Getting Married in Spain

[Lente]

Hi y'all,

Yet another question! I'm hoping that someone may be able to enlighten me on this subject. I am planning to get married in Spain this year end but i'm not quite sure where to start in terms of the paper work. Do any of you know where I can get information on what needs to be done to apply for a marriage certificate? Also, where i can get information on the immigration system for non-europeans?

Thanks!

[Ben]

I would start with your embassy, and the Spanish embassy if you not in Spain already. You will also need to talk to the Ayuntamiento (town hall/council) in the area you want to get married in to see what requirements they might have. You will need a lot of patience to get through it all, but it's worth it!

[omeyas]

Google is your friend!

http://www.marbella.com/eng/mis.asp?Id=98&l=eng
http://www.idealspain.com/pages/information/weddings.htm
http://www.spain-wedding.com/entrevista.html
http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/information/getting_married_giving_birth_in_spain/

[Marina]

The info in the first link seems good to me.

My suggestion would be first deciding where you'd like to get married and arrange it with in the townhall before anything. Then start the process in the "Registro Civil" take into account that all your English papers, like the birth certificates etc, will have to be translated by an official translator (=Traductor jurado).

The register process took to months to be completed in our case. Also you need two witnesses that need to go with you the first time that you take the papers in to the Registro.

[Lente]

Hey u all,


Thanks for all the good advice! Went to the Ayuntamiento last week as Ben recommended. And I think it's going to be a looong process!!! Just getting information took about 3 hours! Thanks for the links as well. Started going through them tonite. Thanks again!

Take care

[Ben]

It will certainly be a long process, you can be sure of that, but as someone who managed to get through it all I can say that it is 100% worth it in the end! Maybe you should start a blog about the whole process, I bet it would be a great read!

[Loralee]

It will certainly be a long process, you can be sure of that, but as someone who managed to get through it all I can say that it is 100% worth it in the end! Maybe you should start a blog about the whole process, I bet it would be a great read!

Hello,
My most wonderful fiance and I are in the process right now. The paperwork on my end doesn´t appear to be that extensive... The thing is Ive read on the government site that the laws and procedures can vary by regions. I don't see why this process should take longer than 21 days that it takes for my fiance to post banns. The spanish consulate in miami is not accepting phone calls or emails anymore because they are too busy. My friend flew down there today to get her visa. I dont even need a visa. I just need a signed piece of paper. I just want to make sure I have all the proper documentation before I arrive in spain. As far as I understand this is all we need and these are my questions:

1)Application form: We get this in Spain in his city
2) Birth Certificate: I have my birth certificate in English. I need to have it translated then authenticated by a Consular. How do I go about doing this?:'(
3)Proof of freedom to marry: It says that I can have a statement signed before a consular.
4) Place of residence: I am graduating college in August and I have moved many times in the last 6 years. Should I collect all addresses and present them at the same time as #2 and #3?
5)Posting of Banns: I need a letter saying that this is not necessary.
6)Certificate of Consular Inscription: I receive this at the consular office in A Coruna.

My fiance is going to the American consulate in his city on wednesday to see if they can help him because no one will help me here. I know this definitely will not take nearly as long as if we did it in madrid because it probably rarely happens where he lives and his father is the ex chief of police and we all know how things work in spain.;D

I also read that you can register that day to get residency and authorization to work. This is the reason we´re getting married in Spain and not in the US, because it cost thousands of dollars here and you have to wait 3 months before being able to work.


Any insight is much appreciated!!

[eldeano]

Hola Loralee. Bienvenida al foro. :thumbs-up: