#96 Moving to Spain on the Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV)? Hear Vicki’s Story, Timeline + Essential Tips

Thinking about moving to Spain on the non-lucrative visa (NLV)?

In this episode, Sandra sits down with WL Costa Properties client Vicki Owen, who has just completed the full UK → Spain NLV process while juggling a wedding, a house sale and a relocation to Benalmádena on the Costa del Sol.

She walks us through the paperwork, the costs, the three-month wait with no passport, and the emotional side of surrendering to a process you can’t control, plus why despite everything, she’d still do it again.

You’ll learn:

• Who the Spain non-lucrative visa really suits and why it was Vicki’s only viable route.
• How long the process actually took from first documents to visa approval.
• The real upfront costs: private healthcare, legal help, translations, apostilles and more.
• How a Spanish lawyer helped navigate BLS requests and consulate curveballs.
• Why Vicki and her husband chose Benalmádena for long-term life on the Costa del Sol.
  
  

For serious relocators and buyers, this is a real life look at what it takes to secure Spanish residency, plan your move and position yourself to buy property confidently on the Costa del Sol.

Book a complimentary consultation with WL Costa Properties:

https://calendly.com/wlcostaproperties/property-consultation?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=consult_call

Resources:

📘 Download our Buyer’s Guide (costs, legal checks, timelines & more):
 https://wlcostaproperties.net/our-comprehensive-digital-course/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=buyers_roadmap

📩 Email our team: info@wlcostaproperties.net

📱 Call / WhatsApp: +34 602 42 89 28

📍 Visit our office:
 Avenida Bonanza Local 21, Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmádena, Málaga
 Walk-ins: 10am–2pm | After 2pm by appointment

Want to simply keep in the loop about life in Spain?

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Related Episode

#78 Brexit, Visas & Red Tape: Is It Still Easy for Brits to Relocate to Spain?

