# Australian marrying a Spanish citizen -- Questions



## grimfandjango (Nov 1, 2018)

Hi all,

My Spanish partner and I have decided to take the plunge and get married in Spain next year. I'm an Australian citizen currently living in Melbourne so sometime next year I'll be visiting on a 90-day tourist visa. 

I'm aware this can potentially be a long process, and as far as I can tell from the various sites I've visited I'll need the following documentation:

- Birth Certificate legalised by the Apostille and translated.
- Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage
- Valid passport

I understand we need to apply for a license to marry and after 15 to 21 days it will (or won't!) be issued (although I've read for some it takes much longer depending on the region). She lives in Castellón so perhaps that bodes well as its not such a large city.

There's a few things I'm not clear about and I'm just wondering if anyone can help from their own knowledge/experience of these things:

1. On some sites it says we will be interviewed _before_ our application for a license is accepted, some say _after_ the 15-21 day waiting period, and on others there's no mention of an interview at all -- I'm assuming it's after the application is submitted but before it's approved?
2. Can my partner start the application process before I arrive, assuming she has my documents? Or do I need to be there in person?
3. There's mention of a Certificate of Residence being required as well, but is that only for my partner or I do need one from Australia, too? The Spanish embassy site was unclear about that.
4. expatica.com says I need to register as a resident in the province. This is not applicable everywhere, but is it actually even possible to register as a resident when you're visiting on a tourist visa? This part especially didn't make much sense to me.

I understand that every region is different and often it depends on the individual you're dealing with, but any advice would be helpful.

On a side note, assuming all goes well, there's a couple of questions I have about *residency card* applications:

1. I need to sign-up for health insurance before I can apply?
2. Should we be putting myself on her rental lease, and also moving savings into a joint account?
3. Is it also correct that I can't leave Spain while the application is being processed? We were considering returning to Australia immediately to visit family.
4. Reading some old posts, some have advised applying for an appointment _before_ we actually get married, is this advisable to shorten the waiting time?

If I've missed anything super important or there's something you think I might need to know, please shout out 

Thanks in advance.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Try looking here. Videos/ explanation of the whole process
https://www.parainmigrantes.info/matrimonio-entre-un-espanol-y-un-extranjero-requisitos-y-tramites/
There is a list of documents, but much more info that needs to be read and digested


> *Por parte del ciudadano extranjero.*
> 1. Certificado literal de nacimiento. Legalizado y traducido en su caso.
> 2. Certificado de soltería o, el el caso de estar divorciado, certificado de matrimonio con anotación del divorcio o testimonio de la sentencia de divorcio. Legalizado y traducido.
> 3. Certificado emitido por el Consulado del país de origen del ciudadano extranjero en España que acredite la capacidad para contraer matrimonio (algunos registros no le exigen).
> ...


I got married here many years ago and it worked out fine for me. Good luck!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Only ONE of you has to be a registered resident, so your fiancee, as the Spanish national living here, will need all the listed documents.

You won't need to be a registered resident in any way.


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## grimfandjango (Nov 1, 2018)

Thank-you, that's a great help! I don't speak Spanish but I've sent it on to my girlfriend. 

Excuse the cut-and-paste Google translation, but under foreign citizen requirements a couple of entries are a little confusing:

4. Certificate issued by the Consulate of the country of origin of the foreign citizen in Spain on the need to publish edicts.
5. Certificate of consular registration issued by the Consulate of the country of origin of the foreign citizen in Spain.

Maybe it's the bad translation, but can you shed any light on what these particular forms are?


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## AlexNYC (Aug 2, 2017)

grimfandjango said:


> Hi all,
> 
> My Spanish partner and I have decided to take the plunge and get married in Spain next year. I'm an Australian citizen currently living in Melbourne so sometime next year I'll be visiting on a 90-day tourist visa.
> 
> ...





grimfandjango said:


> Hi all,
> 
> My Spanish partner and I have decided to take the plunge and get married in Spain next year. I'm an Australian citizen currently living in Melbourne so sometime next year I'll be visiting on a 90-day tourist visa.
> 
> ...


It is a nightmare to get married here compared to any other country in the world. I got married in the US and the process is very simple; I would assume in Australia is simple as well. In any event no matter what you decide, I would visit the Spanish consulta in Australia and apply for a NIE (Numero de Inmigrante Extranjero) you don't need to mention anything. Just say that you need the NIE because you want to buy a property in Spain and that willl save you a good month or two here. You will need that number for everything here


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Just to correct one thing, a NIE is a Numero de _Identidad _de Extranjero


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