# HELP! Need advice on visas, documentation, etc.



## pronomad (Apr 3, 2014)

Hello! I will be moving to Spain at the end of May with my new EU National husband and having no luck in finding any answers to several questions I have about visas, border crossing, documentation, etc. that will help our move be successful. 

Short of hiring an immigration lawyer, I though I would post my questions here and see if you good people can help me out. 

Here is my situation: I am a US citizen and my Belgium National/ EU Citizen fiancé and I will be getting married in California in early May (you would not believe how much easier it is to marry in my home country opposed to his - Belgium is a paperwork nightmare), we will then be flying together to Belgium for two days, pack up some items in storage there, and then fly to Spain where we will be living for a year (housesitting gig) and my new husband will register his residency in Spain and then I will apply for a EU spousal temp residency permit. 

Here are my outstanding questions:

1. As a US citizen, do I need any kind of special visa to enter the EU as a spouse of an EU national with the intent to stay longer than my allotted 90 day automatic tourist visa? Meaning is there any kind of documentation or visa that I need to enter the EU or can I just enter on my tourist visa and then register my EU spousal residency request in Spain within 60 days? I am worried that when I cross passport/border control in France (we are taking a flight from California that stops in France and then we hop on a domestic connection to Belgium an hour later so my assumption is that we go through passport control in France), and state that I am moving to the EU with my husband that I will be missing some critical document and they will deny me entry or if I just say that I am visiting as a tourist that my entry into the EU will be logged as a tourist visa and then I will encounter problems when I apply for residency while being on a tourist visa. It is so confusing and every agency I contact (the US, France, Spain embassies) contradict each other in process and refer me back to the other so I have no idea what to do but know that If I do not get a straight answer or clarity on what the protocol is, I will have major issues down the road. What do I need or need to do to enter the Schengen Zone correctly? If I enter in France do I follow their process even if I am in the airport and will take a connecting flight to Belgium? Do I follow Belgium's process even though 2 days later we will be in Spain? Do I follow Spain's process and apply for a family reunion visa based on y husbands future residency? Or do I do nothing, cross over on my US automatic 90 day tourist visa and wait unlit my husband gets his residency and then apply for mine as his spouse within the 60 days of arrival and on a tourist visa? There is not enough ibuprofen in the world to help soothe my aching head.  

2. We will be married in the US and will be heading back in the EU a week after our wedding and will have 2 days in Belgium and then head to Spain for the year. Unfortunately the marriage certificate will take approximately 10 days in the US tot process with city hall and the official recorder and then an additional 2-3 weeks to expedite a legal certificate to our address in Spain. I have no idea how long translation services take, but I am sure that adds a week or two depending on where it is done and what language it needs to be translated into. I will assume that we will have to register our marriage in Belgium (his EU country of citizenship) before any attempt to register our marriage in Spain, or can we register the marriage once he obtains his EU residency in Spain? Not sure on the best process here. I will say that Belgium is impossible when it comes to trying to register anything that requires legal attention so I would almost rather do it in Spain if we could. 

3. A lot of the info I see in these forums are several years old, does anyone have current info for US citizens applying for EU spousal residency in Spain? We will be living in a small village about 70 miles from Valencia so I need to ensure that all our documents and understanding of the process is 100% accurate because we will not have the luxury to visit the bigger city of Valencia frequently. I already know to photocopy everything 20 times to have spare backups and we will have 10-12 passport photos taken prior to arriving in Spain for all of the documents and copies of documents we need to furnish, but any legal advice, list of documents or links to the actual process, helpful hints, or process examples would be incredibly helpful. 

We are currently in Morocco until we leave for the US to be married, so all of our prep work is via the internet and lining up a critical document list to execute and print while back in the US for the week of our wedding, not ideal but it is our only option, and we have not had much luck calling our own countries consulates to get accurate information so we are in great need of advice! Anything would be helpful. 

Thanks! 

the Future Mrs. Pronomad


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## Sandraw719 (Jul 19, 2013)

You need translate the marriage certificate into spanish and certificated by Spanish embassy in US. 

You need to prove your address in Spain. You need the average balance of your Spanish bank for 3 months.

I do not think you can do all these in a short time.

The best suggestion is your husband to open a spanish bank account and put money in for a few months. Or you can come to Spain and organize everything together and you need to go back to prepare the marriage certificate. It has to be less than 90 days when you apply.

Whatever way, I am afraid you have to separate with your husband for a while.


