# Newbie Needs to Bring Freelancing Girlfriend Along to Madrid



## chbrosz (Jul 23, 2013)

Hi everyone: *Apologies: I'm new in this community, and new to the research, so straightaway I'll apologize if I'm asking overtly naive questions that surely could be answered elsewhere. After posting, I'll continue my scrounging and research to try and get my answers, but till now I've come up short.*

I'm being offered a nice job in Madrid, full-time contract for 2 yrs, with legal support for my immigration process; I'm not worried about me.  What's not taken care of is how to also move my very serious girlfriend, whom I've lived with now for a few months even. At this point her accompanying me to Madrid is a prerequisite for me accepting the offer. She works full-time at an advertising agency here in Los Angeles, but has also freelanced in the past.

Q1: Do "girlfriends" have any rights for obtaining any of the immigration permits (residence, work, etc), or just for legally married spouses? :fingerscrossed:

Q2: Given the rough job market, is freelancing perhaps the more realistic route for income, vs. finding a full-time position with an agency? This is a rather industry-specific question, but maybe there are those out there that are qualified to comment. 

Q3: My research till now shows that she needs an "autonomo" before she can legally begin to freelance. Is this correct? Anyone actually freelancing in Spain that can comment on the process? This would be most appreciated!!!! :clap2:

Q4: Marrying the beautiful girl is not off the table -  - are there any serious advantages for the aforementioned issues?

I have tons more questions since I'm only 4 hours or so into researching this :ranger:, but we both would appreciate feedback if you have time to give it.

Thanks! 

Chris + Shannon


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

chbrosz said:


> Hi everyone: *Apologies: I'm new in this community, and new to the research, so straightaway I'll apologize if I'm asking overtly naive questions that surely could be answered elsewhere. After posting, I'll continue my scrounging and research to try and get my answers, but till now I've come up short.*
> 
> I'm being offered a nice job in Madrid, full-time contract for 2 yrs, with legal support for my immigration process; I'm not worried about me.  What's not taken care of is how to also move my very serious girlfriend, whom I've lived with now for a few months even. At this point her accompanying me to Madrid is a prerequisite for me accepting the offer. She works full-time at an advertising agency here in Los Angeles, but has also freelanced in the past.
> 
> ...


hi

unless you were married, the only way your girlfriend will get a working resident visa is on her own behalf I'm afraid

yes, to work freelance she'd need to register as autónomo (self-employed) - I and several other members here work this way - it can be expensive, you have to pay at least 260€ a month in NI contributions + income tax on top of that, even on a 'bad' month when you might earn less than expected 

there are some new rules coming in which will mean lower payments for some new workers, but your girlfriend will need a work visa first, in any case

as your wife - I believe that she would be allowed to work here, but I'm not sure so I'd check with the Spanish consulate before making that leap!


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## goingtobcn (Sep 9, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> hi
> 
> unless you were married, the only way your girlfriend will get a working resident visa is on her own behalf I'm afraid
> 
> ...


I'm another one! As xabiachica says, it's pretty expensive  I do however get a reduction on my NI contributions for being a female under 30, so pay 180€ a month: don't know if this would apply to your girlfriend? As above though, she'd still need a work visa first.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

goingtobcn said:


> I'm another one! As xabiachica says, it's pretty expensive  I do however get a reduction on my NI contributions for being a female under 30, so pay 180€ a month: don't know if this would apply to your girlfriend? As above though, she'd still need a work visa first.


I'm so jealous


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## chbrosz (Jul 23, 2013)

*Thanks, follow up questions*

Thank you both for your quick reply. There is a lot of information scattered out there on the interwebs, much of it from 2005 through 2008, I find for some reason, lol. It's much preferred to get it real time from you both, so thanks.

Just wanted to ask a follow up:

Q5: In the case of where we're not married, sounds like she's largely on her own. So, she would have to get a residence permit AND a work visa before she could declare her autonomo status...? Did I get that right? That sounds daunting.... :help: Any Americans out there with similar experiences? 

