Requirements, legal process, and everything you need to know to get residency in Spain after constituting a civil partnership.
This is undoubtedly one of the most recommended and common paths used by foreigners from all over the world to get their legal status in Spain, and this article finally solves all your doubts around this topic.
In the vast majority of cases, two people who maintain an affective relationship decide to legally formalize it with the main aim of strengthening the bond in a deeper manner.
However, beyond the purely symbolic or loving benefits, there are other advantages associated with this legal registration.
We already saw in our post on the differences between constituting marriage and a civil partnership in Spain how the latter option was much more agile, faster, and required fewer requirements for its completion; as well as being less binding in certain aspects in the long run.
However, in addition to these advantages, there is another one that makes many foreigners who had not planned to give legal validity to their relationships rethink that fact completely.
A non-EU citizen who is a registered de facto partner of a citizen of the European Union, the EEA or Switzerland can apply for a Community family member residence card.
If the couple is of Spanish nationality, since the entry into force of Royal Decree 1155/2024 (May 20, 2025) the corresponding procedure is the residence authorization of a Spanish family member, a regime specific to and different from that of the community. Both ways are explained in this article.
What’s next in this article is an explanation of how the legal process works step by step, from the registration of the couple until the final achievement of the residence permit in the Spanish territory.
Step-by-step process to obtain residency through a civil union ("pareja de hecho")
We can divide the process of obtaining the papers after having registered a de facto couple into three different phases:
- Enter Spain
- Formalize the civil union or de facto couple
- Finally, request the corresponding residence permit according to the nationality of your partner:
- The community card if you are an EU/EEA/Switzerland citizen
- The residence of a Spanish relative does have Spanish nationality.
This is a process that you can carry out completely from Spain, entering as a tourist, and without the need to go back to your country of origin at any time.
Let’s see how it works exactly.
Entry to Spain
The first step in this process is for the non-EU citizen (the one who wants to apply for residency) to enter Spain as a tourist.
To do this, and as we saw in our post on how to bring your partner to Spain, we must differentiate between the cases in which this foreign citizen is originally from a country that requires a visa to enter Spain vs. one that does not.
You can access here the complete list of countries that do not require a visa.
You can continue reading this article to find more information, or if you prefer you can ask our immigration lawyers anything directly:
Entering Spain if the foreigner is from a country that does not require a visa
If the non-EU citizen is from a country that has an agreement with Spain and does not have to apply for a tourist visa to cross the Spanish border, the process is a little easier.
She will simply have to travel to Spanish territory and meet the Spanish/European citizen (his/her partner), without any prior formalities.
Entry if the foreigner is from a country that requires a visa to enter Spain
However, if the applicant is from a country that requires a visa, then the procedure will be initiated at the Spanish consulate located in the country of origin.
In order to enter Spain, she must first apply for a visa as a family member of an EU citizen/Spanish citizen (so that once she enters Spanish territory, she can obtain the EU card or the residence permit because of a Spanish relative).
To do so, you will have to demonstrate, already at the consulate, the following 3 requirements:
- That there is indeed a relationship with your partner, who is in Spain
- That the partner is a citizen of the EU/Spain
- And that he actually has the will to bring you with him
Registering the civil partnership
Once the non-EU citizen enters Spain, she has a period of three months (the duration of his/her tourist visa) to formalize the process (although, as we will now see, once the EU card or Spanish relative residence has been requested, there would be no problem if she falls into an irregular situation).
Thus, the next step will be to formalize the de facto partnership, something you can do in two ways: by public deed before a notary, or by registering in the registry of de facto unions of your autonomous community
And, in that sense, you would have two options:
- Registering the civil union directly in Spain (or in any other country within the European Union), something that we recommend you for ease in the procedure
- Or do it outside the EU, but in this case, the civil partnership certificate would not be valid in Spain and you would have to exchange it for a valid one to finally get it properly registered in Spain
Requirements to register your "pareja de hecho"
Something crucial that you must take into account is that the requirements to register a civil partnership change according to the Autonomous Community in which you are located.
