# US Citizen to marry Spaniard



## xkat22

Hello! Hoping not to spend a ton of money on a lawyer, I thought I would ask all of you first. 

My Spanish boyfriend and I (US citizen) want to marry next summer. Should we marry in the USA and then register it in Spain or get married in Spain first? 

Our plan is to live in Spain one more year (after the marriage) and then move to the States. 

If we marry in the USA: Could I apply for residency if I return to Spain on a student Visa? Is a Visa even necessary? Can I apply for residency with a Libro de Familia? 

If we marry in Spain: Would it be easier for my boyfriend to enter the States on a Spousal Visa? 

I am told I can marry in the USA with no Special Visa (like a Fiance visa) as long as we are going right back to Spain aka, hes not seeking residency at this point. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you!


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## Guest

xkat22 said:


> Hello! Hoping not to spend a ton of money on a lawyer, I thought I would ask all of you first. ...
> 
> My Spanish boyfriend and I (US citizen) want to marry next summer. Should we marry in the USA and then register it in Spain or get married in Spain first?
> 
> Our plan is to live in Spain one more year (after the marriage) and then move to the States.


First, congratulations. Good luck with the preparations! I just got married to a Spanish boy this summer. We did an unofficial ceremony in the US to be with my family and the legal ceremony in Spain. Why? Rumor had it that legalizing the wedding at the Spanish consulates in the US took a while and I didn't have months to stay and wait in the US. The paperwork was a bit of a pain to get legally married here, but if you're used to Spanish bureaucracy you should have no problems. 



> If we marry in the USA: Could I apply for residency if I return to Spain on a student Visa? Is a Visa even necessary? Can I apply for residency with a Libro de Familia?
> 
> If we marry in Spain: Would it be easier for my boyfriend to enter the States on a Spousal Visa?
> 
> I am told I can marry in the USA with no Special Visa (like a Fiance visa) as long as we are going right back to Spain aka, hes not seeking residency at this point. Any help is greatly appreciated!


If you're legally married to or registered as a civil partner of a European citizen, you can apply for the _tarjeta familiar comunitario_ which is your residency permission. Once you're married, the form is here: http://extranjeros.mtin.es/es/Model...icitudes2/19-Tarjeta_familiar_comunitario.pdf
I had to submit a full copy of my passport, three photos, a copy of the wedding paperwork (libro de familia and _toma_ from the town hall records) and a copy of my husband's DNI. 

I have no clue about your future husband entering the States on a spousal visa. I'd be interested to know!


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## Bfpijuan

My husband and I were married in the States three years ago. At that time we did not register anything at the consulate there. We came to Spain, no visa needed either way, and did the paperwork here for my residency.


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## xkat22

Bfpijuan said:


> My husband and I were married in the States three years ago. At that time we did not register anything at the consulate there. We came to Spain, no visa needed either way, and did the paperwork here for my residency.


So you did not have to get residency with a US Consulate? Did you apply for residency in Spain within the first three months? Did you have to return to the US and come back? Once you got residency, were you immediately allowed to get a job? Or could you get a job during the residency process? Finally, (and thanks for reading all this!) Where did you finally register it? In the city you live in or in Madrid? THANK YOU!


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## xabiaxica

xkat22 said:


> So you did not have to get residency with a US Consulate? Did you apply for residency in Spain within the first three months? Did you have to return to the US and come back? Once you got residency, were you immediately allowed to get a job? Or could you get a job during the residency process? Finally, (and thanks for reading all this!) Where did you finally register it? In the city you live in or in Madrid? THANK YOU!


yes you can apply for residency in Spain

there is a full description of the process on this thread - post #9

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/96925-non-eu-nationals-becoming-residents-spain.html


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## Bfpijuan

I will try to answer all the questions. The first I am a little stumped. I never dealt with a U.S. consulate/embassy regarding Spanish residency. One of the first things I did when arriving here after the marriage was registering in the town we were living. Then turned in the paperwork to have the marriage registered here. That is a long story-bottom line, it was turned in where we lived and they sent it to Madrid. I also applied for Spanish residency, that went through the capital of the province (Albacete) at that time. This was all done within the first month. As far as working, my husband says that I was able to work from the time I arrived, another set of offices and paperwork. But, I am retired from work. All of my U.S. paperwork had the Hague seal and were translated by a local official translator. (birth certificate, previous marriage and divorce, and current marriage). one visit of the police to our house to verify I was living there and one visit to answer all the questions about the validity of our marriage and almost two years later I was granted residency.


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## Bfpijuan

Oops, missed the part about the U.S. No, all the residency was done from here. If there had been a visa involved, ie. you were applying for a retirement visa, that would have even done In the States.


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