Family Permit To Spain

[Mrtor]

im an irish citizen recently moved to spain. will be marrying my thai girlfriend and try to bring her to spain with me.

my worry is about my status here in spain.

i wont have a contract or residencia. the best i can do is get a letter from my fathers company to say they will have a job waiting for me.but can only get a letter not paye numbers or anything.

il be working here off the books.

till i get sorted that cud be a year or 2.

i did research about going through ireland with my wife but i wud have to move back and she would need a visa just to come even though we would be married.

so i guess my question is, as my situation stands do you think i have a good chance of a sucess

with a family permit to spain for my wife?

[erikr_]

im an irish citizen recently moved to spain. will be marrying my thai girlfriend and try to bring her to spain with me.

my worry is about my status here in spain.

i wont have a contract or residencia. the best i can do is get a letter from my fathers company to say they will have a job waiting for me.but can only get a letter not paye numbers or anything.

il be working here off the books.

till i get sorted that cud be a year or 2.

i did research about going through ireland with my wife but i wud have to move back and she would need a visa just to come even though we would be married.

so i guess my question is, as my situation stands do you think i have a good chance of a sucess

with a family permit to spain for my wife?

Why are you working off the books? That would make it difficult in any country. Ok considering you go for an EEA family permit you do not have to show income. All you need is a letter from the company you are employed (at least that is how i understood it). Even as a student you can claim a family permit as you exercise your treaty rights in an EEA country (at least that is the information that i found for the UK) but again a letter from employer and payslips work best

[Mrtor]

tnx for the reply erikr

im off the books for the moment because its very hard to get a contract in spain i will be looking for work in the construction industry.maybe in a year or so i can go out on my own and start a company fitting kicthens etc.

so if i go through spain for a family permit i dont have to worry about the whole visa thing i take it.i not very good at this stuff so am looking for easiest way to go about it.

would i be right in saying a family permit lasts for 5 years before u can apply for residency? or does it last longer or shorter do you happen to know offhand?

ps i really want it to work out for us in spain as she really hates the rain and gets depressed over it. ireland wudnt go down well i think :/

[the scouser]

A family permit is usually good for entry to a country with the expectation that the holder will then seek a residence document from the local authorities. Having said that, whilst the holder remains the dependant of an EU national, they can't overstay, so if they were to choose not to obtain a residence document, they wouldn't be remaining in breach of the immigration laws. However, holding a residence document obviates the need to apply for another family permit every time the holder wishes to travel.

In order for your wife-to-be to qualify for the family permit, one of the conditions that needs to be satisfied, as erikr writes, is that you are exercising a treaty right in Spain. Generally speaking, this will be that you are working, but can also be, amongst other things, that you have sufficient funds to support yourself without having to work.

Additionally, the Spanish authorities don't appear to like the idea of free visas, and tend to ignore the bits of the legislation to which they take a dislike.

Scouse.

[Khun Bob]

A family permit is usually good for entry to a country with the expectation that the holder will then seek a residence document from the local authorities. Having said that, whilst the holder remains the dependant of an EU national, they can't overstay, so if they were to choose not to obtain a residence document, they wouldn't be remaining in breach of the immigration laws. However, holding a residence document obviates the need to apply for another family permit every time the holder wishes to travel.

In order for your wife-to-be to qualify for the family permit, one of the conditions that needs to be satisfied, as erikr writes, is that you are exercising a treaty right in Spain. Generally speaking, this will be that you are working, but can also be, amongst other things, that you have sufficient funds to support yourself without having to work.

Additionally, the Spanish authorities don't appear to like the idea of free visas, and tend to ignore the bits of the legislation to which they take a dislike.

Scouse.

What are the other warmer european countries like in issuing visas to non european family members of Union Members - ie greece, cyprus, southern italy, portugal, etc (not sure what the warm coubnties are in the recent additions...) ?

Cheers

Edited September 2, 2006 by Khun Bob

[Khun Jean]

Bob,

Yep those are the warmer areas. You can also consider the canary islands as they are part of Spain. And don't forget France Guiana, Guadaloupe, Martinique, and Portugals Azores and Madeira.

I am reading up on this stuff a lot. What i found out is that these EU/EEA countries have to follow the EU/EEA laws/treaties. So the main procedure will be the same in any of those countries. There are some small differences. Like in Austria you can get a permnent permit, in other countries it is 5 years.

The strange thing is that it only works when it is not your own country. I am from the Netherlands and it is very difficult to obtain a residency permit for my wife. If i go to Germany it is not a problem and it will be givin for 5 years. Same for the UK, the EU laws apply but only NOT for UK citizens. In my current understanding it is that every EU/EEA country has to give you a permit to stay because of the treaty. The good thing is that it includes your family. So go to for instance Greece, rent a place, register there with your wife and presto, a permit to stay.

With that permit you will build EU/EEA rights for your wife. If wanted, go to your country and they will have to accept your wife who now has a permit to stay in the EU/EEA. Best is to stay a while in the country you got the permit.

I read these rules from a few countries like Belgium, Germany, Austria, Sweden and the UK. They are all the same, but with only slightly different documents needed. Like one country needs a birthcetificate and another needs a high school diploma or higher. But those are just minor differences.

Obtaining citizenship is ruled by laws of the country you reside in. For the Netherlands it is 3 years but Austria is 10. Some require you to study their language and customs others don't.

Find a country that suits your needs, get a job or have sufficient funds and you are ready to go! Oh, yeah, being married will help a lot. But even a partnership is accepted although in combination with Thailand i imagine that will be more difficult to prove.

Edited September 3, 2006 by Khun Jean

[Mrtor]

thats some interesting info there.

but yes seems to be the case in my situation.

for ireland even if i marry a thai she will still need a visa to enter as my wife.

luckily my new life is in spain.hopefully it will work out.

im so worried il mess up.so many rules its hard to see clear.

so i take it a family permit in spain will be 5 years before she can apply for residency?

i think i heard somewhere if u apply for immigration visa instead which u pay for u can apply for residency in 3 years there.

[vinny]

See also My Thai Wife To Spain...

[GuestHouse]

My wife had no problems at all obtaining a visa (Family Permit) under treaty of Rome.

However, she was already living on a settlement visa in the UK and I seem to remember that the Italian Conulate in London needed to see her Settlement Visa before they would give her a visa for Italy.

[Khun Jean]

thats some interesting info there.

but yes seems to be the case in my situation.

for ireland even if i marry a thai she will still need a visa to enter as my wife.

luckily my new life is in spain.hopefully it will work out.

im so worried il mess up.so many rules its hard to see clear.

so i take it a family permit in spain will be 5 years before she can apply for residency?

i think i heard somewhere if u apply for immigration visa instead which u pay for u can apply for residency in 3 years there.

That would be a 5 year residence permit (actually as long as you need, because after 5 years it will be renewed). In some countries you get a permanent one from start. And if you get one your wife and family members get one too.

Countries also have different rules for obtaining CITIZENSHIP. Some require you to live in the country for 3 years some for 10 years.

Extra rules apply for that, like knowing the language and culture or other rules. These differ between countries of course.