# Cancelling Residencia and EU Registration



## ElaineG (Jun 4, 2015)

I have a friend a non-EU national, a Filipino, who has Residencia in Spain. She is the wife of a British/Irish national. She is at present in Ireland in the process of applying for Irish nationality. She cannot leave Ireland as that is part of her naturalization process, but she must cancel her Spanish residency to do that.

Her husband, also now living in Ireland, has decided to cancel his EU citizen registration and has come to Spain to do it. When he tried to do so he was told he must produce the British Passport which he used when he obtained it. That Passport has now expired so he is using his valid Irish PP. They say the British Passport must be valid for him to be able to cancel his EU Reg.. He does not want to renew his British Passport just to cancel his EU Reg in Spain. Even if he did of course he would not have the same Passport which he used when he registered, and a new one would have a different number anyway. 

When he produced an authority signed by his wife authorising him to cancel her Residencia he was told that such an authority can only be signed in Philippines. She is as I said she is in Ireland. And also, that as his wife has ‘permanent’ residence status in Spain, albeit that she must renew it every 10 years, he cannot cancel his EU Reg until she cancels her residencia status.

If she were to come to Spain on her Residencia, then once she had cancelled it, it would appear she would instantly be illegally in Spain. I have read that a person returning to Spain whose Residencia has expired would need a visa to enter Spain.

Anyone know how these hoops may be negotiated ?


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## ElaineG (Jun 4, 2015)

Just a simplified Q. 

How can one cancel their Residencia (Not EU Reg) from outside Spain ?


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## ElaineG (Jun 4, 2015)

An update

My friend’s husband came back to Spain, He present the EX18 which his wife had completed in Ireland. That form had previously been supplied by the police to be used to cancel the residencia. He then discovered that an EX19 is required to cancel Residencia. The police might have made the error because of confusion which can ocur when people rfer to a `resindencia' when they men EU Registration, Just a tohouht.

When the Police saw that he had his wife’s Philippines passport and her residencia, they said it was illegal for him to have them and they threatened to arrest him. He had a letter from his wife (in English) authorising him to cancel her Residencia. They seized the passport and the residencia.

Of course, his wife in Ireland required her passport. I made several visits to the police station to try to recover the passport but they refused.

I then called the police in Ireland and eventually it was arranged that my friend would go to the police station with another authorisation and request for the return of her passport. That was countersigned by the immigration officer of the Garda (Irish police). She emailed the letter. I translated it and took both copies to the police. I understood that the emailed document and my translation were not legally acceptable. However, the police relented and gave me the passport.

My wife’s husband has now returned to Ireland but will be back in Spain next month.

I have prepared a letter of authorisation for him to act for his wife in the cancelation of her residencia which I emailed to her. Both the English letter and the one in Spanish have been signed by my friend and countersigned by the Garda. Thus, her husband will have an original letter written in Spanish and thus will not need an official translation. Hopefully, he will be able to cancel my friend’s residencia when he is back in Spain.

My friend’s husband wanted to also cancel his EU Citizens Registration but was told that as his wife’s residencia relies on his EU Registration, he cannot cancel his registration until his wife’s Residencia is cancelled. He was also told that as he had obtained the EU Registration using a UK passport he would have to produce that to make the cancellation. That passport had expired. He has dual nationality and was travelling on his Irish passport. I spoke to the police about that. I explained that even if he renewed his UK passport it would bear a different number from the one he had used to obtain the EU Registration. 

I also told them that of course he could apply to change his nationality on his EU Registration from British to Irish using his Irish passport (I know one does not need the previous passport to do that) and then using his Irish passport immediately cancel it. After some arguing, they agreed he could use his valid Irish passport. We will see what happens when he returns.

For those interested I will post an up date.


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