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## pronomad (Apr 3, 2014)

*No clear*

Hello Sandra thank you for your response, not sure why we would need to open a bank account in advance of moving there is my husband is an EU national? As for our marriage certificate, it will be ready 3 weeks into our stay in Spain and I need to know if my husband needs to register the certificate in Belgium first (which will require a Dutch translation) or if we can just register our marriage (that already occurred in the US - which is part of the Hague convention so it is recognized as legal in the EU), or can he just register the certificate of marriage in Spain. Thanks again for your quick response but I am unclear on your direction.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

pronomad said:


> Hello Sandra thank you for your response, *not sure why we would need to open a bank account in advance of moving there is my husband is an EU national?* As for our marriage certificate, it will be ready 3 weeks into our stay in Spain and I need to know if my husband needs to register the certificate in Belgium first (which will require a Dutch translation) or if we can just register our marriage (that already occurred in the US - which is part of the Hague convention so it is recognized as legal in the EU), or can he just register the certificate of marriage in Spain. Thanks again for your quick response but I am unclear on your direction.


your husband will have to show a minimum income of +/- 650€ a month &/or a balance of +/-6000€ & healthcare provision in order for *HIM *to register as resident

this has to be in a Spanish bank in Spain

until he is registered as resident you can't start your application - he has to register within 90 days of his arrival in Spain

therefore, if he can open a bank account before coming here & have regular transfers made, showing proof of income/funds is more straightforward


also - Spain likes _everything _translated into Spanish & also apostilled - & the translations have to be less than 3 months old at the time of submission

you can enter Spain with a normal visitor visa


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## elisa31bcn (Jan 23, 2013)

Your husband does not have to open an account before you arrive. You will have to register the marriage in Belgium, and then get an official Spanish translation for you to be able to register as his spouse.
He will register as a resident. For that he needs to show appropriate finances, income going into an account, or a lump sum. The amount varies from region to region.
After he successfully registers, then you register as his spouse.
You can enter on a tourist visa as an American citizen.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

elisa31bcn said:


> Your husband does not have to open an account before you arrive. You will have to register the marriage in Belgium, and then get an official Spanish translation for you to be able to register as his spouse.
> He will register as a resident. For that he needs to show appropriate finances, income going into an account, or a lump sum. The amount varies from region to region.
> After he successfully registers, then you register as his spouse.
> You can enter on a tourist visa as an American citizen.


you're right - he doesn't have to - but it can make things simpler & swifter if he does, in the long run


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

elisa31bcn said:


> Your husband does not have to open an account before you arrive. You will have to register the marriage in Belgium, and then get an official Spanish translation for you to be able to register as his spouse.
> He will register as a resident. For that he needs to show appropriate finances, income going into an account, or a lump sum. The amount varies from region to region.
> After he successfully registers, then you register as his spouse.
> You can enter on a tourist visa as an American citizen.


That is correct. However, it makes it hard to show a stream of income into a *Spanish *bank without it. Whilst possible, it just takes longer.

In some places a lump sum is required in *addition* to regular income.


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## pronomad (Apr 3, 2014)

Gotcha - thank you everyone, these were on the list of things we need to do! I was really worried about entering the EU on a tourist visa even though we were married and being deny entry or have issues down the road. So I could just tell the passport control that I am heading to Spain for vacation? I would rather be transparent in my intent and tell them that I will be applying for residency with me EU husband. Still not sure what the best approach is. Since I have a one-way ticket to Belgium and then a one way ticket to Spain, there is no return date and the last thing I would want to do is raise suspicion with EU passport control.


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## Sandraw719 (Jul 19, 2013)

I applied my residency on Mar.18 and the man need my husband's bank certificate showing the average balance of the last 3 months. So I do not think you can do it without a Spanish bank. Of course, if you husband has a job here and paid the social insurance, that is a different thing. But without a job, we need to provide the bank certificate and private health insurance.

But it seems every region and every office have different rules. You can apply with the tourist visa no problem. But it takes time. It takes 2-3 weeks to make an appointment and maybe the translated marriage certificate will be older than 90 days when you apply. Then they wont accept.


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## Sandraw719 (Jul 19, 2013)

elisa31bcn said:


> Your husband does not have to open an account before you arrive. You will have to register the marriage in Belgium, and then get an official Spanish translation for you to be able to register as his spouse.
> He will register as a resident. For that he needs to show appropriate finances, income going into an account, or a lump sum. The amount varies from region to region.
> After he successfully registers, then you register as his spouse.
> You can enter on a tourist visa as an American citizen.


Things are more difficult than before. It takes 12 weeks for me to register my marriage with my british husband in UK. We got married in China. But the Spanish government does not take any notice about the marriage deposit in UK at all. They need the marriage certificate to be translated in the original place. In my case, I have to translate it in China and stamped by Spanish Embassy in Beijing.


