# Residence Card from Marriage to Spaniard: Wedding Certificate from Overseas?



## Michael75

Question about marriage to a Spaniard, visas and residency. I've read through the posts on here and haven't found anything about my question.

I'm a non-EU citizen and want to marry my Spanish girlfriend. Currently, I am in Spain visiting her on a legal, 90-day visa (the standard airport stamp). I have no residency in Spain or the EU.

I hope to get a Spanish residency card based on our marriage as soon as possible, and then to apply for citizenship after one year of our marriage and my legal residence in Spain.

Our problem: the time for each step of the process is incredibly long. 

My girlfriend resides (empadronada) in Barcelona. The Registro Civil in Barcelona told us this month (end of May, 2009) that we should plan on 1 year to get married: 7 months wait to see the judge for an interview, a few months for the judge to make his decision, then a few months wait to actually get the date for the marriage and finally have it officially transcribed in the Registro. 

So if we try to get married in Barcelona, it will be more than 1 year before I can get the residence card to allow me to live and work legally in Spain. And only then will I begin completing the 1 year period of reidency/marriage required to apply for citizenship.

Because of this mess (que conazo!), an immigration lawyer we consulted recommended we get married outside Spain. We spoke to the Spanish consulate in a country we thought would be a beautiful place for a wedding, and got good news: we would be able to inscribe our marriage in the Registro Civil Consular and get our Libro de Familia on the same day.

So we started planning our wedding... until we suddenly were told this week by a different immigration lawyer that I cannot get a residence card based on a marriage overseas even if I have the Libro de Familia from the Spanish consulate.

The lawyer explained that the Spanish consulate will just forward our information to the Registro Central in Madrid. I need the certificado literal de matrimonio from this Registro Central in order to apply for the residence card. The consular inscription and the Libro de Familia is not sufficient. 

And the lawyer told me that the system is so crowded that it takes about 18 months for the Registro Central in Madrid to process and inscribe our marriage.

However, we rechecked with the first lawyer we spoke with, and he disagrees. According to him, the Libro de Familia IS the marriage certificate required by the Oficina de Extranjeria to issue the residence card.

I've tried checking with Spanish government sources, but as I'm sure you've all experienced, I can't get a consistent answer from anyone official.

My question:
- If we marry outside of Spain, inscribe the marriage in the Spanish Consulate and receive a Libro de Familia from the Consulate, are these documents sufficient for me to apply for the residence card based on marriage? Or do we indeed have to wait (18 months?!) for the Registro in Madrid to process our marriage?

- If marrying outside the country doesn't shorten the time to get the residence card, do you have any other suggestions for what to do? [As an example, the Consular Officer in the Spanish consulate in my country recommended (this is not a joke) that I get a 6-month student visa, which he said is quick to get in my country. With that, my girlfriend and I could get married in Barcelona within a few months (because the interview/apaproval process would be shortened if I already have residence), then I could apply to change my visa from a student visa to a visa for family member. This idea sounds complicated, I don't want to study, and it would cost me tuition in a school, but maybe it would work as a short-term solution and allow us to be together legally sooner.]

Both my girlfriend and I would sincerely appreciate any suggestions and advice from any of you who know about this.

Thanks!


----------



## Suenneil

Michael75 said:


> Question about marriage to a Spaniard, visas and residency. I've read through the posts on here and haven't found anything about my question.
> 
> I'm a non-EU citizen and want to marry my Spanish girlfriend. Currently, I am in Spain visiting her on a legal, 90-day visa (the standard airport stamp). I have no residency in Spain or the EU.
> 
> I hope to get a Spanish residency card based on our marriage as soon as possible, and then to apply for citizenship after one year of our marriage and my legal residence in Spain.
> 
> Our problem: the time for each step of the process is incredibly long.
> 
> My girlfriend resides (empadronada) in Barcelona. The Registro Civil in Barcelona told us this month (end of May, 2009) that we should plan on 1 year to get married: 7 months wait to see the judge for an interview, a few months for the judge to make his decision, then a few months wait to actually get the date for the marriage and finally have it officially transcribed in the Registro.
> 
> So if we try to get married in Barcelona, it will be more than 1 year before I can get the residence card to allow me to live and work legally in Spain. And only then will I begin completing the 1 year period of reidency/marriage required to apply for citizenship.
> 
> Because of this mess (que conazo!), an immigration lawyer we consulted recommended we get married outside Spain. We spoke to the Spanish consulate in a country we thought would be a beautiful place for a wedding, and got good news: we would be able to inscribe our marriage in the Registro Civil Consular and get our Libro de Familia on the same day.
> 
> So we started planning our wedding... until we suddenly were told this week by a different immigration lawyer that I cannot get a residence card based on a marriage overseas even if I have the Libro de Familia from the Spanish consulate.
> 
> The lawyer explained that the Spanish consulate will just forward our information to the Registro Central in Madrid. I need the certificado literal de matrimonio from this Registro Central in order to apply for the residence card. The consular inscription and the Libro de Familia is not sufficient.
> 
> And the lawyer told me that the system is so crowded that it takes about 18 months for the Registro Central in Madrid to process and inscribe our marriage.
> 
> However, we rechecked with the first lawyer we spoke with, and he disagrees. According to him, the Libro de Familia IS the marriage certificate required by the Oficina de Extranjeria to issue the residence card.
> 
> I've tried checking with Spanish government sources, but as I'm sure you've all experienced, I can't get a consistent answer from anyone official.
> 
> My question:
> - If we marry outside of Spain, inscribe the marriage in the Spanish Consulate and receive a Libro de Familia from the Consulate, are these documents sufficient for me to apply for the residence card based on marriage? Or do we indeed have to wait (18 months?!) for the Registro in Madrid to process our marriage?
> 
> - If marrying outside the country doesn't shorten the time to get the residence card, do you have any other suggestions for what to do? [As an example, the Consular Officer in the Spanish consulate in my country recommended (this is not a joke) that I get a 6-month student visa, which he said is quick to get in my country. With that, my girlfriend and I could get married in Barcelona within a few months (because the interview/apaproval process would be shortened if I already have residence), then I could apply to change my visa from a student visa to a visa for family member. This idea sounds complicated, I don't want to study, and it would cost me tuition in a school, but maybe it would work as a short-term solution and allow us to be together legally sooner.]
> 
> Both my girlfriend and I would sincerely appreciate any suggestions and advice from any of you who know about this.
> 
> Thanks!


PHEW! Michael ! thats a very detailed and well put together post! Its way out of my experience to be honest so I cant offer you any help .... its seems to be quite a specific problem that may not have been experienced by too many of us on here - but you never know ! I hope you get some answers soon so that you can focus on the actual wedding!

Good luck - Sue


----------



## Mely

OK basically this is what happened to us. We were both Canadian but OH also has the Spanish nationality. So a Non EU country. 

We married in Montreal and got a copy of the civil marriage from the government. (Act of Marriage as it was called). With this document we went to the consulate and a few weeks later got our libro de familia. 

Fast forward to us being in Spain. First, get an appointment for your NIE (residency card), I called in June and got an appointment in September. When you call, they will give you a reference number and tell you what to bring. If I remember correctly, you will need your empadronamiento, passport, libro de familia, and documents from the person married to you. I don't remember if you need anything else. I checked my papers and do have the sheet anymore but I'll try to verify. 

After getting the document settled and etting your fingerprints, they will send you a letter home to go and get your NIE on a certain date. I got mine end of October, so a bit less than 2 months. You can apply for your nationality after 1 year of having your residency. All in all, from the phone call to getting the document: about 5 months. 


I hope this can help you a bit. You are legal in Spain if you are married to a Spaniard and can work, just need the paper to do so.

