Pareja de hecho???

Hello,

I am an American citizen who recently graduated from university. I have been with my girlfriend (dual American/euro, lives in the Basque country in Spain) for several years now, and I would like to move there with her.

I studied business and am applying to masters in finance programs at IE and ESADE, in hopes of landing a job or internship there afterwards. Now, I know the current employment situation there, and understand the obstacles.

I was wondering how a "pareja de hecho" works - does it grant me the privilege to bypass the need for a work permit? How would I go about initiating the process of obtaining it? What exact privileges does this grant me?

Thanks in advance for all of your help.

Hello hopefulexpat,

In the event you finally decided to move on and settle in Spain with your fianceé, who holds an EU nationality, you would be able to apply for a residence card as a relative to an EU citizen as soon as you had formalized your relationship with her, that is, you had married her or registered as a Common Law couple ( normally processed at the local town hall ). You can find more information about the Tarjeta de Residencia de familiar de ciudadano de la union requirements clicking here.

That type of residence card allows you bypass the need of a work offer, as you can still apply for it as long as you can prove you and your partner have sufficient financial means to support yourself while you look for a job in your professional sector. However, please bear in mind that meeting the financial requirements is essential for you to be able to apply for that residence card; that is, your family relationship in itself does not guarantee the card will be granted.

The privileges you will be granted are plenty, as you will have the same rights as any EU citizen living in Spain; access to work market, bonuses and discounts for residents in various local entities, freedom to travel in the EU being able to spend up to 3 months in an EU country, etc.

If you wish to discuss your case in detail please feel free to contact us by email.

Regards,

I have a student visa and permission to work tefl. I already have residency & have had it consistently in Palma de Mallorca since September (and previously in Alicante for study abroad).

He's also a resident and has lived in Spain for over 4 years.

We live together and post learning about pareja de hecho (pareja eatable en las Islas) & want to formalize our relationship. However after printing the forms I noticed the last declaration is that at last 1/2 the couple has Spanish nationality. Every site implies any European can join in such a union - and that I would get permission to stay and work with a card due to my familia relationship with a European.

Can I be pareja de hecho with a British citizen in Spain & get the same benefits?

Hello,

Once you register as Pareja de Hecho, you can prove you have a family relationship with an EU citizen and then have the possibility to access a residence card for relatives of EU citizens. However, I see that Mallorca refuses to register couples if there is not at least one Spanish citizen. I am afraid that local rules apply here and then you won´t be able to register in Mallorca. You may try in another province, but then the residence card may also have to be applied for in that other province.

Registered partnerships are still not so regulated as marriages and therefore, for foreigners, it is more straightforward to prove a family relationship via better known civil registry cert¡certificates. We are still walking on thin ice here, I am afraid.

Regards,

Is there a way I can prove a familiar relationship with my British partner that isn't pareja de hecho or marriage?

Hello,

It depends on the purpose of the matter. For Immigration purposes, those are the only means. For other purposes, such as separation after many years or the decease of a partner and right to pension benefits, there are other accepted ways to prove a family relationship ( witnesses, documents, etc ).

Regards,