I recently made up a fictitious email identity and sent of an email to the Spanish Consulate in Madrid, asking for clarification on their position regarding family members. Here is my inquiry and their response. Michael Foster [mailto:MickeyFoster@mail.com] Enviado el: sábado, 26 de agosto de 2017 18:13 Para: . Con. Manila Asunto: Visa enquiry Dear Sirs I am a British man, living in Malaga province in Andalucia. I am married to a Filipina and need to find out how we go about getting my wife a visa to come to Spain. There is such a lot of information on the internet and it has all become very confusing. I'm sorry to bother you, but could you answer some questions please, because I can find different answers depending on the website that I visit? 1. Is the visa for the wife of a British resident in Spain free of charge? I have heard that it should be, but I have also heard that there is a 60 euro charge for it. 2. I understand that my wife will be given a visa for 90 days, and then get residency after she arrives in Spain. Is this right? Or does she have to try to get residency while she is still in Manila? 3. I have read that our marriage (in Mindanao) has to be registered in Britain, but when I asked the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, they said that there is no register and that it is not required. They told me that our wedding certificate should be all that we need, as long as it is registered in The Philippines, Authenticated (red-ribboned), legalised by you, and translated by a sworn translator. Which is true? If we can't register the marriage in the UK, what else can we do? 4. I read that my wife is considered a family member and will get preferential treatment and is guaranteed a visa unless she is a threat to European security (she isn't!) or health (no!) or we have a false marriage (we don't). This all sounds very good, but then the registration in the UK thing seems to contradict that. Will she be helped to get the right kind of visa? I'm sorry to trouble you with all this but we are very eager for her to come over to begin our life in Spain before Brexit. I hope you can reply soon Kind Regards Michael Foster Mr. Foster, We understand that the British Government does not register the marriage of their nationals in a foreign country, as it considers a marriage legal, when considered such, in the place where the marriage took place. For purposes of visa application at the Consulate General of Spain, we do not grant a visa if the marriage of the Filipino national to a European national, British included, is not recognized by their respective governments. Since we require from Spanish nationals, following the Spanish Law, that their marriage be registered and recognized by the Spanish Government, we require the same mentioned accreditation from other European nationals as well. In view of this requirement, if the visa applicant cannot provide the document that shows that the marriage is registered or recognized by the British Government, he/she has to show proof of the authenticity of the relationship. He/she has to prove that there is a real and stable relationship, by showing that they have lived together as domestic partners for at least one year. This can be verified through the corresponding visa of the British national that will show if he/she has continuously stayed in the Philippines as a resident for more than a year. His/her entry and exit stamps to and from the Philippines will show the length of stay in the Philippines as well. If they have lived together in Spain or in another country, proof of this should be submitted as well. Aside from this, the official certificates of no- marriage that were submitted, in order to secure the Filipino marriage certificate must also be provided. Without the mentioned certificates of no-marriage, issued by the British authorities to the British national, and the Filipino one issued to the Filipino national (CENOMAR), the visa may still be refused. You may confirm in the Article 4.b) of the Spanish Royal Decree 987/205 the information provided through the following link: https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2015/11/09/pdfs/BOE-A-2015-12090.pdf The visa fee, as a spouse of an European national will be free of charge as long as the applicant justifies that is going to travel to Spain with the European citizen or join him in Spain. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy/docs/frequently_asked_questions_en.pdf We inform you that this Consulate General just issues the visa, the residence card has to be requested directly in Spain in the corresponding police station. Atentamente / Best regards, CONSULADO GENERAL DE ESPAÑA 5th Flr. ACT Tower, 135 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. 1227 Makati City, Metro Manila Philippines Tel: (+632) 818 3561 Fax: (+632) 810 2885 E-mail: con.manila@maec.es Web: www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/MANILA Twitter @ConEspManila And so, the malfeasance continues unabated. You will no doubt remember my freedom of information request, and the response from the FCO regarding their meeting with the Spanish Foreign Ministry (MEAC) in which MEAC confirmed that registration/recognition of a British person marrying abroad is not required. You may also recall that Royal Decree 987/2015 specifically states that it does not apply to spouses, and covers only family members not already covered under RD240/2007 (wives/husbands, parents and children). RD240/2007 is the Spanish adoption of 2004/38/EC, the Freedom of Movement Directive which guarantees spouses a 90-day visa (unless active terrorists, carrying disease or party to a provable sham marriage). The stated requirement for couples to have lived together in the Philippines prior to requesting a visa is utter bunkum and illegal. I have replied: Dear Sirs, Thank you for your reply, which I found most informative. There are however one or two points which I found confusing, and which appear to contradict European Directives and by extension, Spanish Law. On 8th February 2016, British FCO officials met with MEAC officials, and it was stated by MEAC that they were aware that Britain did not register foreign marriages, but that registration of a foreign marriage in the country of birth of the EU citizen was NOT a necessity. MEAC also confirmed that a locally-produced wedding certificate would prove the family link. Therefore, the visa should be issued (as long as the applicant wasn’t a terrorist, carrying a disease or that a marriage of convenience could be irrefutably proven). This was detailed on a Nota Verbale, delivered to MAEC on 23rd March 2016 You have quoted RD987/2015 article 4b, but this refers to ‘pareja de hecho’ – an unmarried couple. As confirmed by your own Foreign Ministry, a locally issued wedding certificate is acceptable to them. One would assume that the certificate would need to be registered in the Philippines, authenticated, legalised and translated by a traductor jurado. This, according to MEAC officials IS an acceptable form of proof of a family link, and the visa is therefore issued without further requirement, and issued free of charge, in accordance with RD240/2007. Are you suggesting that this is not the case? Kind Regards Michael Foster
I have a hundred and twenty-six email exchange with the consul for Portugal in Jhakata from 2010/11 I paid the 60 euros in the end and the Missus escaped on a tourist visa lol about a week ago the very same consul accepted a friend request on facebook must have been from seven years ago and i have no memory of sending it. I am still considering how to express my appreciation on her wall