financial documents for NLV visa application

@wavery93953 Hello Caroline,

Welcome on board !

Please note that I have created a new thread from your post on the Spain forum so that members can share their feedback.

All the best

Bhavna

@wavery93953

They won't ask, and you won't tell. They're not interested in your net worth, or your various obligations in the form of health insurance, spousal/child support, mortgages, loans, and Netflix subscriptions. It's not like an interview with your bank manager. :-)

What you have to show is that you have the necessary PASSIVE income (= rent, dividends, pensions, etc.) of approximately 2,500 euros per month (400% of IPREM, if you want exact numbers). OR, you have, AT THIS MOMENT, savings in your account equivalent to a year of this income (i.e. 2.5k x 12 = 30k euros).

And you must have proper health insurance for Spain with zero deductible, this is a biggie too. And a criminal record certificate.

The consular office just wants to check the boxes that you are (a) of good character, and (b) you have health insurance (so you won't be a burden on Spain if you get sick), and (c) you have money to pay your living costs while in Spain (and won't be a burden on Spain because you can't afford your rent or to buy food).

That's about it. A lot easier than many folks seem to imagine. Good luck!

Separately, why only 6 months? It's quite a lot of work for a relatively short visit... and you can do visa- (and aggravation-) free for 3 in 6 months. :-)

Gwynj, Thanks for your reply.  I am checking out Spain for 6 months to see if it fits with my life style.  ( I'm not completely ready to leave my grandchildren in the U.S.). I read the Spanish consulate in Los Angeles asks about mortgages and will deny the visa automatically.  I believe I must go to this particular consulate.

@wavery93953 I have just done my NLV I had to prove I had funds for a year, I guess so long as you have funds to cover the mortgage and for rent and living expenses in Spain you should be ok, But email the consulate and pose the question.

@wavery93953

OK, my bad. :-) If they have a specific requirement, then that's a different issue. But I've never heard of this, and it does not seem to be in line with the official Spanish immigration guidelines. But it's hard to argue with consular officers. :-) Even if they do have such a requirement, I can't see why it would be an automatic denial for having a mortgage. It seems to me that you'd just need to show you have more income/savings to cover both your living costs and your mortgage (i.e. the 400% of IPREM + your monthly mortgage payment).

I totally get that it's best to check out a country before you make big plans, but if it's a purely exploratory trip, I'd suggest you consider the 90 in 180 visa-free allowance, and simply make one or two visits this way. In my purely personal experience, it's pretty clear whether somewhere sucks within a few days. :-) Certainly, you can do an awful lot in a full 3 months... and visa applications are always such a rigmarole (and often an expensive one) so it might be nice to avoid the hassle until you're a bit more committed to the relocation idea.

The type of visa dictates the rule.

We just obtained our NLV through the San Francisco consulate.  According to the requirements for the NLV that we have read, one cannot have a debt and obtain the visa.

I agree that for a 6 month stay you might want to try a different approach.  The NLV is for one year and can be renewed.

Best of luck to you.

It's quite interesting to contrast the official Spanish immigration guidance here:

https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/w/autorizacion-inicial-de-residencia-temporal-no-lucrativa

And the implementation in the San Francisco Spanish Consulate as found here:

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/sanfrancisco/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/Visado-de-residencia-no-lucrativa.aspx

You can see that the San Francisco version has additional conditions including an affidavit that you won't work, and a prohibition on debt/mortgages as follows: "Residency applicants cannot have/leave loans or mortgages in the United States when applying for residency in Spain."

That seems rather onerous to me, and I'm confident in stating that it's not the general condition, and there are likely many NLV holders who still retain a home (and a mortgage) outside Spain.

For further contrast, here's the page for the Spanish Embassy in Washington DC:

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/washington/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/Visado-de-residencia-no-lucrativa.aspx

This is in line with the Spain government immigration guidance, and makes no mention of an affidavit or prohibition on debt.

So it seems to me you can perhaps figure out a way to apply at a friendlier location. Or, I'm curious what happens if you merely don't mention any of your loans/mortgages, as the application forms are pretty standard and don't include (a) a question asking you to declare whether or not you have debts, or (b) a question asking for your US social security number (which would potentially allow them to pull a credit report and check your debt situation).