# Moving to Spain



## RidleyPiers (Oct 7, 2010)

Hey all, I hope you can help me. My fiancee and I are getting married in Gibraltor in January. She is a citizen of the UK and I from USA. She currently resides in Spain and has done so for many years. We decided to start our new life in Spain but I am not sure as a US citizen how I can legally stay there past the 90 days. Though I must say I was there late last year into the beginning of this year for almost 4 months and no one seamed to care I was there past the 90 days then and I had regular dealings with the local goverment, getting permits and etc which I had to show my passport for.

Thank you in advance


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

RidleyPiers said:


> Hey all, I hope you can help me. My fiancee and I are getting married in Gibraltor in January. She is a citizen of the UK and I from USA. She currently resides in Spain and has done so for many years. We decided to start our new life in Spain but I am not sure as a US citizen how I can legally stay there past the 90 days. Though I must say I was there late last year into the beginning of this year for almost 4 months and no one seamed to care I was there past the 90 days then and I had regular dealings with the local goverment, getting permits and etc which I had to show my passport for.
> 
> Thank you in advance


Hi there - I believe you need to apply for residency at the Spanish embassy in the USA. Don't leave it too long, January isn't far away!

It really isn't worth trying to slip through the net; you don't want to start married life worrying about being lumbered with a big fine if you get caught.


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## JeanP (Sep 11, 2010)

Alcalaina is correct, you will need to apply for residency at your embassy. As we are not EU residents the move abroad is slightly more complicated, but as you are coming from the US it is much easier than me.

When I queried visas at the embassy in SA they require a pretty impressive list to be completed, such as how you earn an income, bank statements (or in my case proof of funds as I earn money online). I applied about 2 months ago and still awaiting the outcome, so my suggestion is to get yourself to the embassy, find out the requirements and supply them with what they need.
Once you arrive, then remember you will have to get yourself a NIE and the rest.

Good luck, its a process and a half but all worth while to stay in a beautiful country and to be on the right side of the law


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## geez (Apr 4, 2010)

Hi RidleyPiers,

Locally probably no one would care if you overstayed your visa, just like in the US (with the exception of perhaps Arizona). It's on the way in and out of Schengen (ie pretty much any non-UK immigration gate of entry in Europe these days) that you have to be careful. You got lucky last time but life can get very difficult if you have an over-stay or deportation on your record so best to do things the official way.

I wouldn't worry as it is not nearly as fiendishly difficult as getting similar recognition in the States. Not sure whether it would be worth getting some advise as to whether it is better to apply for residency in the UK or Spain initially. For us, it made sense for me as a non_EU national to get residency initially in my partner's country of origin (Switzerland) even though we've lived in Spain for a few years.

Good luck and give my regards to Scranton (I've done my Joooisey time too).


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Hi
My mother-in-law is a US citizen and after my father-in-law died, we moved her to UK after we had sold the house we had in Florida. We applied for and got permission for her to stay in UK (this of course is null and void as soon as you apply for residency in any other country).

When we moved to Spain, we had to start the whole process of getting her residency again. She had spent all her married life (51 yrs) out of the US and of course has no pensions and is totally dependent upon us for support. Because she is my wife's antecedent, she is classed as my dependant and therefore gets free health-care from the UK on my E121 (I am a pensioner).


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2010)

RidleyPiers said:


> Hey all, I hope you can help me. My fiancee and I are getting married in Gibraltor in January. She is a citizen of the UK and I from USA. She currently resides in Spain and has done so for many years. We decided to start our new life in Spain but I am not sure as a US citizen how I can legally stay there past the 90 days. Though I must say I was there late last year into the beginning of this year for almost 4 months and no one seamed to care I was there past the 90 days then and I had regular dealings with the local goverment, getting permits and etc which I had to show my passport for.
> 
> Thank you in advance


Once you get married, you're golden. However, before you do so you're going to have a rotten time trying to get residency. 

You COULD try on a student visa, but the school year has just started. Can you hold out until three months before your wedding to come back over?? 

Also, just a heads up, as US citizens we are not able to switch our licences to Spanish ones. You'll have to re-do the test in Spain.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

halydia said:


> Once you get married, you're golden. However, before you do so you're going to have a rotten time trying to get residency.
> 
> You COULD try on a student visa, but the school year has just started. Can you hold out until three months before your wedding to come back over??
> 
> Also, just a heads up, as US citizens we are not able to switch our licences to Spanish ones. You'll have to re-do the test in Spain.


Am i missing something... if you are getting married in January thats roughly 3 months away), so can't you do another 90 day touristy stay and then take the easy route to residency once married?

Sorry, not my specialist area but jsut sprung to mind.. probably made myself sound quite dense now!


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> Am i missing something... if you are getting married in January thats roughly 3 months away), so can't you do another 90 day touristy stay and then take the easy route to residency once married?
> 
> Sorry, not my specialist area but jsut sprung to mind.. probably made myself sound quite dense now!


You could do the 90 days before you're married, from what I understand, yes. 

I've heard of cases when non-EU nationals overstay a bit (we're talking weeks, not years) and _no pasa nada._ I've also heard (and believe!) about experiences with seriously _borde_ government employees, so I'd just play it safe.


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