Question
I am in the process of marrying my Spanish partner. We have started the expediente process and it has been denied. I am a US citizen and they denied it as I do not have the Certificado de Soltería needed for the marriage in Spain.
Despite submitting letters from the US embassy stating that this documentation is no longer given they insist I need it. I have called many notary services and many said that they are not able to do this. I am wondering what or where I can go to get this paper or how to fight this. I am located in Malaga.”
Answers
These are the answers of Spainguru’s Facebook group members:
“The consular letter doesn’t do alone. It needs to be accompanied by an affidavit or ‘acta de manifestaciones’ in which you affirm your civil status. If that doesn’t do, you may need proof of the applicable legislation in the state of your citizenship. This all can be relatively easy or relatively difficult. You should hire a lawyer if you still intend on marrying in Spain.”
“This is exactly what I was advised by the ‘registro de uniones de hecho’ in Madrid and I had no issues.”
“I submitted the document from the embassy and also included an affidavit affirming my civil status from a notary. I did all of this in Barcelona so I’m not sure about Malaga, but the notary definitely provides this service. Best of luck!”
“I applied in December for the expediente. I’m from Washington and ordered from the state a search of their registry of marriages from when I was 18 until now to show that I was not registered as having been married there, and then I had that document apostilled and translated. In the end, these documents worked for us.”
“I went to the registry here just as my partner did and asked for my certificado de soltería, I submitted that, an acta de manifestación and a civil status letter from my country (USA) but it was neither translated nor apostilled, and it worked.”
“Because of this nightmare, we decided to get married in Gibraltar. In Gibraltar, you just go to a kind of notary and sign an affidavit and that’s all. Very easy process.”
“Went through the same process and we had to go through a notary. We got 5 witnesses that said I was single and that was that. Getting married on March 8th.”
“Both partners need to supply it. Might not have been yours that made it denied but your partner’s. But just supplying the note from embassy is not enough, an affidavit must also be supplied.”
Conclusion
The journey to marrying in Spain when faced with the certificado de soltería hurdle is complex yet navigable with the right approach.
Group members have shared a variety of solutions, from providing an affidavit in addition to the consular letter, hiring a lawyer, to considering marriage in locations like Gibraltar for a more straightforward process.
It’s clear that persistence, combined with a thorough understanding of legal requirements and possible alternatives, can lead to successful navigation of Spanish bureaucracy.
