I'm American and I married a Spaniard last year, so I'm very familiar with the whole process. The only advice I can give you is to be patient because Spanish bureaucracy is pretty slow. From the time you start the process (gather documents needed to apply for the marriage license) until the time you actually have your residency card it'll be at least 6 months. There's waiting at every stage along the way, although the process itself isn't complicated. If you have any specific questions let me know.

 

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Meg, were you in Spain initially on the tourist visa, then stayed beyond the 90 days while waiting for the marriage residency card? I'm interested in knowing what your legal status was before you got married. Thanks for the help -- I'm in a similar situation, and trying to stay in spain beyond the 90 day tourist limit -- the student visa doesnt appeal to me much, and apparently i'm not 'eligible' for visas beyond the 90 days...Any ideas? Thanks, Janet

 

I was beyond the 90 day limit when we applied for the marriage license, but that was no problem. I've heard that if they suspect that it isn't a "real" marriage (i.e. you're just getting married to get a work permit) they can give you an interview or deny you the license. This wasn't my case because I was getting married for real. Once you're married they won't (can't?) force you to leave Spain even if you don't have the residency card yet--you can live here with no problems while you're waiting for the card, but you just can't work until you get it. Keep in mind that your residency will be linked to your Spanish husband / wife--so if you were to get divorced you probably wouldn't be able to renew the card and continue living here since the only reason you would have residency would be because you are married to a Spaniard.