# Same-sex marriage between EU citizen and US citizen



## starlucia (Mar 18, 2010)

Hello, everyone, I'm wondering if you can help. I am an American citizen in a same-sex relationship with an EU citizen (Italian passport, currently living in Buenos Aires.) We are interested in marrying in Spain and then residing there permanently. I'd like to know more about my permanent residence/employment rights as the wife of an EU citizen, but there's a lot of conflicting information out there. If she is an EU citizen and a resident of Spain, will I be able to obtain a job, or still be bound by the need for a work visa? I speak fluent Spanish and possess a master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages/PhD in Linguistics. Thanks for any advice you can give!

Cheers, 
Kimberly


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Welcome to the forum!!! Hopefully someone on here will point you in the right direction!!!!????? I guess the "same sex" bit is irrelevant, but the marriage in Spain and your rights afterwards are the issue. 

Jo xxx


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

HUGE can of worms - it has come up a few times and there are a number of test cases. 

Some situations - just some 

1) Some councils REFUSE to allow same-sex marriages in their municipality. Madrid threatened to prosecute and the mayor of Benissa (Teulada?) said he would rather face a life sentence rather than allow a same sex marriage in his municipality. 

2) Other councils have blocked it with a legal technicality nd said in advance that if challenged they will appeal that they believed that it is a marriage of convenience. 

3) Other/same councils will insist on a legally unenforcable two year residence requirement. 

4) Getting married here for even two EU citizens is a hassle many will not go through and although Spanish residents will go back to the UK /ROI for a church service and have a blessing here in Spain. Alternative is to go to Gibraltar and have a blessing here 

BUT even then there is the classic case in Els Poblets when a UK couple gave up trying to get married here and went to the Dominica Republic for a beach wedding. When they came back for the civil wedding the registrar refused to accept their paperwork and point blank refused to marry them at the town hall. 

5) Work? Whole new can of worms and with an Italian partner (same-sex or not) you could have the whole marriage of convenience hassle. 42% youth unemployment means they do NOT want more grey area foreigners. They are even paying LEGAL foreigners to return home if unemployed. 

6) Even IF you got the paperwork and IF you still had the will to live the chances of finding well-paid work are thin. See PeskyWesky´s great threads on Spanish teaching. 

7) The Spanish Embassy in the USA and/or Italy SHOULD be able to give you black and white BUT they will not be able to know the latest updates in the individual municipalities. 

Sorry but that´s the state of the nation. I know a bit about all this hassle as a friend organises expat weddings. I am sure he would not take you on without a huge bond to cover the excess work involved. 

If I were you, I´d try getting married in Italy or USA (is it possible) and then try applying as legally married EU citizens ..... but on my daughter´s life I would not be expecting much joy. 

Good Luck.


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Just a thought: there IS a specialist gay wedding organiser in Rojales, Alicante. I´ll see whether I can find their details.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Here's smth from Wikipedia that you'll need to verify to see if it's right or not...Same-sex marriage in Spain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

What an informative article - good citations but clearly as clear as mud! 

Good luck to the OP


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> OK, I now have a written answer from Spain´s only specialist gay wedding arranger.
> 
> If the OP PMs me I will show her a "possible" solution.



She cant PM you cos she doesnt have enough posts, besides PMing doesnt tell anyone else the answer and Its possible the issue may come up again 

Jo xx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> If it comes up again I am sure it will be a different set of circumstances and I am not showing s.o. how to break the law on a public forum. Punto, final. Bob would not like the hassle either.
> 
> IAC, as you know, the OPs often decide theirs is a dumb idea and do not come back. I would rather hope this OP did not!
> 
> Can we just say that it would be 100000000% easier in the USA or Italy and leave it like that.



Then dont mention it if its breaking the law or you're not prepared to share it. As you well know, this is an open forum so open we have to be! 

Jo xxxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> OK, then if they want a straw to snatch at at and they are prepared to perjure themselves then it is "possible" if all the lights are in their favour in ONE municipality only in Spain. Why is it possible in this city? State Law has been challenged and until this loophole is closed by the state on appeal (which it will be, I am told) they MIGHT be able to get away with it.
> 
> That is my final comment on the matter. Sometimes I wonder why I both pulling on experts for specialist advice.


Well that doesnt sound too illegal to me, Thank you!!!!! As for bothering to "pull" experts, that is your choice and people who read the forum will, I'm sure find the advise useful and thats simply what I'm trying to say. That all info on here is for the benefit of all who read it. Its an open forum with advise and thoughts freely given for everyone. The PM facility is for private or personal conversations between posters


Jo xxx


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## rebmontgomery (Jul 29, 2010)

First of all, congratulations to you and your partner! My understanding of getting married in Spain, is that it takes a period of time to file the paperwork if you want to have the official "recognition" of the country of Spain. My girlfriend is a Spanish citizen, and we are looking to get married on Mallorca--even though, we consider the Canary Islands but that required establishing 4 mos. residency in CI....For official recognition, it seems Spain requires about 6 - 9 months of paperwork, newspaper notification, etc. Have you heard if this is waived for EU citizens wishing to marry there? FYI, isn't same-sex marriage now legal in Buenos Aires? I heard it was legal in the capital....best, Rebecca


