# Any advice for US citizen and resident marrying Spanish citizen and resident?



## LRC1 (Aug 24, 2016)

I am US citizen, currently living in the US, and plan to marry my SO who is a Spanish citizen, living in Spain. I plan to move there, then get married as it seems that this is faster than getting married here in the US and then applying for the permit to come over, which I have been told by lawyers and others takes 1+ year. Plus, I don't think SO can legally come to US on a visa waiver aka tourist visa and marry, even though there is no intention that SO would stay in US. 

Has anyone gone through this recently who is willing to give some advice on the process? I think I understand what is needed to get the marriage license (birth certificate, apostille, translated, several affidavits from consulate, sent for legalization, and then all to registro civil who will hopefully quickly approve the marriage license application allowing us to marry), but am fuzzy on what we will have to do thereafter so that I can stay and work in Spain legally, and travel to/from. For example, will my SO be required to show a certain income? Can anyone shed light on how long the processes took? Really, any advice at all from someone who's done this recently would be appreciated!


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

LRC1 said:


> I am US citizen, currently living in the US, and plan to marry my SO who is a Spanish citizen, living in Spain. I plan to move there, then get married as it seems that this is faster than getting married here in the US and then applying for the permit to come over, which I have been told by lawyers and others takes 1+ year. Plus, I don't think SO can legally come to US on a visa waiver aka tourist visa and marry, even though there is no intention that SO would stay in US.
> 
> Has anyone gone through this recently who is willing to give some advice on the process? I think I understand what is needed to get the marriage license (birth certificate, apostille, translated, several affidavits from consulate, sent for legalization, and then all to registro civil who will hopefully quickly approve the marriage license application allowing us to marry), but am fuzzy on what we will have to do thereafter so that I can stay and work in Spain legally, and travel to/from. For example, will my SO be required to show a certain income? Can anyone shed light on how long the processes took? Really, any advice at all from someone who's done this recently would be appreciated!


:welcome:

First of all, just so you know, your SO _can_ go to the US on a tourist (ESTA) visa and get married. He should take paperwork to show US immigration that he has strong ties with Spain (for instance a work contract and apartment lease). See the USA forum on this website for plenty of discussions about this. He could stay for the normal maximum of 90 days allowed on an ESTA visa. 

Next, once married you don't have to apply from the US for a permit to come over to Spain to live. You can enter Spain on a tourist (Schengen) visa, apply for residency within 90 days, and stay in Spain while it's being processed. Likewise, you can enter Spain on a tourist visa and get married here, and then apply for residency all within 90 days. Again, you can stay in Spain during the whole process. 

You would apply for residency as a family member of an EU citizen. To get your residency your SO will have to demonstrate that he has enough income to support the both of you. The amount they ask to see depends on where you apply for residency, but it is approximately 600€/person/month, plus sometimes also savings in a bank account. You will also need comprehensive health insurance in Spain.

Aside from that, you'll need your marriage certificate (Apostilled and translated if from US), copies of your OS's DNI and of your passport, and they'll probably also ask for a padrón certificate. The form you need to fill out is EX-19. You turn it all in at the foreigner's office nearest where you live. Here's a link to the official government webpage explaining it al - sorry, it's in Spanish. 

Once you turn your paperwork in they _should_ process your residency within 90 days. The reality is that it could take a month or two more. During that time you're not allowed to leave Spain and you're not allowed to work in Spain (at least not without jumping though all kinds of hoops). But as I said before, you can stay here legally during the whole process. As soon as you get your residency you can work and travel freely. 

Hope that helps, and good luck!


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## LRC1 (Aug 24, 2016)

Thanks so much, Kalohi!! This is very helpful. I am probably overly worried about all of this but after 4+ years of long distance, I don't want to get tripped up on a technicality!

Do you happen to know whether we can count my savings towards the income/savings requirement? I could put it in his savings account if needed/allowed. His monthly income is just below 1200 euros so this might be an issue. Ultimately, I hope to get a job and assuming I can, contribute to and get the national health plan, but if that's not allowed I'll have to budget for private health insurance forever I suppose... no different than the US if that's the case!

