and experiences of Spainguru community members and is no legal advice. Consider consulting a legal expert for personalized guidance. Consult expert immigration lawyers here: https://spainguru.es/services-for-spanish-visas/
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