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Transcript

0:49

Welcome back to the WL Costa Properties YouTube channel. Now, if you're thinking about moving to Spain on the non lucrative visa, you're in the right place. We are joined today by our lovely client, Vicki, who has just successfully come through the entire NLV process from start to finish. She's going to share what it was really like, what she did differently, and the things that you absolutely will not find out online. Are you ready to get started? Let's go. Welcome, Vicki. How are you today? I'm really well. Thanks Sandra. Thank you for having me in. Thank you for joining us. So a great topic that I'm really excited to dive into with you today, and I'm really pleased that you've been able to free up some of your time to come and chat about this very important topic in more detail, because I know it's going to be incredibly beneficial to those watching and listening at home. But before we go into the embassies and the paperwork and all of the bureaucracy that you've been through over the last number of months, tell our listeners a little bit about you and where your Spanish dream started. Okay. Yeah, no, no. Lovely. Um, so we've been coming out here for probably the last three years. Um, I've got family here, so I've got a cousin and a husband lives in Arro. And, uh, my. Dad's, uh, sister and uh, husband live in the marina. So been out here for a number of years. Um, kind of probably about a year ago we were like, this would be great to retire out here. Mm-hmm. Um, and then we kind of like, well, let's fast forward life short. So why wait until we retire? Let's look at, can we come out early. Um, so we were lucky. We're in a position that. I took early retirement, um, and we'd been able to do that. So yeah, it was just kind of moving our plans forward. It's just a different way of life. Um, you know, 300 days of sunshine and what isn't to like. Um, and we know the area really well. So it was kind of, it was kind of a, a no brainer just to accelerate our plans forward. Amazing. And you guys really are. Action takers, like you're go-getters. So I'm really not surprised that you expedited that decision in the last 12 months. Yeah, well, you wanna do it, you talk about it. Right. So sometimes you talk about it, you never do it. And we were like, yeah, we'll do it. And yeah. You, yeah. Everyone that knows this would, would say the same. We wanna do something. We just do it. Yeah. Um, and that's, and that's what we did. Um. But yeah, you've just gotta have a little bit of patience. But that's the thing, right? Many people, well, for many people, this is a dream. Oh, I'd love to do that one day. But you guys really are action takers and you know, you've really tru yourself into your journey, um, over the last 12 months. Um, and you've had a lot going on while your Spanish journey has been, I suppose. Rolling out. Tell us a little bit about your year, Vicki. Yeah, so, so 2025 was a bit of a whirlwind, so, um, I've been with my partner, well my husband now for 20 odd years, and we accelerated getting married. So, um, we got married in June last year. Uh, so kind of delayed our move out here till everything was in joint name. So kind of that just pushed our process back a little bit. So, yeah, so it's. Been, it was a busy year for us. And then obviously the whole process for the non lucrative visa, um, probably took longer than we expected. Um, and. I think patience is a virtue that I, and I realize I don't have a lot of patience. Um, and it's a very manana situation with the Spanish as my cousin had told me. Um, I didn't believe her, but, um, hey, how I have learn every day's a school day. So, yeah, so last year was busy year for us. Yeah, so let's rewind a little bit'cause she's being modest. So, not only had Vicki and her now husband, Steve decided in the last 12 months that they were going to, you know, expedite their decision to move to Spain. She was planning a wedding, she was getting married, she was selling her home in the uk and she was actively pursuing her property search in Spain. So juggling Manny balls in the air at once, which is, which is really admirable. So, again, again, just, you know, reinforcing that. You made your decision about your move. Yes. And you guys just went all in, which was incredible. Yeah. And, and we weren't dependent and we'd got to the stage where we weren't dependent on the house sale. So you are right. We're selling a house. Um, obviously those that are selling in the uk it's a whole different process than it is in Spain. Um, and. We were third time lucky. Um, so we got to the finishing line many times last year and, and then back, back onto the market. But we'd made that decision that we weren't gonna wait for the house to, to sell how we, we could come out here and do what we wanted to do. And that probably took some pressure off us. Sure. Um, and was, and was a right decision. But obviously. By the time we've got our visa, we were all sold up by the end of the end of 2025. What? A year it's been. So yeah, it has been, yeah. So we were introduced nearly a year ago now by a mutual friend. Yeah. A family member of yours. Yeah. A very good friend of mine. And we always love to, you know, have referrals because they've an understanding of who we are and how we work. So when you were introduced to Spanish real estate, so to speak, what were you expecting from the relationship with your, with your real estate advisor? Because you guys, you are pros at this in the uk, but obviously it works a little bit differently over here, so, so