Also, it looks like I have to submit this application within 90 days of arriving in Spain, but I assume I can't do so until we're actually married. (Plazo de presentación: tres meses contados desde la fecha de entrada en España. Se entregará un resguardo acreditativo de la presentación de la solicitud que es suficiente para acreditar la situación de estancia legal hasta la entrega de la tarjeta.) What happens if we don't get the marriage license/wedding date within 3 months of my arrival? I think and hope it will be quicker than that as we will be doing the marriage in SO's hometown which is small and, I hear, less likely to have long delays in the process. Are they strict on that?


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

LRC1 said:


> Thanks so much, Kalohi!! This is very helpful. I am probably overly worried about all of this but after 4+ years of long distance, I don't want to get tripped up on a technicality!
> 
> Do you happen to know whether we can count my savings towards the income/savings requirement? I could put it in his savings account if needed/allowed.


Yes, you can put money into his account and this would count toward the savings. The money has to be in his name (or in a joint account) and in Spain for it to be considered. 



LRC1 said:


> His monthly income is just below 1200 euros so this might be an issue.


Unfortunately this could be quite a big issue. Is there any way he could supplement his income?



LRC1 said:


> Ultimately, I hope to get a job and assuming I can, contribute to and get the national health plan, but if that's not allowed I'll have to budget for private health insurance forever I suppose... no different than the US if that's the case!


Once you get residency you will be able to work. Any (legal) work you get will automatically get you in to the national health plan, since it's obligatory to contribute to it when working. At any rate, once married and if your husband is working you would have access to national health as his beneficiary. 



LRC1 said:


> Also, it looks like I have to submit this application within 90 days of arriving in Spain, but I assume I can't do so until we're actually married. (Plazo de presentación: tres meses contados desde la fecha de entrada en España. Se entregará un resguardo acreditativo de la presentación de la solicitud que es suficiente para acreditar la situación de estancia legal hasta la entrega de la tarjeta.) What happens if we don't get the marriage license/wedding date within 3 months of my arrival? I think and hope it will be quicker than that as we will be doing the marriage in SO's hometown which is small and, I hear, less likely to have long delays in the process. Are they strict on that?


What would happen would be that you'd be an illegal immigrant after those 3 months are up and until you turn your paperwork in. But you could still turn your paperwork in. I don't see why your SO couldn't make the majority of the arrangements before you arrive in Spain, if you already know where you want to get married. It's often more of a problem getting an appointment at the foreigner's office than anything. What part of Spain are you talking about?


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## LRC1 (Aug 24, 2016)

In the Penedes region, so I think I'd have to go through the extranjeria in Barcelona for the targeta. From what it seems, the marriage process itself will go more quickly since we're in a small town. Thanks again for your help! I am going to see what kind of progress I can make on the income front


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

Good luck!


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

LRC1 said:


> In the Penedes region, so I think I'd have to go through the extranjeria in Barcelona for the targeta. From what it seems, the marriage process itself will go more quickly since we're in a small town. Thanks again for your help! I am going to see what kind of progress I can make on the income front


We'll be neighbours! I live in the Penedès region too!

I don't know if they deal with Residencia for non-eu outside the city, but if they do you should try Igualada or Vilanova i la Geltrú and avoid the city. For European citizens at least it's a real ball ache in the city, maybe non-Eu is less so, but I doubt it somehow. There are a lot of 'teachers' in the centre that try and outstay there visa so I expect it to be difficult.


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## LRC1 (Aug 24, 2016)

Nice! I really like it there. I've visited family in Barcelona many times throughout my life and always loved the city, but it's been really great getting to know small town life in Catalunya on my visits these last few years. My family and friends in the city complaint that they never see me when I come over there anymore! 

I'll look into the other offices to make sure, but I think I might be stuck with Barcelona's extranjeria for the residencia. At this point it's the income requirement that is worrying me the most. I should have no problem meeting any savings requirement, but I know it ultimately depends on who looks over your paperwork. The uncertainty of it all is driving me CRAZY!


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