# US citizen married to Brit moving to Spain



## gracegaldo (Mar 10, 2012)

Hello all.
I am a UK citizen living with my husband in Manchester. He is a US citizen and is living here with me on a spouse visa which he was granted last June. We are hoping to move to Spain later this year and we are trying to find out how this will be possible as he is not an EU citizen. Since he is married to me (EU citizen) will he be able to simply apply for residency or will it be more complicated than this? Any help or advice will be much appreciated. Thanks!
Grace


----------



## gracegaldo (Mar 10, 2012)

I have now come across the EU Family-member Residence Card which he should apparently apply for in order to live and work in Spain. Apparently this process can take a maximum of 6 months. As I understand it, he can remain in Spain while this process takes place but it is unclear if he would be allowed to work during this period. Would he have to wait until his EU Family-member Residency was issued before starting work? Has anyone else been through the process before that could perhaps shed some light on the situation? 
Thanks in advance!


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

gracegaldo said:


> I have now come across the EU Family-member Residence Card which he should apparently apply for in order to live and work in Spain. Apparently this process can take a maximum of 6 months. As I understand it, he can remain in Spain while this process takes place but it is unclear if he would be allowed to work during this period. Would he have to wait until his EU Family-member Residency was issued before starting work? Has anyone else been through the process before that could perhaps shed some light on the situation?
> Thanks in advance!


:welcome:
I haven't been through it, but I believe that it's usually pretty straightforward & doesn't usually take that long

I'm not sure about the work issue - we have posters here who say they haven't been given permission to work & others who have - it might be a case of rules changing over time - the rules seem to change like the wind here

the best thing would be to get in touch with the Spanish Embassy in the UK for up to date info. The Spanish are notorious for not answering e-mails so try phoning & if that doesn't work you might be best going to the Embassy itself


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

HI

I have just assisted someone with this and can recommend a goog law firm (dependig on the area, mins is in Costa Blanca).

You will need new copies of the marriage certificate (it must be less than 3 months old when it is submitted), you will need this legalsing in the country of issue and you will need various other stamps on it such as the british embassy and so on (check exactly with a lawyer as it does change fomr area to area).

Everything will need to be officially translated into Spanish also but your lawyers will be able to arange this. 

Once applied for you shoudl be able to get a temporary NIE which will allow him to work in Spain. Obviously he has a right to be in Spain by the marriage but its still full of red tape and things to go through.

Aparently the whole process to be fully complete can take anything up to a year (or more) but once its all submitted and you get that NIE you are ok to live and work pending the full application being approved.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> HI
> 
> I have just assisted someone with this and can recommend a goog law firm (dependig on the area, mins is in Costa Blanca).
> 
> ...


wow - I didn't think it took that long!!


so as long as you get all your paperwork in order it's straightforward & you can work once it's submitted?


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> wow - I didn't think it took that long!!
> 
> 
> so as long as you get all your paperwork in order it's straightforward & you can work once it's submitted?


The lawyers doing the one for my client (shes english and hes from jamaica) said that they have one thats still ongoing after nearly 2 years! I think though like everything in Spain sometimes you get lucky and sometimes no!

Yes, my client finally got all the stuff done, translated, stamped by the relevant authorities in the UK, Jamaica, and Spain and then went the the lawyers to submit it.. they had a "temporary" NIE in a few days for him after this and he could begin working. :clap2: I guess then its just a case of wait for it to all be finalised!


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> The lawyers doing the one for my client (shes english and hes from jamaica) said that they have one thats still ongoing after nearly 2 years! I think though like everything in Spain sometimes you get lucky and sometimes no!
> 
> Yes, my client finally got all the stuff done, translated, stamped by the relevant authorities in the UK, Jamaica, and Spain and then went the the lawyers to submit it.. they had a "temporary" NIE in a few days for him after this and he could begin working. :clap2: I guess then its just a case of wait for it to all be finalised!


getting the NIE & being able to work is the important thing I guess!


I wonder how many couples have gone back to wherever by the time their permission comes through, if it takes that long?


----------



## gracegaldo (Mar 10, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> getting the NIE & being able to work is the important thing I guess!
> 
> 
> I wonder how many couples have gone back to wherever by the time their permission comes through, if it takes that long?


Thank you everyone for your help, it's all a little clearer now. After having to deal with US immigration and then UK for my husband it sounds as if Spain, despite the complications, will be a lot easier. We will be visiting the embassy here and getting new copies of our marriage certificate on our upcoming visit to the states. 
We are moving to Granada.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

gracegaldo said:


> Thank you everyone for your help, it's all a little clearer now. After having to deal with US immigration and then UK for my husband it sounds as if Spain, despite the complications, will be a lot easier. We will be visiting the embassy here and getting new copies of our marriage certificate on our upcoming visit to the states.
> We are moving to Granada.


it's so much easier here that I know a UK citizen with a non-EU wife who is considering coming here cos it's easier to get her permission to live here than the UK


----------



## gracegaldo (Mar 10, 2012)

I emailed a law company called "Fairway Lawyers" that I found online for a rough quote (just for my husband, not including my own residencia) and they have said that can complete the process for 1000 E, that will apparently go through all stages of the process including Foreign Office and Police Station. We have politely declined as this seems insanely expensive. His UK visa only cost £750 so we are not prepared to shell out that kind of cash again unless it's totally necessary. 
Does anyone here have a good lawyer they could recommend that would be cheaper, that could get both our residencias sorted at the same time? If not, would it be easier and/or cheaper to just do this process ourselves? 
Again any help is much appreciated. We feel very lucky to have a forum like this to pass questions around. Not sure how people managed 20 years ago! Thank you!


