I keep seeing the same, seemingly standard reply to questions about filing separately for a foreign spouse without a SSN that I should write "non-resident alien" where it asks for your spouse's SSN and paper/mail file the return. However, there is nothing on the IRS website that says that you can actually do this (write "non-resident alien" on the return for a NRA spouse in place of a SSN/ITIN).
I just want to make sure that this is legitimate before actually sending it in like that. The other issue, is that the standard reply mentions that the NRA spouse should apply for a ITIN, but I'm not clear what situations they would need to apply for a ITIN because it does not seem to be absolutely required. In my case, I don't think I would need to request an ITIN for this foreign spouse since, as mentioned above, I won't be claiming him as an exception and he has no U.S. related finances/income and therefore he wouldn't have any reason to file a return.