yeah. So look, you know, look, you say we've, uh, in the uk we've done, we do. Do property refurbishments and renovations. So we're kind of, we're quite kind of all a little bit pros to it. So we kind of work, we've always worked with the same, uh, state agents, the same solicitors, the same set of builders. So we knew it was gonna be a little bit different. I think, uh, the whole process is a lot quicker, a little lot smoother, uh, in terms of you can buy property within 60 days. Um, I like the fact that they do their due diligence upfront. Mm. So I think that's really good. In the UK you can. Be eight weeks in. Mm-hmm. And then you find out that there's loads of issues and then you're kind of like, you, you, you, you are so far into that process and it can take, you know, three months, three months plus in the UK to buy property. So, um, and I think it's, I think the thing is it's having that relationship with an estate agent or a real estate, um, for us is really key. So you need to feel, you can trust them that they know what you're looking for. Mm-hmm. Um. We kind of knew what we wanted. Yeah, we'd kind of done our homework. Yeah. We'd been out here probably last year. We were out here eight times prior to moving out. Um, I think we'd probably walked tens of thousands of steps in terms of every row we knew where we wanted or didn't want to be. So we'd kind of narrowed our search window down, which. Which made it easier for us, but probably harder for, for, for you guys. But we knew where we wanted to be and, and so that was kind of, that was kind of a good piece of exercise we'd done. Um, and it's okay looking on new equivalent. So the equivalent of Right move in Spain is ideal lista. Mm-hmm. So you look on there then not great. So they will tell you where something cares and the location could be. 20 streets to, to the left of 20 streets to the right, or not even in that location. Mm-hmm. Whereas in the UK it's really Pacific. Yeah. Um, they don't do floor plans, so you kind of trying to visualize what you're looking for. Um, some of the photography will either do, it, will make it look great, or, or, or will do the house of favor. So, um. So on that side, you, you know, you've just gotta be aware. It's slightly different. Yeah. But I think for us it was, you know, it was, it was a, for us, it was a godsend that, that, that, that Serena had introduced us. Mm-hmm. Um, and we, we'd kind of been speaking to you around what we were looking to do and where we wanted. And our, and our requirement had changed. Has changed, um, or had changed. And we kind of. Opened up and then went back and said, actually, we kind of really want a villa that's kind of that, that's that Spanish dream for us. Yeah. And I don't think it's, and it's not changed and it's just, you know, waiting and finding, but you know, we've noticed over the last year that the property prices have increased. Mm-hmm. Um, don't look like they're going down. No. Um, so yeah, it just, you just gotta be mindful, you know, when's the right time to buy. Absolutely. That's a very important point that you mentioned there. For anyone that's sitting at home watching and is thinking, I'll wait until the next year. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've, I would think probably they've gone up 20% over the last couple of years. So the first time we looked about what the prices were Yeah. Not thinking we were gonna be coming for until we are 60, but obviously we've accelerated that, that that move. Yeah. But. Yeah, I think, and I think what you may want as a holiday home isn't maybe where what you'd want if you were to come out to retire. So I think, you know, if you're thinking that's where you wanna be, then, then, then, you know, look at what's around you. You know, we took some good advice off my auntie and uncle who've been out here 20 plus years is, you know, not that you wanna hear it, you are not getting any younger you wanna be near. Good public transport route near the hospitals, near the shops. You know, you don't want those big hills that you're gonna get. So just look at what your requirements are. Um, and they were really good factors for us. And, and over here you are very much, you, you know, you can use the public transport, it's really, really good. Whereas in the UK it's really hit and miss. Mm-hmm. Whereas here, you know, you don't necessarily need to have a car if you're on really good trans public transport route. Exactly. I think the. That practical advice that you were given. Mm-hmm. It was absolutely very important. But I think to be fair to both you and Steve, your whole search was based around being practical. Yeah. Um, you know, around being close to the transport links, having the ability to walk to, you know, bars and restaurants. Yeah. Um, being close to hospitals, all of these things are so important. Yeah. But again, I think that. Brings us back to why Ben on Madden is such a fantastic location because you have great public transport. Yeah. You have the international hospitals where you can have top class healthcare in English. Um, if you don't want to go and receive your medical care in Spanish, all of those things are open to you, which is not necessarily the case with other locations in towns I know along the coast. So we're blessed here really with having all of that on our doorstep. For sure. Okay, so now I wanna go a little bit more into the visa. Yeah, yeah. The important stuff that we really wanna pick your brain on today. Yeah. Now, for anybody who is watching, who is new to all of this, the non lucrative visa is for anyone