Question
My Boyfriend and I are applying for the Pareja de hecho. I contacted the US embassy and they no longer provide documents of civil status that is required but recommended a signed affidavit of my statement I’m single, but they don’t do it. But to do it here who does affidavits?. Ideas? Maybe the US consulate in Barcelona?
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“No, you just go to a Spanish notary.”
“I contacted the embassy in Valencia about 2 weeks ago and was told the same. I have heard some people get away with just having a letter notarized here in Spain and others that have been told it needs to come from your home state in US as there is no federal data base for such a document. Depends on the state, but I’m from Massachusetts and requested a proof of no marriage from the office for vital records- believe it needs state apostille to be “official”. So I guess it really depends on the region in Spain where you live and the person who reviews your paperwork. I’m no expert just sharing what I’ve heard. I’m on a bit of a time crunch myself so I may submit everything with a letter from Spanish notary and see what they say.”
“The Consulate in Barcelona will tell you the same as the embassy. I was able to get married in Barcelona in Feb ‘22 with the PDF on the embassy website that states the US doesn’t have a way civil status doc… can you update where you are getting PDH- maybe someone in that region will have a more definitive answer- we all know not every office follows the same protocol”
“As someone else stated, it’s different depending on the extranjerías. I’ve heard in Madrid they will except a notarized letter from Spain but for example in Ourense they require something from the US. I contacted my county clerk and told her what I needed and I was able to request a record of no marriage from Vital Statistics. I had the option to write my own letter also (for states that don’t have the record of no marriage it might work). I would contact your extranjería directly to see exactly what they find acceptable.”
“Check this blog post, it might be helpful!: https://spainguru.es/2022/09/22/get-married-spain-requirement-not-married/”
“If I were you, I would just get my Pareja de hecho at a notary. that’s what i did when i lived in catalonia. it’s not that much more expensive than gathering all the documents to get it done the “normal” way, and it is a hell of a lot quicker + less complicated”
“As people are saying, it depends case by case. I need the same document for getting married in Madrid and even a Spanish notary said they wouldn’t provide that because I am not from here and would just be going off of my word. I am from Texas and I have already confirmed with the Texas government that they will give me a document with my civil status from their records (saying there is no record I have ever been Married) along with the apostille and that should work. Seems like a pretty safe bet is if the document comes from your home country because they would have the best knowledge of this in the records. One annoying part at least for Texas is that I can only get this by appearing physically to request it, I cannot have someone do it on my behalf. Might differ depending on the state?”
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