In some regions, a minimum period of cohabitation is required, which can vary between 1 and 2 years; while in others, just a certificate of joint town hall registration is required.
However, the following are the requirements that you must meet in any case:
- Neither of the two members of the relationship can be married
- Both partners must be of legal age (over 18 years old)
- They must be registered together at the same address and municipality
- Identification documents of both members of the couple must be provided (ID card/passport)
- If there is a minimum period of cohabitation, proof of cohabitation must be provided
You can find here all the details (extended) to register your “pareja de hecho” in this article.
Bear in mind that it is completely possible to register your civil partnership while being in an irregular situation (without residency).
Family member of an EU citizen residency application
Once the civil union has been registered, the non-EU citizen will now have a legally recognized relationship with a Spanish or EU citizen, which gives her the right to obtain residency in Spain.
Thus, the next step will be to apply for the residence card as a family member of an EU citizen at the Immigration Office.
This process can be done completely online.
In this application, it will be necessary to submit and include:
- Registration certificate of the civil partnership
- Form EX-19, which you can download here
- Certificate of registration of the EU if she is a European citizen
- Passport of the non-EU citizen
Finally, although it is not necessary to prove economic dependence, the European citizen must demonstrate sufficient economic solvency. For this, she has two different options:
- If she is currently working and is registered with Social Security, her employment contract will be sufficient and valid
- If she is not working at the moment, she will have to provide a bank certificate proving the possession of sufficient funds (we are talking about 10,000€ per year).
Application for the card as a Spanish family member
Once the de facto couple has registered before a notary, the non-EU citizen will now have a legally recognized relationship with a Spanish citizen, something that generates the right to obtain residence in Spain.
Thus, the next step will be to apply for a residence card as a Spanish relative at the immigration office.
This process can be carried out completely online through Mercurio or in immigration offices or consulates as the case may be.
In this application, you must provide:
- Certificate of registration of the de facto couple
- Model EX-24, which you can download here
- DNI of the Spanish citizen
- Non-EU passport
- Criminal record certificate
Timings and final steps
After submitting the application, and within 3 months (although with the current delay this period could be extended to 5-6 months), the non-EU citizen will be able to go to the immigration office to register her fingerprints, and then return a month later to finally obtain his residence card (which will be valid for 5 years).
And what happens if I enter into an irregular situation?
As we have mentioned, in principle you have a total of 3 months to complete this procedure, since after 90 days the validity of your tourist visa would be terminated, and therefore you would be in an irregular situation.
However, once you submit the application for your family member card, the most usual thing is that you will not receive a quick response, but that your favorable decision will come after 3, 4, or even 5 months.
This would obviously mean that you would be in an irregular situation at some point while you wait for the resolution.
But since you have already submitted your application, there would be no problem: the process is still possible and would not affect its outcome.
In that sense, we recommend that you consider these 90 days as an indication that you should complete each step as quickly as possible, and know the requirements clearly beforehand to avoid unnecessary delays.
And, in order to speed up the procedure even more and ensure success at each and every stage, our suggestion is that you contact our team of lawyers who are experts in this procedure so that we can advise you and guide you step by step.
Can I get nationality as a de facto couple?
No, the de facto couple does not in itself reduce the deadline to apply for Spanish nationality.
What does this mean?
As you know, there are several ways to obtain nationality in Spain.
This reduction to 1 year only exists for those who are married to a Spanish citizen and have been married for at least one year without legal or de facto separation.
What can happen is that, thanks to the residence card obtained by a common-law partner, you begin to accumulate years of legal residence in Spain.
And if you are originally from an Ibero-American country, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal, the general period to request nationality by residence is reduced to 2 years, but this reduction depends on your nationality of origin, not on having a de facto partner: It would apply the same with any other means of legal residence.
For the rest of the nationalities, the de facto couple does not shorten the path to nationality; marriage does
Can you become a de facto couple if I already have a residence card?
Yes. Already having a residence card, for example, due to roots or any other permit, does not prevent registering a de facto couple or later requesting the community card or the residence of a Spanish relative, as long as you meet the coexistence and registration requirements of your autonomous community
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