that's moving out to Spain, from outside of the EU who's not actually planning to work in Spain. So it's. Passive income is absolutely fine, but active employment isn't. So for you guys personally, if you don't mind me asking, why was this the right visa option for you? So we'd obviously missed out on the golden visa. Mm-hmm. Um, that would've been probably the, you know, the, the, the right, the right route, you know, um, but that, that went in April last year. Mm-hmm. So the options are quite limited to us. Mm-hmm. So, um. Obviously neither of us had had parents that, that were from many of the EU countries, so, um, we couldn't jump onto that. So you can go if you've, you've got grandparents and things like that. So that, that was kind of an out for us. Um, so we weren't on a nomad, we weren't on a working visa, so it was really the. It was just the non lucrative. Mm-hmm. Um, and the, the, the criteria is quite strict, as you've said, in terms of its passive income, it's proof of that income, be it savings, be it rental, be it reti, um, pensions. Yeah. Um, that was kind of the only opening that, that, that was, that was available for us. Okay. So that was the option that you went forward with? Yeah. Okay. So let's talk about the actual visa process itself. So, you know. The last time we spoke in the office, uh, you guys were going back to the UK to prepare to surrender your passport. Yeah. So where do you think it's a good place to start with talking through the NLV process? Do you wanna go right back to the beginning? So, I'm happy, I'm happy to talk it first. The floor is yours. Yeah. So, um. Obviously for us, we chose the route of employing a Spanish lawyer to help us with our paperwork. And we just thought that actually going that route, rather than going to a lawyer in the UK was that if we needed anything in Spanish, they could help us. And we'd obviously been introduced to, to Raffa. Mm-hmm. Um, and his law practice here. So it kind of, it kind of linked in well with that. Um, and we'd kind of. Spoken to them about what was involved. So we used a lawyer, Spanish lawyer here, uh, there are other route. Mm-hmm. Um, to do it. Um, but they helped us prepare all our paperwork. So you, there's, there's quite a strict criteria in terms of what you want to do. The Spanish consulate website will show you what you need to do. A lot of the paperwork is in Spanish, which was, which was, you know, we don't speak Spanish. Yeah. So, um, they helped us prepare it. So there's like a form. Ex one, there's a, a residence form and paperwork like that. So you need to prepare that. Then they, they have, uh, a guidance in terms of all the paperwork that you need to have. So you need to have those completed. You need to have proof of your income. Mm-hmm. Um, so you then have to decide if you're gonna go on a Visa application in your own name, equal and a joint. Okay. So Steve and I cho chose the joint route. We could have done it singly, but we chose the joint route. Um, so that, so that's shown your income. It's, uh, you need a police record check. Yes. Um, that's time restricted, so that's only valid for three months. Mm-hmm. Then you need to have a medical certificate that shows that you are not bringing any contagious diseases in. Okay. So we use a company called Zoom. Zoom Doc. You do it over online, um, and then they send you the certificate again. That's, that's got a timeframe with it. Um. So there was some other paperwork that we, that you, that you need to prepare. So they've, they, they kind of have a little checklist of what you needed to do. So we got that done. Um, obviously then you need to have medical care, so you've obviously got an outlay for your medical care before you've even got all this. Mm. So, so there's a lot of, there's a lot of upfront cost before you've got it. So we came out here, we chose to use Sanita. Mm-hmm. Which is, uh, the equivalent of Bupa in the uk. Yeah. Uh, in terms of cost, it's. I think it's a lot cheaper. Yeah. In terms of what you than what you'd be paying in the uk. But we went for Sanitas 'cause we knew that it would be one that would be approved. Mm-hmm. So there may be alternatives, but the, the consulate might not accept it. Okay. Important and it may stop it. Mm-hmm. So look to make sure, so we knew that Sanitas would be, um, and that's why we went on that route. Okay. So we'd got all of everything we needed and prepared. So anything that wasn't in Spanish would have to be translated. Anything that's official would need to be, you need to. To see a notary and get that notarized, legalized and apostil. So you've got all that expense on top of that, then you need it translated. Yeah. Um, so, um. Uh, Raffa's team told us what we needed. Their immigration team told us what we needed to do. We got all that done. Our notary sent it all to them to make sure it was all good. So we got all our pack ready. Um, and then obviously you make an appointment with, uh, just a, just a quick question, sorry. In terms of the pack ready, what kind of timeline are you talking about to prepare that? So you gone. So them sorting out their paperwork, us getting everything. I think you're probably looking at a two month period. Okay. You know, anything that goes for a notary will take them. Then they have to get apostle post steeled and then translated. So you are probably 2, 2, 2 and a half weeks on that period alone. Yeah. Yeah. Um, 'cause the postel so needs go to London to be, to, to be, uh, to, to be, uh, registered. Um. So, yeah, that's, that's, that was our, that was our take on it. And then obviously you