Getting a retirement visa: documents and apostilles

Requirements differ, but most retirement visas in our 20 countries ask for:

• A valid passport (often with at least six months of validity left) and photos.
• Proof of pension or income: pension award letters, Social Security statements, bank statements, sometimes certified by an accountant (Ireland) or a notary (Uruguay).
• A criminal record check from your country, and from every country where you lived recently (Spain's US consulates: six months or more in the last five years; Uruguay: the same rule) ^1,4.
• Health insurance valid in the country (see the health insurance guide).
• Civil-status documents if you bring a spouse: marriage certificate, sometimes birth certificates.
• A medical certificate in some countries (Thailand's O-A visa, Colombia, the Philippines).
• Proof of accommodation: a lease or a deed (Portugal's D7 asks for one).
• A local tax number in some countries before you even apply (Portugal NIF, Italy codice fiscale, Greece AFM).

Ask for the national record of your country, not a local police letter: Spain's US consulates require a fingerprint-based FBI check and do not accept state or local police certificates, and Uruguay refuses state or provincial certificates ^1,4. For Americans, the FBI Identity History Summary must then be apostilled by the US Department of State (a federal document cannot be apostilled by a state) ¹. Plan several weeks for the whole chain.

An apostille is a certificate that proves a public document is genuine, accepted by all members of the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention ². Without it, a document must be legalised: certified by your foreign ministry, then by the destination country's embassy, a longer and costlier process.

• Your home country issues the apostille. The US (federal documents: Department of State; state documents: the state), the UK (the Legalisation Office: £45 per paper document, £35 for an e-Apostille in 2026) ³ and Canada (a member since January 2024) ² are members.
• Destinations that accept apostilles: all our European and Latin American countries, Indonesia (since 2022), the Philippines (since 2019) and Vietnam (since 11 September 2026) ².
• Thailand joined in 2026, but the Convention only applies there from 28 February 2027: until then, use legalisation through the Thai embassy ².
• Malaysia is not a member: documents need legalisation ².
• Vietnam and the Philippines joined under a procedure that lets existing members object; if your country objected, legalisation still applies between you. Check the status table ².

Documents not in the destination's language usually need a translation, and many countries want a sworn or public translator: Uruguay requires a Uruguayan public translator (except for Brazilian documents) ⁴, Spain's US consulates ask for sworn or certified translations, with rules that differ between consulates ¹. Ask which translators are accepted before you pay for one, and whether the apostille itself must be translated (for Spain, it does not) ¹.

Many documents expire for visa purposes. Examples from our country data: a criminal record check issued within the last six months (Spain, the Philippines), a Thai medical certificate less than three months old, a Uruguayan marriage certificate less than one year old. So the order matters:

1. Start with what takes longest and does not expire (tax number, pension letters, birth and marriage certificates).
2. Then the criminal record check, its apostille and translation, timed to be valid on the day you apply.
3. Last, the medical certificate and recent bank statements.

The first step of our settling guide for each country, counted from the month of the move:

Processing times are added on top, and they vary by consulate and season. The full timeline is in each country's settling steps and in the visa checker.

1. List the documents for your country and route (country page, visa section).
2. Order the national criminal record check, and those of countries where you lived recently.
3. Get the apostilles, or legalisation for Malaysia (and Thailand until 28 February 2027).
4. Ask which translators are accepted, then translate.
5. Time the documents that expire so they are valid on the day you apply.
6. Keep certified copies and scans of everything: renewals ask for the same documents again.