What is my 'status' if I move to Spain and marry a Spanish citizen?

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joktto

I'm an American woman married to a Spanish man.

There is no automatic citizenship, but the Spanish government is obligated to give you temporary residency papers (when you apply correctly for them) according to International law.

What you will have to do, though, is get "empadronado" which is basically registered in the town/city where you will be living, get your NIE (Foreigner's ID number), get married (also lots of paperwork involved in that. Since I was divorced it took almost 5 months to get permission to get married!), then go BACK to the US, to the nearest Spanish Consulate to where you lived (for me, from Seattle it was in San Francisco, which as not that convenient, but we called it a honeymoon and had a great time) and apply for Spanish RESIDENCY, which will allow you to live in Spain, with your husband, for 5 years before you have to renew it.

It's a hassle, but it's worth it and the Spanish Government has to give it to you, since you are/will be married to a Spanish person. I just had to renew my residency card today, since it's been over 5 years since I got married and we are still happy, so I'll give it another 5 years and then see what happens!!!! When you are an immigrant life is full of paperwork. It would be much easier if you were from the European Union. Another tip is that you can stay in Spain for 90 days, then go to Switzerland or Andorra and get your passport stamped, then come back to Spain for another 90 days, but only once a year. That still gives you 6 months to get paperwork done. There are many jobs for English speakers who want to work. It's very helpful to speak Spanish well, though. Good luck and I hope you have many happy years together!!

OZONE PARK PHIL

I'm also a US citizen living in spain.If you marry a spanish citizen that does NOT grant you Spanish citizenship. You must apply for a legal foreigners card with the spanish national police.You may choose to apply for Spanish citizenship after 3 years of permanent residence in Spain something I do not recommendnd due that you will loose you US citizenship.
Also call up the spanish embassy in Washington.D.C. for more info due that laws constantly change

emadrid

I married a Spanish citizen and it gave me immediately the right to work. "Immediately" in Spanish means as soon as I got my foreigner identification number, which took about 4 months after we got married.
Before you come here with your 90 days tourist visa, prepare all the documentation required. In our case it took more than 90 days to have all the papers ready. So... time and patience. Check with the Spanish embassy where you live, they should give you all the information and forms necessary.
When you look for a job it all depends on your qualifications. But, yes, it can happen that Spanish citizens will have priority over you.
Anyway, you should be able to speak Spanish quite well, living here without speaking the language is quite difficult.
Good luck!

Rowena

You will not automatically become a Spanish citizen just because you marry a Spanish citizen. You must live continuously in Spain for up to 3 to 5 years with your husband and then you can apply for citizenship, but you can't work during this time. Once your a citizen then you will be allowed to work and be eligible for benefits. Visit the nearest Spanish embassy to get more information.

dart

Right now, they are in recession, and I think jobs are hard to come by for anyone.

You better check into this in detail. I'm pretty sure you will have the same sort of "green card" status as a foreigner who marries an American would, but things are pretty difficult all around right now. And I wouldn't marry him JUST to have the legal work status...I would be sure that marriage was a good idea all the way around...divorce is SOOOOOOO messy!

edgrito

Listen, when I first moved here from the U.S. I was not married to my girlfriend but we soon found out that working legally was going to be a problem. I was offered a good job within my first month here but not able to take it because of my status. Therefore we opted to get married sooner than we planned and they gave me a wedding date a week later. I went to get my "papers" in order the following week and as soon as I received a number in the offices of social security I was able to work. It all happened in two weeks and that is because we took our time. I also noticed that for being an American I was given some preference. Take advantage of that because Spaniards like to presume that they are better at a lot of things and are basically jealous people. They like to put down American culture and food which they think is McDonald's hamburgers, by the way, I can see why because McDonald's here is extra-gross. I advise for you to find a way to teach English as a profession. If you donÂ´t speak Spanish fluently and you have a good career going then you will always be a step behind and Spaniards will use that to walk all over you.

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