Residence permit as a family member
of an EU citizen

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5-year residence permit for non-eu relatives of a European Union citizen in Spain

Requirements for the EU family permit

Have an EU relative

If you are the family member of a European Union citizen, you can easily get the residency in Spain.

Having sufficient means

Make sure that the EU citizen (your relative) has a work contract or sufficient economic means.

Join your EU family member

You will need to start living with the EU national with whom you are applying to this permit.

Demonstrate your family ties

Finally, you will need to demonstrate that you are actually the relative of the European Union citizen.

5-year residence permit for non-eu relatives of a European Union citizen in Spain

family member eu citizen

Are you a NON-EU citizen that wants to get a Spanish Residence Permit? Then, if you are the relative of a EU citizen you have constituted marriage or a civil partnership (pareja de hecho) with an EU national, you can easily start to work and live in Spain as if you were a resident. 

Avoid a list of long requirements and tedious paperwork. This permit will save you time. Because getting the Spanish Visa trough a EU resident is one of the easiest ways to start living legally in the country for a long period of time.

This procedure grants to non-EU citizens who are relatives of Spanish nationals or citizens of the European Union a residence and work authorization with the same rights as if they were EU nationals. Which are the exact relatives that have right to obtain this residence permit?

  • DIRECT RELATIVES: Civil partner or spouse (marriage)
  • DESCENDANTS: Children in common or children from the civil partner
  • ASCENDANTS: Father or mother of the EU national

We can also help you out with all the legal procedures to register your civil union ("pareja de hecho") in Spain!

How will you benefit by getting your residence permit with us?

We will accompany you through the whole process, from the beginning until you have received your residence permit.

You would just need to sign. We will fill out for you all the necessary documents and send them to the competent authority.

We will be in charge of all the translations into Spanish needed during the whole procedure, both for the application and for the renewal.

What our clients say about us

Enjoy an easy application procedure with us. From registering your civil partnership to obtaining your EU family card.

Frequent asked questions about the family member of an EU citizen visa

Which are the main requirements?

The conditions that will allow you to bring a relative to Spain under this residence permit are:

Which family members can apply for this visa?

The kinship bond with the European Union citizen that makes it eligible to get this visa will depend on the following two cases.

In the case of being the relative of a student in Spain:

  • Spouse (after the constitution of a civil partnership or marriage)
  • Children of the EU citizen or his spouse
  • Any relative who is in charge of the European citizen in the country of origin, having to demonstrate the coexistence of at least 24 months
  • Family members who are in charge of the community citizen for reasons of health or disability

In the rest of the cases, in addition:

  • Parents of the European citizen or of his spouse 
Alternative, and if you are able to prove the relationship, it is also possible to formalize this procedure as an unmarried stable couple.

How to renew this card?

After the first 5 years living in the Spanish territory with this permit, you will need to renew. The requirements are basically the same. You must demonstrate that the family tie is still in place, and the possession of sufficient economic means. 

Nevertheless, there are some concrete cases you must be aware of. What happens if the EU citizen dies? And what if you get divorced with your European spouse? Will you still be able to renew?

You will find the answers to those questions and all the information you need to renew your family member card here

Which are the necessary documents?

The documents to present to obtain this visa are the following:

  • The application form EX-19 , filled out
  • Documentation that proves and demonstrates the kinship bond between the European citizen and the non-European citizen who wishes to obtain a visa
  • Passport of the non-European citizen
  • In the case that applies, a document proving the relationship of dependence between the non-European citizen and the community
  • DNI (if Spanish) or EU certificate (green card), as the NIE number alone is not enough
  • Document proving the possession of a health insurance contract in the country
  • In the case of being a student, enrollment document in the academic center
  • If the European citizen is an employee, contract of employment (even though with the NIE or NIF will be enough to demonstrate it)
  • If you are a self-employed worker, the social security registry and of the Census of Economic Activities
  • In the case of not conducting any economic activity in Spain, a document must be presented proving the possession of sufficient economic means

How is the legal process like?

The relative of the European Union citizen has 3 months from his/her entry to Spain in order to present all the required documentation to the Immigration Office.

What happens if those 3 months end and you still have not got your residence permit? No problem: you will be given a receipt that will guarantee your legal stay until you finally receive the card.

Will I lose my residency if I get divorced?

Not necessarily. As long as you meet the following 2 requirements, you can cancel your partnership and still keep your card as a family member of an EU citizen:

  • If you have lived with your partner for at least 3 years.
  • Of those 3 years, at least one has been in Spain.

And what happens if you do not reach those three years? There are 4 cases that would allow you to keep your card, and you can find them here.

Is my marriage register abroad valid?

That entirely depends on the country of origin of the European citizen. That is, if you registered your marriage in a country outside of the EU, you must see if the EU national’s country of origin is within this list.

If that is the case, then the legal union will be totally valid and you will just need to legalize/apostille it. Otherwise, you must register it first in the EU’s relative country.

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