Registering your civil partnership as a foreigner in Spain undoubtedly offers great advantages. For if you constitute that union with a Spanish or European citizen, you will have access to the EU family member card; a residence permit for 5 years that, among other things, allows you to both live but also work in the country.
Given the great advantages of this legal union, many have doubts about the requirements for its registration, mainly concerning its legal status at the time of the constitution.
So, is it possible to register your civil partnership (“pareja de hecho”) in Spain while being in an irregular situation? Below you will find a detailed answer, but be careful! Make sure to read to the end to understand 100% of the details of the process, because as easy as it may seem at first, there are extra requirements that you can not forget.
Is it possible to register a civil union in an irregular situation?
The short answer is yes, it is completely possible to complete the registration of your civil union in Spain as a foreigner who is under an irregular situation (that is, without a valid residency permit).
This would be the case, for example, of the non-EU citizen who, after entering the country as a tourist, completes the 90-day period and enters in an irregular situation; or acquires this status because, having been the holder of a residence card previously, it expired.
However, this irregular status will not be a problem.
No registry of civil partnerships in Spain, neither autonomic nor local, will impose an impediment due to the condition of non-residence (since for these institutions it does not suppose any requirement to contemplate).
While it is true that you will need an identity document that identifies you for the registration, instead of using your NIE or residence card you will use your passport (which is totally valid).
This need to prove identity has always been the main focus of doubts.
The foreigner may assume that she will need to identify herself with her Spanish residency card, when the reality is that the procedure can be completed 100% simply with her original passport.
Thanks to this, the civil union is one of the most advantageous ways to obtain residency in Spain as a tourist.
Be careful! There are requirements that you must meet
Having understood that you can register your civil union while in an irregular situation, we must be even more careful with the other requirements.
Because is easy to assume that the procedure is extremely simple (or at least much more than it seems), and that no additional requirements will be needed.
But this is not the case.
Even if the irregular situation is not going to be required, you must continue to comply with the laws corresponding to the registration of unmarried couples imposed by each region or Autonomous Community.
Remember that in the absence of a law at the national level, you will have to look at the provisions of the regional ordinance.
Here is where you will have to consider whether a minimum period of cohabitation with your partner prior to registration is required (or not), or a minimum period of residence in the municipality where you will register the union.
In Madrid, for example, a minimum of one year of living together in the same address is required; therefore, without this requirement you would not be able to complete the process successfully.
Therefore, our recommendation if you are planning to register your civil partnership is to first contact one of our immigration lawyers so that we can guide you step by step in a personalized way.
Get in touch with our lawyers and let us guide you step by step:
