Is it better marrying in Spain or marrying outside and legalizing afterwards?

By
Bruno Bianchi
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Question

I am wondering in terms of timing and paperwork do you think it is easier (one from US and partner Spainish citizen), marrying in Spain or the marry outside and to legalize. Our plan is to get residency and live in Madrid together – so would apply for residency after the marriage!

Answers

These are the answers of some Facebook group members:

“Is your partner already resident in Spain? For Madrid, marrying in front of a notary is faster; it takes around 6-8 weeks as opposed to waiting for an appointment at the Registro Civil, where it takes nine months.
If you have the option to marry in the U.S. or elsewhere before going to Spain, that might be faster and easier for the both of you.

To register a marriage it ostensibly doesn’t take long but getting a cita, especially in Madrid, can be a big problem. If you marry abroad it would be better for you to register it with the Spanish consulate nearest you, and that shouldn’t take too long but it could depend on the consulate in question.”

“I am married to a Spaniard and we married in NY. When we moved to Madrid, it took a year to register the marriage although I was able to get residency much quicker than that. If you do marry in the US, register the marriage ASAP with the Spanish consulate there. This will help a lot.”

“If your plan is to live in Spain, then I would say it’s easier to get married here (by notary if you want it faster) than to get married outside and then do the paperwork to have it recognized here. My partner (Spanish) and I (US) also debated this but decided to get married at the registro here since this is where we were living and plan to live in the future.”

“From my experience only!!! which is still ongoing😳😳, getting married in Spain could be easier if you wish to apply for a residency visa.
We were married in Australia, my husband is Spanish with a working contract here, when we arrived. We had to have our marriage recognised in Spain before I could apply for the visa. The red tape to get that done has been an absolute nightmare.
We couldn’t get our marriage registered at the Spanish Consulate before leaving due to Covid. It may work, to get married in the US and have it registered at the Spanish Consulate before arriving.

We applied here in Barcelona, first appointment was 4mths after arrival, that was a failure, had to make another appointment that was another 4mths away. As all documents can be no!!! older than 3mths from there issue date, at appointment date (Aus Marriage Certificate also) we had to order all documents again from Aus, including Birth Certificates etc.
These take 6 weeks plus!!! to arrive, had to be Hague apostled in Madrid and then translated again. Second visit being 8mths after arrival was successful. However they asked us for our children’s birth certificates, the 5 are all adults in Aus. That was not on the list of requirements at either apt, they finally agreed to take the details in writing, thankfully. Received the document to say marriage is registered, yeah 🥳.
Engaged a lawyer to apply for my residency all documents now in order.
Spain in the meantime changed the law for residency we had to have the official MC issued in Madrid to submit the residency application. This can take anything up to 2 years we were told. The lawyer proceeded with the document stating the Aus marriage was now recognised in Spain. Yesterday I received notice that my application was favourable, hopefully 🙏 this will move forward.
Also if you have been divorced, these certificates are required also. Note these documents don’t have an issue date in Aus, hence once Hague apostled don’t have an expired date and are valid.
Sorry for the ‘war & peace’ but this a short version.
BTW- met another couple same situation, Australian/Spanish, their story was similar. They gave up trying to apply for residency themselves, after almost 2 years hired a lawyer out of frustration.”

“My husband is a Spanish citizen and I’m American. We got married December 17th in Chicago and then took our marriage certificate to the Spanish consulate in Chicago the Monday after to register the marriage in Spain. We got the libro de familia 9 days later so we are married in both countries and all the paperwork was done in less than 2 weeks. I was shocked that it was so fast! We brought a copy of our marriage license, our birth certificates, passports, and my partner’s DNI. When you get there, they ask you to fill out a few forms and you have to get a self-addressed pre-paid envelope from the post office so they can send you the libro de familia later. No apostilles or translations needed and you don’t need an appointment at the consulate either (at least in Chicago), you can just walk in and explain what you need.”

“I don’t know how fast things are in the US, but I got married to my Spanish husband in Brazil, went to the Spanish Consulate in my city with your Brazilian marriage certificate and the Consulate registered our marriage in the Spanish Registro Civil and gave us the Libro de Familia and Spanish marriage certificate. I used both to request my residency. It took 2 weeks for them to give me the Libro and the translated marriage certificate and I used both for my residency request. The marriage certificate you will submit needs to have an issue date of less than 3 months from your request submission, and the Consulate sent me a recent one by email.”

“Got married in Gibraltar in 2021 and we are still trying to get it legalized here (February 2023). such a nightmare. We live in Madrid and when we tried to register our marriage here they told us first that the office wasn’t open due to COVID.. then we had to call here, and then there.. go over somewhere else. Then finally when we reached the correct people(supposedly) and they told us that marriages from Gibraltar needed to be register in La Línea de la Concepcion. Don’t ask me why.. So we mail everything certified to their office.. and we have never heard a single thing again. No one answers the phone or email.. so what happened to out documents is anyone’s guess.”

“I got married in Gibraltar in 2021 and got registered in Spain two weeks after. I’m from Valencia , we live in a town in the provice. They were right about La Linea..the marriage from Gibraltar are registered there in Spain. But you don’t need yo send anything by yourself..the ones who send the documents are the Register office where you live, so Madrid ( your register office ) is the one who send it snd it goes back to them. We married in June 2021, in two weeks Gibraltar send me two copies of the marriage certificate apostilled. (Spainguru recommends Hague Apostilles expedited apostille services in the UK). Then i went with that, padron municipal, ID cards…to the Register office in my town and they send it to La Linea. In two month my office call me, we pick up the Registration page of the marriage in Spain and libro de familia. That’s the correct way to process. You had very bad luck with the office in Madrid”

“Husband is Spanish Nicaraguan, I am British with permanent residency (been here 8 years)… got married in nicaragua in august 2021 and we are still trying to get it registered/legalised here in Madrid (February 2023)”

In conclusion, the timing and paperwork required to marry depend on the circumstances and the country where the marriage will occur. If the plan is to live in Spain, marrying in Spain, especially in front of a notary, is a popular option to speed up the process. However, some individuals have reported experiencing challenges registering their marriages, including long wait times, additional documentation requirements, and changing regulations. The Madrid office seems to take especially long time to register a marriage. For those who choose to marry outside Spain, registering the marriage with the nearest Spanish consulate and obtaining a libro de familia is recommended to ease the residency application process. It is essential to research the specific requirements and regulations of each option and seek advice from professionals or experienced individuals.

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