are just, you, you, you, all the time you're thinking, you know, the police check's only got three months. Yes. So you've gotta kind of push to get that done. Exactly. And then you've got your appointment with the BSL in London. Mm-hmm. Who, um. The Spanish consulate outsource all of their visas to a company called BSL International. So you, you prepare your pack? Yeah. That's all submitted. That's, uh, no. So that's ready for you to take to your appointment in London to your appointment? Yeah. Okay. So you're waiting for your appointment back updates. Yeah. So you have to register. So you to, to get your appointment, you have to register on the BSL international webpage. So you set, set up like your profile. You go and explain depending on where you live. Uh, in the uk, um, depends on where you go. So I think they have free hubs, so there's one in London, I think there's one in Manchester and one in Scotland, and I think, so it depends on where you live. It tells you where you need to go, and then you can book an appointment. The website for BSL isn't the most helpful, I don't think, in terms of the knowledge that it gives. It has some q and a, but not really helpful in terms of what you want. So you book an appointment, they offer, they offer a service. They can come out to you and you can get your, your visa in 15 days. But when you inquire, it's not, it's only for a working visa. So don't be drawn into, into that. You don't get it any quicker. Right. So a non lucrative visa, they say, we'll take three months. You won't be far off three months. Okay. Okay. So you've gotta be patients on that. I, I thought we'd. We'd have it in 30 days, of course. And we'd be out here and it wasn't, so look at that worst case scenario. Okay. In terms of, they say three months, it's likely to be three months. So you're already then from your two months to your prep. And that's like, and I know you guys like you guys would've been on that. Yeah. Yeah. So like, you know, two to three months prep, then three months your. So, yeah, so you, you book your appointment time, you turn up at the, at the BSL international offices and for us it was in London. We turned up, we presented it, we had the time, um. I expected to turn up and be taken into a little room 'cause that was kind of what I visualized. I turn up and it's like grabbing a you, you register. There must have been hundreds of people there, there. Everything from trying to get student visas, to work visas to holiday visas. You are there and you've got an appointment and you're thinking I've only be 10 minutes, 15. And you are not, you either nearly two hours waiting with an appointment. They don't take you to one side. Um, you just stand up. A counter and go through your paperwork. Um, if you haven't got the right paperwork, you, they, they get you to go to one side and, and e and email it. So they print it off. Um, we were okay. We had everything we needed. Uh, they go through it, check everything's there. Uh, you pay your money, they give you a. Which is your reference numbers for that. You track, you can, that they tell you, you can track. So in my head, when they're telling me I can track, I'm gonna be tracking at every stage. No, no, no. Please don't think for one moment that works. So you register. So you go in, they take your paperwork, you pay your money. The next day it, it hits the system. Okay. So BSL then I think courier over to the Spanish counselor. Um, and then, and then that process starts. So it's the next working day it starts. They then, uh, they send us a text message to say, this is your numbers. Okay? It's all in process and you can track it online. So I'm thinking, great, I'm gonna track it online. Every stage I'm gonna be seeing what they're doing. That and that, and as I said, that didn't happen. So what, what do you see then? So literally what you do is you go online, you've obviously set up your profile. So you've got your user, you, your user account, and it goes in and it was progress in mission, right? So it sat as progress in mission. Um, and then I think day, working day, 'cause they only work on working days, working day four. We had an email late in the day and a text to say they required more information. Okay. So the information they required. Was never on their checklist. Oh wow. Okay. So they don't say, and it's quite prescriptive in terms of what they wanted. So they'd ask then for copies of our P 40 fives. So for me, I didn't have my P 45. It wasn't requirement to have my P 45, so I was, I was already in my notice period, so I had to hand two, two months notice in. Yeah. So, you know, they're already asking you to commit to hand in your notice in which we would, we would did, but there's no guarantee you're gonna get your visa at the end of this. Yeah. So you are already. You know, financially thousands of pounds in Yeah. And you know, Steve had had his P 45, so he, he, he, we'd already had that done, so we were like to our lawyers, which was great that we'd use the lawyers. Yes. Because you only then get 10 working days to respond. Okay. To their, to their request, to their, to their inquiry. And they. And they email you, text you and write to you. So there's no way in the world you can say, we didn't receive it, we didn't know we needed to do. And if you don't respond within the 10 working days, they then take it that you don't, you no longer want to progress with your application. So we were like, what do we do? And the lawyers were brilliant and they sort of said, write, okay, we're write a letter in Spanish for you. Okay. We, we right and say that it