Let me know if you have anymore questions. 

mel :wave:


----------



## Pesky Wesky

Sounds incredibly complicated!
Try this website which we've all just found out about recently. I don't think you'll find the answer there but they should be able to point you in the right direction.
British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Home
Good luck to you both


----------



## Mely

here is a link for the solicitud

http://www.mir.es/SGACAVT/modelos/extranjeria/modelos_extranje/ex_14.pdf

It explains a bit what you need. I'll keep on looking if I can find something better. the best would be to go to the consulate and talk to them.

and this is what the consulado asked to proceed with the marriage inscription:

MATRIMONIOS
Sería conveniente que el/los cónyuge/s español/es estén inscritos en el Registro de Matrícula Consular antes de proceder a la inscripción del matrimonio. No obstante, se podría proceder a ello siempre y cuando el matrimonio se haya realizado dentro de esta jurisdicción, presentando la siguiente documentación en este Consulado General:

1. Certificado local de matrimonio (COPIE D'ACTE DE MARIAGE / Certified Copy of Marriage Registration, Long form). 

2. Copia literal de nacimiento del cónyuge español, actualizada. 

3. Certificado de nacimiento del cónyuge extranjero. 

4. Pasaportes vigentes de los cónyuges. 

5. DNI de los cónyuges españoles. 

6. Si uno o ambos de los cónyuges están divorciados: 

o Certificado de Divorcio para el cónyuge extranjero. 

o Para el cónyuge español, de haberse inscrito el matrimonio en el registro civil español y haberse realizado el divorcio en el extranjero, éste último no tendrá validez si no está reconocido en España mediante el proceso de EXEQUÁTUR, ejecutado por un abogado en España. 

7. Declaración jurada de estado civil previo al matrimonio, que se encuentra a su disposición en esta Sección Consular. 

8. Hoja de declaración de datos para la inscripción del matrimonio, cumplimentada preferentemente por el cónyuge español, que se encuentra a su disposición en este Consulado General. Inscripción consular matrimonios.pdf



NOTA IMPORTANTE: Los documentos mencionados deberán ser ORIGINALES.

UNA VEZ INSCRITO EL MATRIMONIO SE ENTREGARÁ EL CORRESPONDIENTE LIBRO DE FAMILIA.




**** 
I also found this link of someone that explained very well and remember the details! lolll not like me:

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...spain/15613-non-eu-marrying-spaniard-nie.html

check it out.


Hope thishelps you.


----------



## Michael75

Hi - I'm the original poster.

Thanks, Sue and Pesky Wesky.

Mely - Your situation is really interesting, as you're the first person I've heard from who personally has gone thru the process. I'd be interested if you got the certificado literal de matrimonio from the Registro Civil Central _before _you applied for your tarjeta de residencia, or if you were able to use _only_ the documents which the Spanish consulate gave you? Also, in what city/provincia were you in?

Here's the heart of the issue:

The Oficina de Extranjeros has a document (www . graduados-sociales . com / extranjeria / 48 . pdf) [sorry for the spaces in the link, it won't let me post a hyperlink otherwise] which states that to apply for a residence card as the spouse of a Spaniard, you need:

"certificado literal de matrimonio expedido por el Registro Civil espanol, con una antiguedad no superior a tres meses"

(translation: literal certificate of marriage issued by the Spanish Registro Civil, not older than 3 months)

The issue affecting me is the interpretation of "expedido por el Registro Civil espanol". Does a certificate issued by the Registro Civil Consular of the Spanish consulate count as having been issued by the Registro Civil espanol? 

The Consulado de Espana in the country we want to get married in told me that they will issue me a Libro de Familia and a Certificado Literal de Matrimonio within a week of our marriage. They confirmed to me that 100%, absolutely 100% for sure, that these documents are sufficient to receive the Tarjeta de Residencia. They confirmed that the Registro Civil Consular is 100% the same as the Registro Civil espanol.

However, several immigration lawyers in Barcelona are even more absolutely convinced that this is incorrect. They say what the consulate gives is NOT sufficient. I need to get the Certificado Literal de Matrimonio from the Registro Civil Central in Madrid... and that this is taking at least 18 months right now.

I'm really confused. If the Consulate documents are sufficient, I can apply for my tarjeta de residencia and begin working relatively quickly, say within a few months. But if I need to wait for the Registro Central to issue the documents, it will be at least 2 years before I can reside and work legally in Spain. It's a huge difference, and really affects the lives of my girlfriend/future-wife and me.


