I emailed the Spanish embassy in Manila to ask them what I should do in regards to registering our marriage certificate since the UK doesn't offer that service. They told me that we'll need to attend an interview in which we'll be asked questions and made to provide documents to prove that our marriage isn't a shame! One of the requirements if proof that we've been living together for more than a year, which we haven't...
I told them that they have no right to do this under EU Directive 2004/38/EC but they just kind of ignored me and sent me a stock answer. Here's the full email exchange:
Hello,
I am a British citizen and I will be marrying a Filipina citizen in August and we then intend to move to Spain together as is our right.
I have a few questions about the visa application process that I hope you can help me with.
1) We will be getting married in Hong Kong, so will the marriage certificate need to be apostilled by the Hong Kong government?
2) I see on the 'Documents Required' page that our marriage certificate should be registered with the UK government - however, the UK consulate does not offer this service! Is there any other way I can legalise my marriage certificate so that it will be accepted by the Spanish embassy?
3) I see that our documents should be translated to Spanish, but do the translations also need to be legalised?
Any help or advice you could offer me with this would be much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Adam Laarus
Mr. Lazarus,
The applicant will have to apply for her visa in the Spanish Consulate in the country where she has her oficial residence.
Find attached the list of requirements and its corresponding application form.
Given that the British Government does not recognize the marriage of the British nationals abroad, the applicant must secure an appointment through VFS Global and should prove the authenticity of the relationship during the personal interview in this Consulate General, prove that it is a stable relationship and justify the existence of a genuine relationship, accrediting the period of at least one year continuous as domestic partners (you must present your passport to verify the entry and exit stamps to/from the Philippines, likewise the corresponding visa, to show us that you have continuously stayed in the Philippines as a resident for more than a year. On the other hand, your partner must demonstrate that has lived in Hong Kong. In cases of lost passport, this Consulate will request for a certificate for the Philippine Bureau of Immigration to verify the entry and exit stamps to/from the country. It will also be verified if you are registered in the Consulate General as a resident.
During the interview, as being stated at the end of the attached list, this Consulate could request for additional documents necessary to verify the relationship.
You may confirm in the Article 4.b) of the Royal Decree 987/205 the information gathered in this electronic mail.
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2015/11/09/ ... -12090.pdf
Hello,
Thank you very much for your reply.
I apologise for having not provided more information before as your response doesn't quite match our situation.
My Filipino girlfriend and I currently reside in Taiwan, which is where we met and have lived since our relationship began almost two years ago. We will only be getting married in Hong Kong, and only going to the Philippines to process her visa. However, we haven't been living together in Taiwan (we haven't been able to as her work has required her to live in a dormitory) and so I am not sure that we could meet your 'one year continuous as domestic partners requirement'. Is there any other way that we could prove the genuineness of our relationship? We have plenty of pictures and chat records dating back almost two years.
However, I feel that perhaps I was unclear when talking about the British government's attitude towards foreign marriages - it's not that they won't recognise marriages in other countries, but rather that they just won't allow them to be officially registered in the UK. With this in mind, if I could get a certified letter from the British embassy in Manila confirming that they recognise marriages from Hong Kong then would this be sufficient instead?
I feel I should say that nowhere under EU law does it permit embassies or governments to require EU citizens to be able to prove that their marriage is genuine, or that they have been domestic partners for any amount of time, in order to exercise our right to freedom of movement along with our spouses.
Any further help or advice that you can offer me with this would be much appreciated.
Following our previous email, the applicant will have to submit all the documents that she considers necessary to support her visa application.
I'm sorry but I'm sure you can understand that I must insist on a more informative answer than that given that this matter concerns the ability of my family to be able to live together.
Would you please give me some information on whether a certified letter from the British embassy confirming that they recognise marriages in Hong Kong, alongside our apostilled and translated marriage certificate from Hong Kong, would be sufficient to meet the 'Registered Marriage Certificate' requirement of the list of documents?
Again, any help you could offer me with this would be much appreciated.
We confirm that the mentioned documents are not enough for this Consulate General to verify your relationship and to process the visa application.
Given that the British Government does not recognize the marriage of the British nationals abroad, the applicant must secure an appointment through VFS Global and should prove the authenticity of the relationship during the personal interview in this Consulate General, prove that it is a stable relationship and justify the existence of a genuine relationship, accrediting the period of at least one year continuous as domestic partners (you must present your passport to verify the entry and exit stamps to/from the Philippines, likewise the corresponding visa, to show us that you have continuously stayed in the Philippines as a resident for more than a year. On the other hand, your partner must demonstrate that has lived in Hong Kong. In cases of lost passport, this Consulate will request for a certificate for the Philippine Bureau of Immigration to verify the entry and exit stamps to/from the country.
During the interview, as being stated at the end of the attached list, this Consulate could request for additional documents necessary to verify the relationship.
You may confirm in the Article 4.b) of the Royal Decree 987/205 the information gathered in this electronic mail.
According to EU Directive 2004/38/EC an embassy may ask for no documents other than the following in order for an EU citizen to practice their freedom of movement rights with their spouse:
- Passports of both parties
- Marriage certificate proving the relationship
As the marriage certificate will be apostilled by the Hong Kong government, with whom Spain is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, and I will have a certified letter from the British embassy confirming that they recognise marriages performed in Hong Kong as valid, there can be no doubt as to the validity of our marriage. It would be illegal under the EU Directive 2004/38/EC to require us to provide any further documentation, other than our marriage certificate, to prove that our marriage is genuine.
Can you provide any evidence that it is legal for you to request such information under EU law?
Find attached the list of requirements and the corresponding application form.
The applicant will have to contact VFS Global to lodge an appointment.
They're not even trying to help here - they just keep telling me to 'refer to the list of documents' if I challenge them under EU Directive 2004/38/EC.
What should I do here? Do they have any right to request that we provide that kind of proof of our relationship?