wasn't a requirement, but you, for you, Vicky, you've already got your notice in, it's been accepted and it'll be 45 will be issued at the end of it. So, okay, so we took that, so rather than send it, we up, back up, we go to the embassy.'cause I was re, you know, to BSL and I was like, you know, I just wanna make sure we hand it in physically. And that was just handed in the paperwork and that's it. And then it, so it changed during that, that they were waiting for paperwork and then the status went to progress, back to progress in mission. Okay. Um, and then, and then the thing for me was once I had my P 45 was, do you want my P 45? So I've phoned up the embassy.'cause you can't Yeah, I'm sorry. The BSL International.'cause they, they don't give you anyone. You, you don't have like a dedicated, A dedicated person that you can speak to. Yeah. Yeah. So you phone them up and say, you know, I've got my P 45. Do I need it? Well, if they want it, they're asked for it. I said, but you asked for it and I didn't have it. So I've put in a letter. But do you want it? Well, if they want it, they'll ask for it. And then the other, and someone else. So then you ring back up and someone else gives you a different answer. Or if they've asked for it, they want it. So I didn't know what to do and I was waiting and waiting and waiting and thinking, well, is this gonna delay the whole process? So in the end, I did take it up and I don't think they needed it, but it, it, there was no one you could speak to because you are literally, you can't get to speak to Spanish Embassy. And they're like, well, if you wanna speak to them, ring them, you ring them every number. You just don't get to speak to them. So that's tough. Like as you're going through that three months, it's really tough because you're wanting to know is Of course. Do you know if you want the paperwork, I'll get on the train tomorrow. Yes. And I'll, I'll take it up to you. It's not an issue for us. So they didn't, and in the end I was kind of like, I think they need it. So I took it up. Um, but I don't think they did, but mm-hmm. It was one of those, you just couldn't speak to someone. So the whole process, it literally sat as progress in mission. Um, and you go in there every day. We went in, oh, I was going in to check, and then it got, uh, we were probably just coming up to the three month period. Um, and, you know. I've got no patience. I've decided that that was a, that was never in the queue for patients. So we got to it and it literally, I think it was on a Friday, Friday afternoon, it says. Passport being dispatched. So I'm like, well, what does that mean? Have we got it? Have we not? So we go online and it says, well, visas will be issued, and you come and collect them. So I'm like, well, you've sending me my, my passport. Does that mean I've got my passport? I've not got my passport. And going back to the passport. Bebe is, um, sorry. And I've not said it was, when you go, they take your passport. So I didn't realize that they take your passport as part of the process, but they don't explain why they take your passport. Um, so we are like, well, you know, our, our plan was to come out here and holiday and make the most of our short-term holiday, uh, ho a short-term rental. They take your passport and we're like, well, can I have my passport back? Well, if you have your passport back, you start the whole process again. Okay. What they don't tell you is if you are successful, your visa gets attached to your passport. So it sits in your passport, but they don't tell you that. It doesn't tell you online it. They don't tell you anything. So going back, so we are nearly at the end of the three month process. I think it was probably four days off the end of the free month process. Uh, we get this on a fri late on a Friday. On a Friday. So I'm like, okay, is it gonna come on Saturday? No, we, it's only working day. So Monday we're waiting, um, go back online. Does it tell us if we were successful? No. It just says passport being dispatched. So go and do Imagine the anti, yeah. So the anticipation. Yeah. So you do Google search.'cause obviously everyone loves the Google search. What does that mean? And someone said, have I got it? And they're like, not necessarily. You won't know you've got it until you open your passport. Oh God. And the visas in the past. But, so of course it's like the longest weekend of our lives can't be like, you know, we must got it. We must have got it. I can't think that we haven't got it. But you don't know until you've got it. And then obviously the courier delivers it late on the Monday and we're like, I don't wanna open it. And they send, obviously a lot of your paperwork will come back to you, uh, which is great. Um, so you can reuse it. So copies of your, so we obviously took out our wedding certificates. Mm-hmm. Uh, because obviously there was change in the name for me on some of my paperwork that I. I, that, that, that had been in my, uh, in my previous name. So that all came back with the passports. And of course we're like, oh, guys, where is it? And there was it. So both of us were successful in getting it, but the whole process for, uh, for me, for BSL was, it could have been, it could have been a lot more user friendly. Okay. So let's, so what a process. Like what a journey. Yeah, and thank you for sharing all of that, because I think there's a lot there to really mull over. But if we were to just really dissect the process even further, you know, what would you say was the biggest challenge now when you're reflecting back over that three month