That's a very good question because I've found that when you're dealing with Spanish bureaucracy you'll get a different answer from everyone you ask. For example if you look on the web page for the Ministerio del Interior (which deals with immigration issues in Spain) they still say that you need a visa.

I tried to do it without a visa back in December (in Madrid), but apparently nobody had told the people working at the police station that the visa was no longer necessary. The law changed last summer, and up until then you definitely needed a visa, but now in theory you shouldn't need one. You're supposed to be able to fill out a form that says your exempt from needing a visa and then apply for the residency card, but in my case I ended up having to get the visa.

I would suggest trying call the police station to see what they say. Also, if you live near the Consulate I would just go and get the visa just in case. It should only take 2-3 days, and that way you won't be in for an unpleasant surprise when you get to Madrid.

 

Hello!
Actually the rules just changes last July 1st and if you are a US citizen, now YOU DO NOT NEED A VISA to apply for residency, but directly apply for it. However: many officials may not be aware of this change, so make sure you TELL THEM that the rules have changed
Good luck on your move to Spain and enjoy the country!
Greetings
A Spaniard

 

Huzun,

I will be applying for a Schengen Visa for Family reagrupation with EU citizen next month. Could you please give a link to a offical page that gives the new rules of 1st july.

Further being foreign here in Spain, maybe you could help in informing me who can issue me a true certifacted xerox copy of my "tarjeta de residencia" and my danish passport. ??

Spanish embassy in Manila requires these copies, but im not sure who have the authorisation to legalize the copies, me being non EU citizen.

thanks

 

I believe Meg4 can best help me on this one...I am an American Citizen residing in NY and met a Spaniard originally from Bilbao while on vacation in Spain (actually Tenerife, Canary Islands). We fell in love and I returned for a month and we've decided that we want to get married. I went to the Spanish consulate (NY) and was told that all I needed was my birth certificate, US passport and good idea to get a good conduct report from police dept. They said that I had 3 months to get married and if not then I would have to return to NY and go back. I can't afford all of that and it seems to much red tape is involved for my boyfriend to come to NY and do it here. It sounds so simple to just go there and get married. We both want to live in Tenerife. He is currently working there (for 2 months) and I need to know what I'm really facing and what I really need to know from my boyfriend in order to this since he is actually from Bilbao. Meg4 can you please advise me

 

Angel28,

Based on your post, it is already established that you're boyfriend is from Greece, an EU country, and therefore once both of you are married, byt the virtue of your marriage and by Spanish immigration rules, you do not need anything except to go to Spain (possibly with your boyfriend now husband) and register with the police for your resident ID card. You do not need a visa since you are an American citizen and will have a passport to show your citizenship.

If you can, and if in doubt, print out the information from the Spanish Consulate website about the information where it says US citizens do not need a visa to enter Spain, and make sure you bring copies of your marriage license with you when you travel, in case they ask for proof of the marriage.

 

Angela 28,

I was married in a civil ceremony in Spain, so I can tell you the papers I needed in order to get married--but if you want to get married in a church I imagine it would be a different process. The best thing you can do is have your boyfriend talk to the "registro civil" either in Tenerife or in Bilbao to find out specifically what you need to do since I did the paperwork in Madrid and it may be different depending on the city.

To apply for the marriage license I needed: 1. My birth certificate with an Apostille of the Hague stamp on it so they know it's legitimate here. 2. An offical "sworn" translation of the birth certificate--they can probably do that at the Spanish consulate for you, or you can have it done by a "traductor jurado" in Spain. 3. My passport and photocopy. 4. A certificate of residence. In Spain this is a "certificado de empadronamiento" since you aren't a resident of Spain you won't have this, so what I had to do was go to the U.S. Embassy in Madrid and get a form that stated my address in the U.S. (in the Embasy just tell them you're getting married and they'll know what you need). 4. Also from the U.S. Embassy a certificate stating that I was single and able to get married. 5. Again from the U.S. embassy a letter stating that the Posting of the Banns isn't needed for a U.S. citizen to get married (in the Embassy they have a brochure that tells you all the paperwork you need and explains what this is). I'm not sure where you can get these last three things if you're in the U.S. so you may have to plan on a stop in Madrid to go to the embassy before going to Tenerife.

My Spanish boyfriend needed: 1. His identity card (D.N.I.) and a photocopy 2. His birth certificate 3. A "certificado de empadronamiento" that shows where he had been living of the past 2 years.

The process in Madrid was that once you have all the papers you need and complete the application form (you get it from the "registro civil") you need to go with everything to the "registro civil" along with 2 witnesses (friends of family members) to hand in everything and sign some more forms. Then you wait for the license to be approved--in my case in Madrid it took 2 months just to get the license and then you can choose the date you want to get married. Depending on when and where you want to get married you may have to wait a few more months until they have time available to marry you. It's impossible to tell you how long the whole process will take.

If I were you I wouldn't worry about the 3 month thing they told you in the Consulate in NY. Technically you only have the right to be there for 3 months as a tourist (Spain doesn't have a fiancee visa--so you would be classified as a tourist), but I'm 99% sure that no one will say anything to you if you stay longer than 3 months especially when you're getting married to a Spaniard.

Good luck.