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

*A ruling from the Justice Ministry stated that the country's same-sex marriage law allows a Spanish citizen to marry a non-Spaniard regardless of whether that person's homeland recognizes the partnership.[8] At least one partner must be a Spanish citizen in order to marry, although two non-Spaniards may marry if they both have legal residence in Spain.*



Seems clear enough to me. What am I missing?
What is unclear is the status in Spain for citizens of EU states (such as the UK) which do not permit same-sex marriage but have instituted Civil Partnerships for same-sex couples.
At a Discrimination Law Conference in London which I attended recently there was a lot of chuntering about this but apart from the fact that 'discussions are ongoing' between the relevant authorities no-one seemed to know exactly what the situation is.
It's important to get this clarified as it has profound implications for inheritance rights for gay and lesbian Civil Partners resident in Spain, of whom there seems to be a considerable number.


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

One time when I was a tourist in Spain (long before I moved here) me and my parents rented a holiday house not far from Benidorm. Next to us lived two fellow Belgians: two men. I was a child back then and not really that well educated on different sexual orientations, but years later (when I was a better informed adult) we received a card inviting us to their marriage. Not too sure if one of them had naturalised by then or not but for them it apparently went without any hassle. 

Reading the above post : the OP's partner holds Italian citizenship and thus is entitled to move to Spain and become a resident (not naturalised, but legally residing in Spain). Now the question is if the law here allows a non-EU citizen to get a residence permit based on their partner being a resident. Maybe they'll ask for proves of the actual relationship (correspondence, phone calls, testimonies proving you're really a couple) but most countries will grant the residence permit if the relationship is sincere. Once that's done, nothing will stop you from marrying.

The one question I have: why not marry either in Argentina (if it's legal there) where your partner resides, or in her homeland Italy? That will probably save you LOTS of paperworks and research work, and once married over there you can still relocate to Spain. It may be even easier then because your partner is EU national, and once married you as a US citizen/wife of EU citizen will easier obtain a residence permit than in the situation when you're just a fiancée/girlfriend.

Now I'm not a specialist by any means but I would think the laws on same sex marriages in one's native country are irrelevant when you both reside in a country that allows it and thus both are subject to the laws of that adopted homeland? Some gays from countries where homosexuality is still outlawed (eg Iran) got political asylum in the EU, and I would assume they are using their newly gained liberty to search a partner as well. I doubt the law in their native country is still relevant then, because if we follow that way of thinking they could be punished as soon as they'd set foot back in their native country even when they committed the "punishable facts" in a country where those facts are fully legalised.


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## martin09 (Feb 18, 2010)

*Same Sex Marriage*

Regarding the non EU citizen who wished to move to Spain with their EU partner and get married I suggest that you check some more informative websites. It is always dangerous to rely on forums when you you require precise information. I am sure that there are many specialist EU websites that will advise you of the (residency) requirements in order to get married in Spain.

Being more specific I can inform you that an EU Citizen has certain established rights regarding freedom of movement and residency in another EU state. These rights also apply to certain family members. In your case you do not have any absolute right to bring your same sex partner to Spain: however, and this is most important - you do have the right to have your move to Spain (with your partner) facilitated by the Spanish authorities. As long as you can prove that you and your same-sex dependant are in a long and durable relationship then the authorities in the host country cannot put obstacles in your way. The relevant EU Directive is 2004/38/EC. This directive will provide you with the information you need. Furthermore, this directive has also been transposed into Spain Law by Royal Decree.

I successfully went through this process with my non EU same-sex partner.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

martin09 said:


> Regarding the non EU citizen who wished to move to Spain with their EU partner and get married I suggest that you check some more informative websites. It is always dangerous to rely on forums when you you require precise information. I am sure that there are many specialist EU websites that will advise you of the (residency) requirements in order to get married in Spain.
> 
> Being more specific I can inform you that an EU Citizen has certain established rights regarding freedom of movement and residency in another EU state. These rights also apply to certain family members. In your case you do not have any absolute right to bring your same sex partner to Spain: however, and this is most important - you do have the right to have your move to Spain (with your partner) facilitated by the Spanish authorities. As long as you can prove that you and your same-sex dependant are in a long and durable relationship then the authorities in the host country cannot put obstacles in your way. The relevant EU Directive is 2004/38/EC. This directive will provide you with the information you need. Furthermore, this directive has also been transposed into Spain Law by Royal Decree.
> 
> I successfully went through this process with my non EU same-sex partner.


welcome

I take your point - but if the question hadn't been asked you wouldn't have replied & your first-hand advice wouldn't have been given


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

You do have a very valid point Martin and the forum does state that the information given by posters is just opinion based. But we all like to chat and gossip about issues. Yes you cant replace the correct/official/specialist sites for information, but here, you can discuss it, question it and maybe find others in the same situation which is always a nice feeling and helpful

Jo xxx


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