Is the Spanish non-lucrative visa criminal record window 90 days or 6 months?

Six months. All four Spanish consulates in the United States that we read state six months, three of them in exactly those words. The 90-day figure is repeated widely by apostille services but we could not find it published by any Spanish consulate.

Six months from what date, exactly?

From the date the FBI issued the report to the date you submit your visa application. Not to your appointment confirmation date, and not to the date Spain reaches a decision.

Who is allowed to translate it?

A sworn translator, a traductor jurado. Chicago words it as a certified translator and links to an official directory of translators and interpreters. A translation you produce yourself, or an uncertified one, will not be accepted.

Spain NLV: Is the FBI Check Valid 90 Days or 6 Months?

Q: Does the apostille need to be translated into Spanish too?

The Consulate General of Spain in Miami states plainly that the apostille does not need a translation and the translation does not need an apostille. Some services will sell you a translation of the apostille page anyway.

Spain: is the FBI check good for 90 days or six months?

Six months. Every Spanish consulate we read says six months, and none of them says 90 days.

Verified 2026-08-04

The 90-day figure is everywhere. It is on the sites of most apostille couriers, in visa guides, and in a great deal of forum advice. We went looking for the consulate that publishes it and could not find one. What we found instead was four Spanish consulates in the United States, all saying six months.

What each consulate actually publishes

Six months Consulate General of Spain in Miami “Issued within six months prior to the submission of the visa application. The translation does not need an Apostille and the Apostille does not need a translation.” Read 2026-08-04 · source →

Six months Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco “The Criminal record check certificate cannot be issued more than 6 months preceding the submission of the visa application.” Read 2026-08-04 · source →

Six months Consulate General of Spain in Chicago “It cannot be older than 6 months from the application date. The certificates must be translated into Spanish by a certified translator.” Read 2026-08-04 · source →

Six months Consulate General of Spain in New York “The certificate cannot be older than 6 months.” Read 2026-08-04 · source →

Why the wrong number costs you money

If you believe you have 90 days, you will order the FBI report as late as possible, then discover the federal apostille takes about two weeks in person or five or more by mail, then discover a sworn translation takes another week. At that point people pay for rush couriers and expedited channelers to compress a timeline that was never actually tight.

Six months is a comfortable window. It means you can start the moment you have an appointment date, use ordinary mail, and still land well inside it.

Where the 90 days probably comes from

Portugal genuinely does work to a shorter window, commonly published as 90 days, and a great deal of Iberian relocation content treats Spain and Portugal as interchangeable. Some Spanish consulates also apply shorter windows to other document types. Neither makes 90 days correct for the non-lucrative visa criminal record certificate.

Six months from which date

From issue to submission. Miami words it as issued within six months prior to the submission of the visa application. San Francisco words it as not issued more than six months preceding the submission. Your appointment date is not the deadline and the decision date is certainly not.

The translation trap

Apostille first, translate second, and translate only what needs translating. The Miami consulate states directly that the apostille does not need a translation and the translation does not need an apostille. Plenty of services will quote you for translating the apostille page regardless.

Check us

Every quote above links to the page we read, and carries the date we read it. Consulates revise their instructions without notice, so confirm with the post holding your jurisdiction before relying on this. If you find a Spanish consulate publishing 90 days, tell us and we will put it on this page.