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

gracegaldo said:


> I emailed a law company called "Fairway Lawyers" that I found online for a rough quote (just for my husband, not including my own residencia) and they have said that can complete the process for 1000 E, that will apparently go through all stages of the process including Foreign Office and Police Station. We have politely declined as this seems insanely expensive. His UK visa only cost £750 so we are not prepared to shell out that kind of cash again unless it's totally necessary.
> Does anyone here have a good lawyer they could recommend that would be cheaper, that could get both our residencias sorted at the same time? If not, would it be easier and/or cheaper to just do this process ourselves?
> Again any help is much appreciated. We feel very lucky to have a forum like this to pass questions around. Not sure how people managed 20 years ago! Thank you!


your husband wouldn't need any help at all - he just has to complete the forms & pay the fee (around 10€) - he has to physically attend the _extranjería _so there's not much point paying someone to do it

yours is a little more complicated, but you could do it yourself if you are confident that you can get all the right paperwork together

if you look in the useful links sticky thread the forms are there for you to download


----------



## gracegaldo (Mar 10, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> your husband wouldn't need any help at all - he just has to complete the forms & pay the fee (around 10€) - he has to physically attend the _extranjería _so there's not much point paying someone to do it
> 
> yours is a little more complicated, but you could do it yourself if you are confident that you can get all the right paperwork together
> 
> if you look in the useful links sticky thread the forms are there for you to download


Thank you, that is good news


----------



## ukmocha (Jan 5, 2012)

My husband is American and I am British. We speak very little Spanish but did the paperwork ourselves with the help of the info on this site and another expat site. It's not that complex, however you must have all the correct paper work, notarised and translated.

Your marriage certificate must be an original and "apostilled" - preferably from the UK as this made our process a lot easier than couples who have a US marriage certificate. 

We applied at thebeginning of October, however I did not have my marriage certificate apostilled (notarised by the Foreign Office in London, UK) and had to send it there - wait a few weeks and then return to the Immigration office to submit it. 

I believe that we were fortunate in that the lady who interviewed us initially was extremely helpful. She basically wrote down exactly what we needed to do and we just translated it when we got back home.

We managed to submit the corrected certificate some time in November and got the appointment for my husband to get fingerprinted and hand in his photos for his residency card three months later. We then had to wait another 45 day to actually pick up the card, however he had a "temporary card", which was more like a paper receipt in the meantime.

I have been through the process in the USA and know about the UK system and at least in our case the Spanish system was the fastest and easiest. Whether or not it is the most efficient is debatable! 

You can PM me if you like and I can give you the set of instructions I received when filing. 

It does help if you speak Spanish but we just smiled a lot and were very polite. It worked in our favour.


----------



## purpleflower (Jan 27, 2010)

Hi there UKmocha, what part of spain are you living in? Could you pm the instructions you were given too please as I will be in the same position soon and would appreciate the help

Thankyou


----------



## ukmocha (Jan 5, 2012)

purpleflower said:


> Hi there UKmocha, what part of spain are you living in? Could you pm the instructions you were given too please as I will be in the same position soon and would appreciate the help
> 
> Thankyou


Check your PMs.


----------



## purpleflower (Jan 27, 2010)

Thankyou


----------



## gracegaldo (Mar 10, 2012)

ukmocha said:


> My husband is American and I am British. We speak very little Spanish but did the paperwork ourselves with the help of the info on this site and another expat site. It's not that complex, however you must have all the correct paper work, notarised and translated.
> 
> Your marriage certificate must be an original and "apostilled" - preferably from the UK as this made our process a lot easier than couples who have a US marriage certificate.
> 
> ...



Hi ukmocha....Thank you so much for your useful reply. It's great to know that other people in the same situation as us have found it relatively easy. We speak very basic Spanish but not enough to feel confident in this situation although it sounds like it wont be too much of a problem. 
One thing that worries me a little is that our wedding certificate is from the US, we were married in Washington DC. Not much we can do about that though I suppose. 
If you could PM the details of what you had to do I would be very grateful. Thank you for your help! 
On a side note, where are you living in Spain?


----------



## gracegaldo (Mar 10, 2012)

ukmocha said:


> My husband is American and I am British. We speak very little Spanish but did the paperwork ourselves with the help of the info on this site and another expat site. It's not that complex, however you must have all the correct paper work, notarised and translated.
> 
> Your marriage certificate must be an original and "apostilled" - preferably from the UK as this made our process a lot easier than couples who have a US marriage certificate.
> 
> ...


Also I'm curious as to how long your husband had to wait after entering Spain before he could work? During the 3 month wait for his appointment, was he legally allowed to work? Thank you


----------



## ukmocha (Jan 5, 2012)

Gracegaldo, sorry I haven't responded earlier - just wasn't subscribed to this thread and so did not get a notification.  Anyway I have PM'd you my notes.


----------

