With many non-lucrative visas (NLV) under our belt, here are Upsticks five top tips for a successful application.
Plan your relocation around the visa appointment
While we completely understand that people are keen to relocate to Spain as soon as they possibly can, trying to fit the paperwork deadlines and visa appointment around travel dates that you have cast in stone just doesn’t work. All it does is lead to stress, worry and occasionally, extra costs that are totally avoidable. Even the best laid plans need to have some flexibility built in.
Be prepared to NOT travel to Spain (or anywhere else) while your visa application is being processed. Many Consulates will keep your passport, and you need to remember that any days you spend in Schengen will count towards your 90/180 days quota. While a visa means any time you spend in Spain won’t count, you have to have the visa approved first!
Plan your finances carefully
Timing is everything – get specialist cross border financial planning advice well before you intend to relocate, otherwise you could end up paying out unnecessarily.
Guard your documents carefully
You’ll need a lot of original documents for the visa appointment AND when you arrive in Spain. Make plenty of copies and hand the copies over, not the originals – some Consulates have form for keeping original documents and you’re very unlikely to get them back if you forget to ask at the time.
It’s also well worth saving digital copies in the cloud so you can access them anywhere and try to take the best quality copies you possibly can. This article has some great tips and tricks to help you.
Over-deliver on the requirements for the visa application
This might sound obvious, but the devil is in the details, and there are some very specific requirements for a visa application. Make sure your apostilles are from the FCDO and nowhere else and that they are affixed to the ORIGINAL documents, not a notarized copy, as this won’t be accepted.
Demonstrate that you have more than the minimum financial requirements for your application – if you rely on the exchange rate to get you over the line, your application could be questioned or rejected.
Don’t cut corners on translations, these have to be done by a sworn translator registered with the Consulate – anyone else (no matter how accurate their translation skills) will not be accepted.
Be committed to making a new life in Spain
A non-lucrative visa is not a way around the 90/180 day Schengen rules (the only visa that will do that is a Golden Visa). The initial application should be part of a five-year plan to emigrate to a different country with all that entails – learning the language, financial planning and paying taxes, joining in the social life, bringing up your children or growing old (dis)gracefully.
No, you can’t carry on using the NHS for free (worth remembering that Spanish healthcare is some of the best in the world); yes, your time outside Spain is limited for the first five years (10 months total) but that does mean there’s lots of time to explore this wonderful country.
Of course, if you just fancy taking a year out for whatever reason, then that’s absolutely fine; however, emigration is a BIG deal and not a decision to be taken lightly.
Talk to the experts
Upsticks are proud of our track record of success with visa applications, and we are always upfront honest with our clients about the exact requirements.
We’ll be delighted to help with your non-lucrative visa application, but if we don’t believe that a visa is right for you, then we’ll tell you.
For a free consultation and to find out more about our NLV service, Book a Call and we’ll be happy to help.
The information in this article was current on the date published.
Article last reviewed/updated 05.08.2022