# Residency vs. Citizenship



## Jenniferwalker (Apr 13, 2008)

Hello-

My name is Jennifer and am new here. I am an American citizen and my husband is from Argentina. We lived in sevilla for 6 years and have recently tried living in the USA. We haven't taken to living in the US and i am going to go with my husband to try living in Spain again.

My question is...

My husband is a resident of spain, has his resident card and it needs to be renewed for the 3rd renewal(this summer). He already renewed 1st for 1 year, then 2nd for 2 more years. Does anyone know how many months you have to work to maintain the residency??

Also, at what point can he apply for citizenship?

Do anyone know about how long that takes?

And, as his wife, can i recieve writes to residency? and to a working residency card?

Thanks for any help.

I really love spain but am having a hard time making the move again.


----------



## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

Hi Jennifer and welcome to the forum.

I am a Brit married to an Argentine and we also thought of moving to Spain but then chose Argentina - the best move we ever made. 

I hope you can get your residency sorted out. It was a doodle getting permanent residency here for myself and the children. It just goes to show that Argentina sometimes gets things right.

Good luck

Michelle


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I'm not familiar with the requirements for Spain, but generally in the EU, if your husband is legally resident in Spain you should have the right to a visa and residence, too. Now, your work status is a different question.

You probably need to check with the Spanish consulate in the US. (But if you've already lived in Sevilla for 6 years, you should be able to get another visa.)
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## kronos (Apr 11, 2008)

Hi Jennifer, 

Here's what I was told about residency when I went through the process: 

1) First you get one year; then you renew for another two years; then you renew a second time and get another three years.

2) After those five years, you can apply for permanent residency, but as far as I know this is not the same as citizenship. It does, however, give you the right to live and work in any other EU country.

3) I know that at least for the first renewal, you have to have been working for at least 6 months (and contributing to seguridad social) during the first year. I assume it's the same for the other renewals.

4) If you are married and your husband has working papers in Spain, you should be able to get some sort of working visa as well. You will probably have to take care of this in the U.S. Are you registered in the U.S. (to vote, for example)? If so, contact the Spanish embassy closest to your voting district and ask them if you need a visa to work in Spain (make sure to tell them your husband is not EU either, but that he has a working permit). 

Good luck and please let us know how it turns out!!!

Kronos

(For more info try the web site All Things Spain)


----------

