Non-EU Spouse (Argentine) moving to Spain to join UK husband

Hello all,

I have 2 main questions in this post:
1) Which is best way for my Non-EU wife to join me in Spain (I am from UK)
2) Marriage certificate specifications to show in Spain to prove our relationship

I know there are other posts on this forum that address this issue, so I apologise first most for any repetition. However, I am looking for some information on our specific case as I've heard conflicting views on how we should go ahead.

Question 1.
I am from the UK and currently living here. My wife is Argentine and currently living in Argentina. Our plan is for myself to go to Spain, get a job, get my NIE, and then for my wife to join me there. I have heard 2 ways to do this, does anyone know which is the correct?

Way 1. My wife can book a flight without applying for any type of visa beforehand. Once there she can register herself at the police station in Madrid, where we will show our marriage certificate, passports etc and she will become a Family Member of an EEA national.

Way 2. My wife has to apply for a long-term Spain visa from Argentina and only after this has been processed (which can take months) and returned can my wife join me in Spain.

Obviously if the first route is possible then this would be the prefered as we can be together sooner.

Question 2.
With regards to the marriage certificate, I have heard many contradicting requirements.
A requirement I heard is that the marriage has to be registered in the UK. The problem with this is that the UK DO NOT register overseas marriages anymore. Therefore, does anyone know if/what I would have to do for the marriage certificated to be accepted when requested?

* The marriage certificate my wife holds in Argentina has been certified, legalised and has the haya apostille stamp on it from when I attained my Argentinian residency 6 months ago. It is already in Spanish, therefore no translation required. Any information/experience on this part of the process would be fantastic as I haven't seen much with regards to this on forums.

Any information would be truly grateful.

Kind Regards

Sufcmad16

Sufcmad16 wrote:Hello all,

I have 2 main questions in this post:
1) Which is best way for my Non-EU wife to join me in Spain (I am from UK)

...

Question 1.
I am from the UK and currently living here. My wife is Argentine and currently living in Argentina. Our plan is for myself to go to Spain, get a job, get my NIE, and then for my wife to join me there. I have heard 2 ways to do this, does anyone know which is the correct?

Way 1. My wife can book a flight without applying for any type of visa beforehand. Once there she can register herself at the police station in Madrid, where we will show our marriage certificate, passports etc and she will become a Family Member of an EEA national.

Way 2. My wife has to apply for a long-term Spain visa from Argentina and only after this has been processed (which can take months) and returned can my wife join me in Spain.

Obviously if the first route is possible then this would be the prefered as we can be together sooner.

...

Any information would be truly grateful.

Kind Regards

Sufcmad16

Suggest shoot for your option 1.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requ ... e_citizens

This guide may help get you up to speed on free movement:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/doc ... 013_en.pdf

You can easily go for method 1 and your spouse can register for residence after arrival. However, it takes up to 6 months for Spain to issue a residence card. During this time you can travel and also stay in Spain (and it will not count as an overstay) so it should be fine.