Is this correct information?

Hi all,

I am British and living in Spain, I am marrying my Syrian fiancee in Syria in August and then she will apply to move to Spain to live with me. I asked a question about visa's etc to the Citizens Signpost Service and got the following answer. I just need someone to read it and tell me if it is all correct (mainly about the working and travelling to the UK visa's bit), cos it all seems too easy to me... but then again I hope it is... here is the reply...

Dear Mr Scotton,

Thank you for your inquiry.

We understand that your fiancee is currently living in
Syria, but intend to relocate to Spain with you once
you have gotten married.

1. Your wife's right to live and work in Spain

As regards your wife's position, as the spouse of an
EU citizen, your wife has an automatic right to reside
with you. Your wife has the right to live and work in
Spain without the need for a work permit for as long
as you remain in Spain. This is a right that is not
dependent on any paperwork being issued“ the paper
work merely serves to prove her right.

As a Syrian national, she may be required to obtain an
entry visa to enter Spain. You can obtain this free of
charge from the Spanish Embassy in Damascus. Once in
Spain she can apply for a residence permit.
Alternatively, she should be able to start the
procedure for obtaining a residence card with the
Spanish Embassy in Damascus.

In any event, the Spanish authorities must issue her
with a residence permit as a family member of an EU
citizen. This procedure does NOT require her to obtain
a long-term visa beforehand.

2. Your wife's right to travel in the EU

As the spouse of an EU citizen exercising his free
movement rights, your wife should be issued a
residence card as the family member of an EU citizen
by the Spanish authorities.

As a family member of an EU citizen your wife enjoys a
right to travel with you irrespective of her
nationality without the need to obtain a travel visa“
her residence card will suffice.

Article 5(2) of the EU Directive on residence rights
of EU citizens states that Family members who are not
nationals of a Member State shall only be required to
have an entry visa in accordance with Regulation (EC)
No 539/2001 or, where appropriate, with national law.
For the purposes of this Directive, possession of the
valid residence card referred to in Article 10 [-
Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen
-] shall exempt such family members from the visa
requirement.

However, please note that this facility does not exist
if your wife is travelling without you to the UK. In
that case, she will need to obtain a visa to enter the
UK.

Therefore we can confirm that when your wife travels
with you to the UK, she will not need to obtain a visa
when she has been issued with a residence card for
family members of EU nationals.

You will find out more about the EU rules on residence
on this website:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAct ... anguage=en


The rules themselves are contained in Directive
2004/38:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUri ... 1):EN:HTML


You'll find more details on how to register with the
Spanish immigration authorities website:
http://extranjeros.mtas.es/en/general/O ... jeros.html


We hope this answers your query.

Yours sincerely,

Citizens Signpost Service

See also Visiting the UK with 4EUFam card