 

I thought I would help to contribute some information that may be of help to those Americans (and others) who may be married to a Spanish citizen and considering the Family Regruping Visa.

I am an American citizen married to a Spanish women. She has dual American and Spanish citizenship. She now finds it necessary to return to Spain to take care of her parents. As a result, I will also be moving to Spain with her. We have been agonizing over the Family Regruping Visa for months now since it would have necessitated me flying to the Los Angeles Spain Consulate to submit my paperwork, return to Denver, then return later to pick up the Visa. I cannot spare the time, nor was I enamored of spending the necessary money to do all of this.

Several weeks ago I stumbled upon lgault's initial inquiry and the subsequent other helpful postings in this forum. I probably would not have discovered the revision to the Family Regruping Visa rules at the Chicago Spain Consulate site on my own.

I emailed both the Los Angeles and Chicago consulates and received the following confirmation concerning the revision:

"That information is correct. As an U.S. citizen you do not need a "Familiy Regruping Visa" anymore. You can go to Spain an register in the City Hall of you residence, sith the certificate of residence go to the local Police Department an apply for a Resident Card directly there."

Best Regards,
Consulate General of Spain.

I do hope that this information will help ease the travel stress for those who might have had to entertain interstate travel to obtain this particular visa.

Regards,

Akualele
Denver, Colorado

 

Eu and non eu Australia

Hi I was wondering if I could get some advice.

I'm from Australia and am getting married next year to my spainish girlfriend.

Once we are married what do we need to do to return to spain?

 

Hey Meg4-

I'm living in Florida and getting my paperwork together to send to my boyfriend in Barcelona. He's going to submit it to the Registro Civil there and choose the date for us to get married, at which time I'll head over there and tie the knot.

As you said, there is no Banns here so I got a the Clerk of Court here in Florida to give me an official record that shows they did a search for a marriage license and didn't find one so that should prove that I'm single. I also have a sworn statement that I signed in front of a notary that says I'm single, never married, and intend to marry my boyfriend. Do you think those two things together will take care of the "Posting of Banns" and "Proof of Freedom to Marry?"

Also, since there is no Certificado de Empadronimiento here, I got a Declaration of Domicile from the Clerk of Court which shows the two addresses I've lived at for the last five years but this form doesn't have the dates for which I lived at the addresses so, again, I made a sworn statement that these are the two addresses at which I have lived the last five years, and had it signed by a notary.

What do you think??

 

Hi all,

I just moved to Barcelona a few weeks ago to settle with my Spanish husband and from all the info I gathered, EU citizens do not need a family reunification visa for Spain. If you would not ordinarily need a visa for Spain, then you don´t need a reunification visa, since you can enter the country anyway.

The reunification visa is for visa nationals who need to declare their reason for entry.

Once in Spain, you may need to apply for residency, I would advise anyone thinking of doing that to use the services of a ´gestor´. Spain can be a very frustrating country in terms of getting things done, correct information is hard to come by as it seems either no one knows anything or are willing to divulge info.

A date will be given for an appointment at the ´Officina de Extrangeros´ nearest to you (the queues are long, so getting an agent/gestor to do it may help, fees range between 180 and 300 Euros).
If you are non EU, you will be asked to supply more documents, so get ready:
a) If you have been married for more than 6 months to a Spaniard, the Spanish person will have have to go to the ´Registro Civil´in his/her area to get a document (Certificado de Matrimonio) stating that the marriage is still on and there has been no separation. If married to non-Spanish, a recent marriage certificate will do (yes, you´ll have to get a new one currently dated);
b) You will need to have a ´Certificado Medicó oficial español´ this is a health certificate showing you do not have any infectious/contagious diseases, are not a drug addict and are not a health risk, if given residency - better to do this in Spain;
c) A police report from country of origin or country of residence for the past 5 years before entry into Spain;
d) ´Volante de Empadronamiento´ - this is just a document saying you are on the electoral roll of the city/town you wish to reside in - you´ll have to do this when you get to Spain.

All other documents are the normal ones - passport photo, form EX-16 (If married to EU citizen), National passport, documentation of person responsible for reunification (DNI or NIE, passport, Residence card etc)

If these documents are issued in the EU or countries party to the ´Number 12 Convention of the Hague of 1961´, then all you need to do is get them translated by an ´Interprete Jurado´- official translator. You can optain a list from the nearest Spanish consulate/embassy.

If the documents have not been issued by any of these countries, for example a police report, then you have to get it stamped and signed by the person writing the report or the departmental head, then you have to get it stamped by your country´s ministry of external affairs. After that you have to take it to the nearest Spanish consulate or embassy, where it has to be stamped 3 times.

When you get to Spain, that document will be sent to Madrid for verification before it can be declared valid.

* It is important to note that documents older than 3 months are deemed invalid, so you have to do all this and still meet the 3 month deadline.
* It takes about 2-3 months to get an interview date, so you may want to come to Spain first before stating the process.

For the interview, it is advised you go with your spouse.

This is all I know so far, as soon as I have more info, I´ll post it.

Regards

 

Administrative madness!!!

Every office you go they will tell you something different, my strait and sincere advise contact http://www.spain-usa.net do not waste your time asking...it is more complicated that what is looks and only a professional can realy help you.