Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:21am
Hi, We applied and received our NLV last year, we did it ourselves as like you, we considered using a Spanish Solicitor and discovered that firstly it was expensive and they would not cap their potential costs, secondly most of the stuff you need is in the UK and you have to apply for it in person anyway.
We found a decent translator in the UK and a reasonable price. If you carefully follow the requirements on the Spanish website it is straightforward but like every experience you will have in Spain, extremely bureaucratic, no point in filling out one form when you can fill out 10..
A couple of pointers: If you live in the London based Spanish Consulate area, they are very busy and you could wait months for an appointment, the Manchester based Consulate is much quicker and I think, more engaging.
When you apply for your criminal record check, also get your GPs letter (worded as it states on the Consulate website) and any other documents with a signature, verified at the foreign office.
There is a time frame to the procedure, so once you start, you will need to continue but allow 3 months and everything should be fine.
It will be worthwhile opening a Spanish bank account and if possible have funds put in it, to cover the requirements, I think between 33-35,000 euros, it will save a lot of hasle with the UK bank statements however if you do buy a property, the price you pay is taken into consideration, we presented our deeds at the Consulate and they appeared to almost disregard (not totally but as we also had pension statemrnts) the bank statements.
Of you want more info, please private message me, I do not mind having a telephone conversation if that helps.