----------



## Mely

OK. I got all my documents in Canada (libro de familia) and applied here for the residency card. The Registro civil consular from Montreal / Quebec in Canada was valid and sent the info to the registro civil español. 

i had no problem applying to get my residency card... I don't understand why the lawyers are telling you that. I have never gone through a lawyer and have done the whole "tramite" myself .. and OH obviously.. and it was pretty straight forward. I got mine done in Madrid. Of course, being Spain, everything is a long process but being married to a Spaniard gives you all the rights. As I said, getting an appointment is the longer process.. call in advance as it takes a few months to get one. That is a shortcut you can take. Don't wait until you get your libro de familia or get married... call and get one. After you go to the appointment and everything is in order, it only takes max 2 3 months to get your residency card.

Hope this helps you!


----------



## Michael75

Wow, Mely, you're amazing. Thanks for the great reply!

2 follow-up questions:

- Just to confirm for the 1000th time (sorry!), you really just submitted only the Libro de Familia from the Consulate and the Registro from the Consulate? In other words, when applying for your tarjeta de residencia, the Oficina de Extranjeros really didn't care that you didn't have anything from the Registro Civil Central?

- Great idea about calling in advance to set up the appointment. I thought they ask you for the date of your wedding in order to get the appointment, though, and if you're not yet married, you can't get the appointment. You sound very street smart, so I'd love to know how you got around that?


----------



## Mely

Michael75 said:


> Wow, Mely, you're amazing. Thanks for the great reply!
> 
> 2 follow-up questions:
> 
> - Just to confirm for the 1000th time (sorry!), you really just submitted only the Libro de Familia from the Consulate and the Registro from the Consulate? In other words, when applying for your tarjeta de residencia, the Oficina de Extranjeros really didn't care that you didn't have anything from the Registro Civil Central?
> 
> - Great idea about calling in advance to set up the appointment. I thought they ask you for the date of your wedding in order to get the appointment, though, and if you're not yet married, you can't get the appointment. You sound very street smart, so I'd love to know how you got around that?


Well the consulate supposedly sends your info to Spain. The libro de familia is an "extract" from the registro civil. Seriously, follow what the consulate tells you or if you want, call the embassy of your country in Spain, they know it as well. 

I am copying the link I send you before because this is realllly exactly to the dot what I had to do":

***********************************************************

NIE/Tarjeta de residencia de familiar de ciudadano de la Union

Step 1 was to make an appointment with the Oficina de Extranjeria on tel. 902565701. We did this when we got back form Australia in December and was told our interview would be in May (5 months later!!). 

I was lucky in that my father in law has a friend of a friend of a friend (or something like that) so I could get this meeting in January instead of May. To avoid this problem I recommend calling as soon as possible (even before getting married), as they asked for no proof of marriage to make the interview.

I had to present the following: 
- a completed EX-16 form (Solicitud de Certificado de registro como residente comunitaria o Tarjeta de residencia de familiar de ciudadano de la Union) + copies 
- Libro de Familia + copy 
- my passport + copy 
- my husband’s ORIGINAL DNI card + copy 
- my certificado de empadronamiento 
- Three passport photos

****************************************************************************

You shouldn't have any problem. As for the phone call for the appointment, they asked for my name and passport number and it is only to book a time. Go and get the solicitud before though. When you show up, you give them the info they need.

Honestly, I never talked to any lawyer. I have been here a year, got a job 4 months later and the NIE 1 month after. It is not that complicated. 

Good luck! :wave:


----------



## Michael75

That's great, Mely! I'm really happy to know from you that the documents from the Consulate in Canada were all that you needed.

And great advice about getting the appointment... I'll be sure to do that! 

Thanks again!


----------



## Dinah

*Hello! youre not alone!*

Dear Michale,

Youre not alone! we didnt have the same situation about all this paperworks to live legaly and hopefully live in Spain but I can say that mine was more risky and complicated. I will share you my own experience. I was illegally living in Spain when i got pregnant with my boyfriend. we decided to get married but it wasnt simple with all the required papers. the first thing we did is to register me in the Local Government (Empadromento).(It´s very important to first register you here personally with your girlfriend because Empadronamento is one of the requirements to get married). then after I started processing the required papers for marriage back to my country of origen with the help of my sister who processed it for me, which also took decade before it finally arrived here in Spain due to a very slow system. 