process with the embassy and the submission of the Visas? What really stood out to you as being, oh, this is really difficult. I, I don't think it was necessarily difficult. I think the preparation and, and using and using either a Spanish lawyer or a company that can help you has its value. Mm-hmm. And for the value was when they asked register paperwork and we, and we didn't necessarily, or I didn't necessarily have it and I needed to get them to help me get around it. Mm-hmm. Um, I, you know, I knew there was a lot of work to be done in the paperwork that, that didn't phase me. I think. I think I was expecting the whole pro, I was expecting to get my visa a lot quicker. Okay. I thought, how could it take three months to be, you know, I'm not alone, I guess. But it was having that patience and I think if I'd have, if, if I had to look back, I'd be just relaxed. Wait, expect it to be the three months. Okay. If it comes sooner, that's great. Whereas I was. Thinking, oh, we could get it in 30 days. Okay. And I can be out here and I think I've probably put a lot of pressure on myself, in fact, in thinking that's what I wanted. I was ready to calm, I wanted to go. Um, and, and I guess knowing that I just don't have any patience was hard. And you just not in control of it. No. And that's the problem. And I think not not having that information on there. I think if. BS salad had, had, had, had sort of had like little tick boxes in terms of where they were, and you could least see where it was in that process. Yeah. Would've probably helped. But you're kind of, I've got processing mission. I've, they've asked for something. I've submitted it literally five days after you've asked for it. We, you know, I think within seven, you know, within seven days we were back with all the paperwork. Then it was like, it's just nothing. It sits there and you don't know where you are and you can't talk to anybody. No, and, and the information you're getting does, you know, you talk to one person, they can tell one thing and something cast someone else tells you saying C, that's not great. I think, you know, maybe having someone that. Deals if your case would be good. Yeah. Yeah. But maybe they're just my expectations. Right. And my expectations are really, were probably higher. Okay. Um, and I think it's just knowing that, and the, and the webpage and their questions and answers weren't that useful. Okay. Yeah. Um, but I think, you know. I helping someone now would, would be easy. Um, you know, we've gotta go through this process for a renewal in September. Right. Of course. Um, so that's for the next two years. I'm hoping it'll be a lot, a lot smoother and a lot less. Yeah. But, but again, until we go through that, we won't know. We won't know, but mm-hmm. Yeah, there's a lot involved. Um, but if that's what you wanna do, then you've gotta do it. And I, and I, and I understand why they need it all. Mm-hmm. You know, I understand that they want you to be able to come out here and be financially secure. Sure. And you are not a burden on their, on, on, on their, on on Spain. Mm-hmm. I get all that. Mm-hmm. Um, it just, I guess you're just, you're just. In limbo and not knowing. I think that's, that was the hardest for me. So you really need to surrender to the process. You do. And I've learned that, and that's what I'm hearing. Right. And I've learned that. And, and, and that was saying I probably wasn't expecting to have to do, I thought, you know, I'd, I'd at least I'd, I'd be a little bit more aware of what was going on. So surrender to the process. What I'm also hearing is you as an expert to help you. Yeah. You know, and it is a lot of expense, don't get me wrong, you know, you know, we were thousands of pounds up front before we'd even got here. And you are thinking, I've spent all this money and we've made all this commitment and. There could be a no at the end of it. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And you know, and then you're thinking, I've got a year's medical cover. We took a short, we took a short term rental out. Yeah. So that we had an address and that was of course, you know, we wanted to prove that we were ready to come here. And again, the, um, our lawyers looked over the contract to make sure it would be fine for us in terms of our residency. Um. So, you know, we did a lot of work. Yeah. And you, and you don't necessarily have to do that, but you need to have an address and then that work doesn't stop once you're here. Yeah. So, you know, once you've got your visa, you come out here and you need to get a pad drawn and your TIE and again, our lawyers have helped us do that. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And we are lucky we've got, uh, Spanish interpreters that, that, that can help us with those appointments. Yeah. So you, you know, once you've got your visa, it doesn't stop there. No. You know, it's a, it's a commitment. It's, it's, it's a life commitment. Yeah. And, and that, you know, and that's Right. Thing to have to do. Yeah. Yeah. So I, I guess for anybody watching at home, you know, what's really standing out to me is the prep, right? Yeah. Circuit two to three months, three months for your process. So anybody that is kind of saying, I wanna be out there in six months, you probably need to go back and really reevaluate your timelines. Yeah. Yeah. Because that, that's just not realistic. Yeah. Or you've gotta be really organized to be able to go, you know, to make that happen. Yeah. Yeah. And that means having all of your paperwork ready. Yeah. Being prepared to invest in support. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and making sure that financially you're ready for that upfront cost, right? Yeah, that's, I think we don't probably talk about that enough, you know, oh, six to 12 months, I wanna be out there six to 12 months. But the first thing that you really need to assess is your. Eligibility to be there. And are you able to take the required steps to be eligible to be there? Yeah. Yeah. You know, there's a lot of fin financial costs up front. Like you say, there's no G, you know, and as I said, there's no guarantee. Um. There are other ways of doing it. You know, don't get me wrong, you know, you could do the paperwork yourself. We just didn't feel we, we could. Mm-hmm. We just felt, we thought it would help our, help us with our, our residency and our visa to, to use, uh, the Spanish lawyers. Absolutely. And you know, I have spoken to other people that we've worked with that have. Used the process themselves, but that is a huge time commitment and you were still working at the time. You really need one person to project manage it. And that's not always feasible for people, you know, because they've got life. Yeah, yeah. Still lifeing and going on in the background. Yeah. Um. Like on Refl, like it's, it's a great journey. And you're here now. Yeah. Which is the main thing. And you're, you're going through the next stages of the process, which is fantastic. Yeah. But if you were to really reflect back to anybody watching or listening at home, you know, as in what was the biggest lesson learned for you if you were starting your process again tomorrow? What would you do differently? I think you've summed it up. I think you need to surrender to the process. Okay. Absolutely. Would, would, would still use a lawyer? I think sometimes you think it's a, it's a lot of money. Why do I need them? And then when they came and they wanted paperwork and I didn't, you know, I wasn't sure what was needed. You know, they, they do that. They have their immigration team do that day in, day out. You know, we're just. You know, we are just, we are just doing it the first time. You know, I don't know anyone else that I could have asked for advice to. Mm-hmm. You know, I can go on to Google and ask, but you know what, you know, I'm not sure how accurate that advice was were gonna get. So, you know, that for us, felt right to do. That was what we wanted to do. Yeah. Um, I think, I think you've just gotta let the process, I think there's a little bit of manna there, you know? Mm-hmm. And that's how they work. Um, and just be ready for it, I think. Yeah. I think it's. It's quite overwhelming. Mm-hmm. But be ready for it. And if that's what you want, then you, you, you know, you, you got prepared to it. Mm-hmm. You know, and that's what we did. But yeah, I just, I just think I should have, just have more patience for me personally. So it's more personal learn connection for me, personal growth, it's patience. But I, I didn't, I knew I didn't have a lot. I just, just pushed me. But every cloud And you're here now. Yeah. Yeah. And you guys have just come through your first Christmas in Spain? Yeah. Yeah. You know, done the Three Kings. We've done The Three Kings, which is amazing. We've done your 12 grapes for New Year and, um, called in the New Year in Spain. So look, you've got there. Yeah. So let's, I suppose talk a little bit about something positive over the last few weeks. How have your first few weeks in your new country been? Yeah. So yeah, lovely. I mean, you know, I guess the big thing for us is, is the, is the. Is the weather. So we've not, it's, it's not been lots of, we've not had sunshine every day. You know, as Steve said, expect it. DS year, it's certainly a lot warmer. Sure. You know, there's, there's been days we've had short on it's 17 degrees. You know, when it rains, it rains when it, you know, um. But it clears up really quickly. But it's, you know, we are walking around in t-shirts and, and, and sweatshirts and they're, and, and the Spanish are wrapped up for the Antarctic. So, you know, we're thinking, this is warm here. You're traumatizing. Yeah. So we used to walk Climatized, but yeah, I mean, so far it's, it's great. It's everything we wanted, so, uh, yeah. Amazing. Well, I'm really pleased for you both, and thank you for being here to share your story. With everybody listening and watching today, I think that you've shared some really good advice that you know, start soon. Yeah. Hire and trust experts. Surrender to the process to surrender. If you don't have patience, do some personal development work to acquire patients before you start the process and you know, really assess your eligibility to be in Spain before you really start to look on idealist and explore those properties because you need to understand if you are eligible to reside in the country before you make any next steps. Critical and so, so important. But thank you for being so open and honest. You're welcome. Um, I know that your experience will genuinely help others that are going the same route and will be exploring an NLV Visa through the course of 2026. Now, if you're watching and you'd like clarity on your own move, if you're ready to make the move, just simply head over to our website. www.wlcostaproperties.net. Go to the resources section. Start by downloading our free buyer's guide. You'll find so much information there that will really help you understand what step comes next for you. Thank you for stopping by. If you've liked this episode, remember to like and subscribe and I'll see you on the next episode. CIA for now.