Spouse Of An Eu National Travelling To Spain

[kishni2001]

Hiya, does anybody have experience applying for s achengen visa to spain under the Directive 2004/38/EC from Thailand? It seemslike to qualify as the spouse of a british citizen,they require the thai marriage to be registeredi n the UK or if not possible a certificate from the UK embassy indicating that the marriage is valid. The problem is that overseas marriage cant be registered in the UK embassies/consulates nor can they provide certificates that a marriage is valid. What shall I do? Im really worried and stressed, anybody have experience on this?

[Louie77]

In order to get an visa for your spouse, the marriage has to be registered in the EU's native country. How I don't know, but this is absolutely needed to get the visa.

Spain has become a lot stricter in the last few months and you will have to prove that you have health insurance and sufficient funds to support both of you. Do you have a job lined up? Or are you planning on working as self-employed?

Edited March 3, 2013 by Louie77

[7by7]

The marriage does not have to be registered in one's native country; as the OP says, a Thai marriage cannot be registered again in the UK!

But it does have to be recognised by the country one is applying to; Thai marriages are recognised by Spain.

All that is needed in this regard is the original Thai certificate and a translation certified as correct by the MFA.

Some embassies, or more likely staff at visa application centres, are not fully aware of the rights of non EEA family members of EEA citizens. Point them to the directive.

This recent topic discusses this matter in depth.

Edited March 3, 2013 by 7by7

[ThaiVisaExpress]

The marriage does not have to be registered in one's native country; as the OP says, a Thai marriage cannot be registered again in the UK!

But it does have to be recognised by the country one is applying to; Thai marriages are recognised by Spain.

All that is needed in this regard is the original Thai certificate and a translation certified as correct by the MFA.

Some embassies, or more likely staff at visa application centres, are not fully aware of the rights of non EEA family members of EEA citizens. Point them to the directive.

This recent topic discusses this matter in depth.

I recently dealt with a similar case. The Spanish Embassy in Bangkok would not accept a Thai marriage certificate despite being given detailed information on the Directive, etc. They just plain refused.

The sponsor had the same problem described by this OP. You can't register the marriage, here in Thailand, at the Embassy. What he had to do, and what he did, and what was accepted by the Spanish Embassy in Bangkok was to get the marriage certificate Apostilled. Marriage cerificates can be Apostilled by the FCO in London, and there are various other businesses that carry out a service ( which includes sending it to the FCO), so it may be best to go through the FCO direct. You will have to send the certificate to the UK for the Apostille process. Check the website:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/what-we-do/services-we-deliver/legal-services/Legalisation/

Marriages in Hague Convention countries should be recognised by all EU member states ( who have signed up to the Hague Convention). Thailand is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, and Spain does not recognise Thai marriage certificates unless the marriage is registered in the EU national's home country.

Tony M

Edited March 4, 2013 by ThaiVisaExpress

[7by7]

Thanks for the update, Tony.

It seems that the best advice is: don't go to Spain!

[kishni2001]

thank you very much for your help. However, in order to apostille a document in the UK, don't they have to be British documents? How do we go about it? Does that mean we have to deposit the marriage cert in the GRO first so we can get an apostille? Bear in mind that GRO does not register nor validate a marriage, it is simply for recording purposes.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

thank you very much for your help. However, in order to apostille a document in the UK, don't they have to be British documents? How do we go about it? Does that mean we have to deposit the marriage cert in the GRO first so we can get an apostille? Bear in mind that GRO does not register nor validate a marriage, it is simply for recording purposes.

I think that may well be what you have to do. It is the GRO stamp that is "legalised", not the marriage itself.

Tony M

[cme]

I'm a Brit and have been through most of this procedure. I live in Europe and want to take my Thai wife to live with me there. It is fairly easy, easier than for a national of the country you'r going to, because your wife does not need any language or other testing. Also the Long Stay visa is free. Your Thai (I presume) legal Marriage Cert. needs to be translated and stamped by an authorised translator, a list of which can be obtained from the embassy of the country you wish to go to. This translation (which is only valid for 90 days in my case) then goes with your wife's application form together with copies of your Passport etc. to the embassy. You will find a list of all the documents required on the embassy Web site, and I think being the EU, all embassies will require the same, and that's it! In our case, the Long Stay Visa is then valid all the time she remains in the European country but will expire if she leave that country for a period exceeding 6 months.

A much bigger hassle, although I don't think it is relevant it your current case, is getting your marriage registered in the UK. The UK will not accept any copies or translations, even though I had mine done by the British Embassy. They want the original Thai certificate which they will check with their own Thai staff. In my case it took more than 4 months so I suspect that they just sent it back to Thailand for translation, but who knows. The good news was that when they finally finished the process and returned the Certificate they also issued my wife with a NI number.

These are just my own experiences, no doubt other people may have had others to mine. Good Luck.

[7by7]

There is some confusion creeping in over the status of a Thai marriage in the UK.

A legal Thai marriage, that is one registered at an Ampur, is recognised as a legal marriage in the UK; and has been for over 100 years!

From Depositing marriage documents in the UK

Depositing your marriage document is not a legal requirement.

You are unable to register a Thai marriage in the UK.

You will see from the above that if you do decide to deposit your marriage certificate with the GRO it is the original that will be deposited; they will not accept copies.

Please note: your original certificate will not be returned and once documents are deposited they can’t be released.The GRO issues black and white certified photocopies of original certificates and their translation which are usually accepted in the same way as an original copy.