When we finally handed our papers in November 2009 and after all the interview and all my papers checked, they gave us a date to comeback for our papers to be approved and it was March 2010. When they finally granted us on March 2010 to get married, they told us to wait for atleast 1 month(for the reason that our wish to get marry needs to be posted in public and wait if someone will object.) no one object so last April 2010 , they called us and gave us the date of our marriage which happens last May 2010.YES! we´re newly wed. 

Now my next step is to get a residence permit, which I learned takes 3 months to process. the local judge told us that we just need the Literal de Matrimonyo, which is the marriage contract, Libro de Familia ( which we got it because I gave birth here in Spain,and our son is automatically become residence of Spain.) 
Now we didnt started processing my residence permit yet because my passport also run-out of date and needs to be renew first.( I need a valid pssport.) Next month, July 2010 we will process my residence permit. I will let you know the requirements.

I dont know if my situation was helpful to yours, but maybe youll get some ideas to be able to plan your future with your girlfriend. two things I must tell you, one, it varies which town or city you plan to get marry coz each town has different rules and requirements. two,Libro de Familia and Literal certificado de Matrimonyo are different papers but both needed to process your residence. 

For you first question:
If we marry outside of Spain, inscribe the marriage in the Spanish Consulate and receive a Libro de Familia from the Consulate, are these documents sufficient for me to apply for the residence card based on marriage? Or do we indeed have to wait (18 months?!) for the Registro in Madrid to process our marriage.

My Personal Opinion:
Yes! you can get a residence permit if you can prove that youre legally married to a spanish resident. You just need your marriage contract translated to Spanish and get Libro de Familia at the Ministerio de Justicia and not at the consulate.
I cannot tell you how long does it take to get a residence permit, as what i have said, it depends which town you apply for it. But as far as I know, as soon as they receive your application for residency, only needs 3 months then you become legal.

For the second question:

If marrying outside the country doesn't shorten the time to get the residence card, do you have any other suggestions for what to do? [As an example, the Consular Officer in the Spanish consulate in my country recommended (this is not a joke) that I get a 6-month student visa, which he said is quick to get in my country. With that, my girlfriend and I could get married in Barcelona within a few months (because the interview/apaproval process would be shortened if I already have residence), then I could apply to change my visa from a student visa to a visa for family member. This idea sounds complicated, I don't want to study, and it would cost me tuition in a school, but maybe it would work as a short-term solution and allow us to be together legally sooner.

My Personal Advice:

If your´e still in your home country,and wish to come to Spain to get Marry, ask your GF to go to Ministerio de Jusdicia and ask for the requirements for getting marry,then get it done in your country. make it complete as possible,. then as soon as you arrive in Spain,make sure that you and your GF will go to the Local Government to register you that you live with her(Empadronament).They will give you a piece of paper. Then after,you need to go to the Consulate and make all your papers translated into Spanish. After that you submit your papers to the Ministerio de Justicia. then they will give you date of approval, how long will it take? I don´t know.depends how busy they are. After, you need to wait max. 1 month for the (Public Announcement).then they will give you a date when you wish to get marry. in our case, after waiting for 1 month (public Announcement) 6 weeks after, we finally got married. if you only have 90 days to get this done, don´t waste time. if you will ask me if this is enough time to until you will be approve to get marry, and get a residence permit, 90 days is definitely not enough..it took us a total of 6 months-in the small town we live. It´s your choice to overstay and risk by waiting illegaly until they allow you to get married in Spain.

or....

You plan to get marry somewhere else, once you got a marriage contract, and other requirements, then you can come to Spain and start processing your residence permit. if you have the right papers and they accept it, it will only take 3 months. no risk for you! 

Im on my way to get a residence permit, hopefully by October this year, I will be holding it in my hand. a long time to wait just to be legal--but i will get in there oneday--I just need to be patient-- 

Hope I gave you some ideas through my experience..and Good Luck!