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## pronomad (Apr 3, 2014)

Wow, hopefully it will be much easier since the US is part of the Hague convention. We will have to translate the marriage certificate into Dutch or French to register our marriage in Belgium (where he holds his citizenship) so we might as well also request Spanish at that same time. I just spoke to someone at the Embassy of Spain and they told me that I need to apply for a long-term visa in order to enter the EU. I was also told that if I enter the EU on a tourist visa, I need to leave within 90 days because it is only a tourist visa and I cannot not apply for residency on a tourist visa. Anyone hear this too?


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## Sandraw719 (Jul 19, 2013)

pronomad said:


> Wow, hopefully it will be much easier since the US is part of the Hague convention. We will have to translate the marriage certificate into Dutch or French to register our marriage in Belgium (where he holds his citizenship) so we might as well also request Spanish at that same time. I just spoke to someone at the Embassy of Spain and they told me that I need to apply for a long-term visa in order to enter the EU. I was also told that if I enter the EU on a tourist visa, I need to leave within 90 days because it is only a tourist visa and I cannot not apply for residency on a tourist visa. Anyone hear this too?


They won't give you any long stay visa since your husband is not Spanish resident yet. You can apply on the tourist visa but you need to check with Valencia immigration dept. about the bank.

I applied in Alicante and there is no way they accept if you cannot show the bank certificate for 3 months. Maybe it is different in other part of Spain?


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## pronomad (Apr 3, 2014)

Interesting, so my husband is an EU citizen and will definitely set up a bank account since we will be there for over a year, but I don't understand why I need to show a bank certificate for three months to apply for my EU residency permit if he already will have his? If he applies first then I apply within the first 60 days (once he has his residency) why would the bank certificate apply to me? We will be in the Valencia Community so it may be the same as you. Strange.


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## Sandraw719 (Jul 19, 2013)

pronomad said:


> Interesting, so my husband is an EU citizen and will definitely set up a bank account since we will be there for over a year, but I don't understand why I need to show a bank certificate for three months to apply for my EU residency permit if he already will have his? If he applies first then I apply within the first 60 days (once he has his residency) why would the bank certificate apply to me? We will be in the Valencia Community so it may be the same as you. Strange.


Because he is your sponsor and has to sign his name on the application form when you sign your name. He has to approve he can support you. Also he has to approve he has regular income. He cannot put a lot of money and apply the next day.

It is stupid rule.But that is the Spanish government need.


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## pronomad (Apr 3, 2014)

good to know! Good luck to you and thanks for your advice.


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## Sandraw719 (Jul 19, 2013)

pronomad said:


> Interesting, so my husband is an EU citizen and will definitely set up a bank account since we will be there for over a year, but I don't understand why I need to show a bank certificate for three months to apply for my EU residency permit if he already will have his? If he applies first then I apply within the first 60 days (once he has his residency) why would the bank certificate apply to me? We will be in the Valencia Community so it may be the same as you. Strange.


I think it is a new rule.when I went to the bank for the certificate, the handsome man said hundreds people asked this document recently. So he understood me and gave me this in a week.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

pronomad said:


> Interesting, so my husband is an EU citizen and will definitely set up a bank account since we will be there for over a year, but I don't understand why I need to show a bank certificate for three months to apply for my EU residency permit if he already will have his? If he applies first then I apply within the first 60 days (once he has his residency) why would the bank certificate apply to me? We will be in the Valencia Community so it may be the same as you. Strange.


even if it was just your husband coming to live in Spain alone, he would have to show income &/or funds & healthcare provision for himself in order to register as resident

that has been the rule since August 2012

when you apply as his spouse, he'll then have to show that he can support you - but he'll have to register as resident in his own right first


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## ddrysdale99 (Apr 3, 2014)

An interesting thread that made me think of my own situation. I'm not married to my spouse but support her - and her 26 year old son who has learning difficulties. If we apply for residency is it the case that I should show that I have sufficient funds to support us all or will she have to show she can support herself and her son?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

ddrysdale99 said:


> An interesting thread that made me think of my own situation. I'm not married to my spouse but support her - and her 26 year old son who has learning difficulties. If we apply for residency is it the case that I should show that I have sufficient funds to support us all or will she have to show she can support herself and her son?


since you aren't married, and her son is over 18 you would each have to register separately & show income & healthcare provision separately


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## pronomad (Apr 3, 2014)

A little update: we requested an apostille from California for our marriage certificate (this took 6 weeks and $200) and a legal certificate translation locally within 48 hours for 25 euros, BUT we did not have to register the marriage first in Belgium which saved us time and money. I applied for my residency as a non-eu spouse around 8 weeks ago and now we wait to see what happens. Thanks for all of the great advice!


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## pronomad (Apr 3, 2014)

I got my residency letter today!!! I am good to go for the next 5 years! What a relief!


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