Q6: In the case we get married, I found on other sites where she could at least use my residence permit and thus not worry about living there. As for working there, not sure about what work rights she could automatically get from my contract -- I will keep digging. But if we're married, wouldn't the social security payment come out of my paycheck, meaning that if she were autonomo that she wouldn't have to pay the 260 euro? Or would she still have to pay? :nono: Any married expats out there that can share?

At some point we will get professional advice. Just wanting to not be completely ignorant about this as we plan for our future in these coming months. :shocked:

Thanks again,
C + S


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

The only way to get her here easily is to marry her. 

Regarding Q6, YOU will pay the social security and applicable taxes on your earnings AND she will have to do the same.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Does the young lady speak fluent Spanish? Unemployment in Spain is sky high so really the locals or at least fluent Spanish speakers are likely to get first bite of the cake.

To be honest I'd budget for living off just your income.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

chbrosz said:


> Q5: In the case of where we're not married, sounds like she's largely on her own. So, she would have to get a residence permit AND a work visa before she could declare her autonomo status...? Did I get that right? That sounds daunting....


That's not exactly right. As a non-EU national, the only way she could get a residency permit and work visa is if a Spanish company makes her a job offer and sponsors her visa application - like what you're going through. She wouldn't get a visa to come over here and be autonomo. 

Of course if you were married to her she would get residency along with you. Unfortunately I don't know if that would allow her to work here. But assuming she could work here, if she did freelance work she would have to pay the autonomo payment (as well as taxes). She would be covered by your social security only if she didn't work and was your dependent. 

Not to be negative about the whole thing, but I think it's unlikely your girlfriend would find work here, autonomo or otherwise. Spain has 28% unemployment, worse than in the US during The Depression. Most likely the best case scenario for you would be that you'd get married and your girlfriend (wife) would accompany you but not work.


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## webmarcos (Dec 25, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> hi
> 
> unless you were married, the only way your girlfriend will get a working resident visa is on her own behalf I'm afraid
> 
> ...


Yes, from October new autonomos in the system will pay just 50 euros per month to begin with, according to these measures:
Tarifa plana de 50 euros de Seguridad Social para todos los nuevos autónomos | Economía | Cinco Días
There are various multinational companies that operate in the northern cities like Madrid and Barcelona. Plus start-ups and Spanish companies generally are having to focus on exports and international trade, so a sales person with native English may well be in demand.
Some start-up jobs advertised in English here - Startup Jobs | Search for Job Offers in Tech Startups With JobFluent
And quite a few jobs advertised in english on TheLocal site The Local - Spain's News in English


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## goingtobcn (Sep 9, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> I'm so jealous


 Sorry!

We can be jealous together about the new 50€/month payment...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

goingtobcn said:


> Sorry!
> 
> We can be jealous together about the new 50€/month payment...


I wonder if having 'baja'd for the summer & starting again counts...............:confused2:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> I wonder if having 'baja'd for the summer & starting again counts...............:confused2:


Please tell me yes, please tell me yes, please tell me yes, please tell me yes...................................:flypig::fingerscrossed::flypig:


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Please tell me yes, please tell me yes, please tell me yes, please tell me yes...................................:flypig::fingerscrossed::flypig:


:flypig: that's what I thought too


but we live in hope :fingerscrossed:


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> as your wife - I believe that she would be allowed to work here, but I'm not sure so I'd check with the Spanish consulate before making that leap!


No, I'm fairly certain if they were married the wife could reside in Spain but not work. But yes, the OP should check with the consulate.



kalohi said:


> Of course if you were married to her she would get residency along with you. Unfortunately I don't know if that would allow her to work here.


From what I've read, there is a new scheme called the EU Blue Card for highly skilled workers from outside the EU. Some countries, like Germany and the Netherlands, offer an automatic work permit to the spouse of a Blue Card holder, but Spain does not.


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