Best Regards,
Dinah 













Michael75 said:


> Question about marriage to a Spaniard, visas and residency. I've read through the posts on here and haven't found anything about my question.
> 
> I'm a non-EU citizen and want to marry my Spanish girlfriend. Currently, I am in Spain visiting her on a legal, 90-day visa (the standard airport stamp). I have no residency in Spain or the EU.
> 
> I hope to get a Spanish residency card based on our marriage as soon as possible, and then to apply for citizenship after one year of our marriage and my legal residence in Spain.
> 
> Our problem: the time for each step of the process is incredibly long.
> 
> My girlfriend resides (empadronada) in Barcelona. The Registro Civil in Barcelona told us this month (end of May, 2009) that we should plan on 1 year to get married: 7 months wait to see the judge for an interview, a few months for the judge to make his decision, then a few months wait to actually get the date for the marriage and finally have it officially transcribed in the Registro.
> 
> So if we try to get married in Barcelona, it will be more than 1 year before I can get the residence card to allow me to live and work legally in Spain. And only then will I begin completing the 1 year period of reidency/marriage required to apply for citizenship.
> 
> Because of this mess (que conazo!), an immigration lawyer we consulted recommended we get married outside Spain. We spoke to the Spanish consulate in a country we thought would be a beautiful place for a wedding, and got good news: we would be able to inscribe our marriage in the Registro Civil Consular and get our Libro de Familia on the same day.
> 
> So we started planning our wedding... until we suddenly were told this week by a different immigration lawyer that I cannot get a residence card based on a marriage overseas even if I have the Libro de Familia from the Spanish consulate.
> 
> The lawyer explained that the Spanish consulate will just forward our information to the Registro Central in Madrid. I need the certificado literal de matrimonio from this Registro Central in order to apply for the residence card. The consular inscription and the Libro de Familia is not sufficient.
> 
> And the lawyer told me that the system is so crowded that it takes about 18 months for the Registro Central in Madrid to process and inscribe our marriage.
> 
> However, we rechecked with the first lawyer we spoke with, and he disagrees. According to him, the Libro de Familia IS the marriage certificate required by the Oficina de Extranjeria to issue the residence card.
> 
> I've tried checking with Spanish government sources, but as I'm sure you've all experienced, I can't get a consistent answer from anyone official.
> 
> My question:
> - If we marry outside of Spain, inscribe the marriage in the Spanish Consulate and receive a Libro de Familia from the Consulate, are these documents sufficient for me to apply for the residence card based on marriage? Or do we indeed have to wait (18 months?!) for the Registro in Madrid to process our marriage?
> 
> - If marrying outside the country doesn't shorten the time to get the residence card, do you have any other suggestions for what to do? [As an example, the Consular Officer in the Spanish consulate in my country recommended (this is not a joke) that I get a 6-month student visa, which he said is quick to get in my country. With that, my girlfriend and I could get married in Barcelona within a few months (because the interview/apaproval process would be shortened if I already have residence), then I could apply to change my visa from a student visa to a visa for family member. This idea sounds complicated, I don't want to study, and it would cost me tuition in a school, but maybe it would work as a short-term solution and allow us to be together legally sooner.]
> 
> Both my girlfriend and I would sincerely appreciate any suggestions and advice from any of you who know about this.
> 
> Thanks!


----------



## epsilon1983

Soooo any update on how this worked out? I'm in a similar situation - Marrying my Spanish fiancee here in America because the process takes too long and requires me to make a few inconvenient trips to Spain if I wish to get married there. Then I wish to apply for residency in her home town, but can I do that just based off of marriage and still be able to work there without having to show any sort of financial guarantee?


----------



## catinspain

I'm also interested in an update!

I got married in the US to a Spaniard last year and we stupidly did not do our homework and did not request the Libro de Familia from the consulate in San Francisco (we got married in Vegas...that's a lot of distance between the two locations!). I've now been living in Spain illegally since September of last year (thankfully I found work) and we were told it was going to take a year to process paperwork if we wanted to send our documents to the Registro Civil in Madrid to get the libro de familia. Since we travel frequently and were not planning on being here in a year's time...we did not send the paperwork. 

When we went to the Oficina de Extranjeria, the laws were changing they said and they mentioned something about "pareja de hecho" status that could be requested, so we might try that route.

I am interested to know how long it Michael in the end to finally get his residency card, and if ANYONE knows a quicker route of obtaining the residency card without this one year to one year and a half waiting period! We're already married for god's sake!!!!


----------

