How can you bring your relatives to live with you in Spain if they didn’t come with you when you moved? Skatz, Walter Ego and Angry (for no reason) Tommy tell you who you can bring and how.
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For the conversational facts, carry on reading…
Skatz: So you’re living in Spain and you want your non-EU family members to join you here.
Walter: I do
Tommy: I love my family!
S: I’m sure you do, so how do you do it?
W: I don’t know
T: Do they need a visa?
S: Let’s have a bit of background first. Walter & Tommy didn’t bring their family with them when they emigrated to Spain.
W: My wife was still working, but she’s retired now
T: My missus said I should go first to see what it was like, but I miss my family!
S: Also, Walter & Tommy arrived in Spain after Brexit, so we’re going to talk about the visa you need if you’re in that situation too.
W: I’m a third country national.
T: We’re not EU citizens anymore!
S: That’s correct. So you would need to apply for the Family Reunification Visa.
W: Is it easy to get one?
S: As usual with visas, the requirements can be quite strict, so let’s find out what they are. If you have any questions…
T: I have a question.
S: Yes, Tommy?
T: How long do I have to live in Spain before I can apply for a Family reunification visa?
S: Good question. You need to have been living in Spain for a year, and you need to have been granted your residency renewal for the following year.
W: It’s like we’re on probation.
S: So you’ve waited for a year and got your residency renewal.
W: I’ve done that. Is it just my wife I can bring or can it be anyone in my family?
S: You can apply for a visa for your parents, your wife or civil partner, your sons & daughters if they’re under 18, or the children of your spouse.
T: What about my brother?
S: Sadly no. You need to be a Spanish citizen to bring in extended family or partners if you’re not in a registered relationship, or extended family members with serious disabilities, and neither of you are Spanish, so let’s talk about how to bring your wives to Spain. The first thing you’ll need is your marriage licence.
W: Check!
S: Which needs to be apostilled and translated if it’s from the UK.
W: Check!
S: And you also have to prove it’s not a marriage of convenience.
W: How do I do that?
S: You need to show you have a history together, so a joint mortgage or rental contract, a joint bank account, council tax bills or voter registration at the same address, things like that.
W: That’s easy, we’ve had plenty of bills!
S: And of course if you’ve had children together that helps.
W: We did, but they’re grown up now.
S: Lovely. What about you, Tommy?
T: I’ve got seven kids, but I’m not married!
S: Well, that might make it a bit tricky because you will need to register your civil partnership (or Pareja de Hecho), and you can’t do that in Spain if neither of you are EU citizens, and even if you were, you’d need to have been living together there for at least a year.
T: That’s not possible, she can only stay for 90 days!
S: Exactly, so that route isn’t really going to work for UK couples.
T: Why can’t we register as a couple in the UK?!
S: There isn’t an acceptable equivalent in the UK to the Pareja de Hecho. So the only way I can see is for you to get married in the UK.
T: What about my kids? What documents do you need to get their visa?
S: This one’s easy, you just need their birth certificates.
W: Do they need Apostilles and translations as well?
S: Thanks Walter, yes they do.
W: Are there any other documents we need?
S: Well, as usual when you apply for visas, you need to prove you have enough money to support your family members.
W: My wife was working so she can support herself.
S: That’s okay if she’s finished work, but you have to show that she’ll be financially dependant on you when she’s in Spain.
W: So she can’t work in Spain?
S: She will technically have the right to work once she’s got residency, but to get the visa she can’t be supporting herself, otherwise she would be expected to apply for a different visa. The Family Reunification Visa is just for people who can’t afford to support themselves.
T: What do I do to show I can support my missus & my kids then?
S: You need to show some kind of solid income.
T: Like what?
S: Well, if you have a work permit from a company, you can use the contract from that plus at least 6 months worth of payslips. And just make sure it’s a long term contract.
T: Mine is indefinite!
S: That’s the best kind.
W: What if you’re self-employed?
S: Then you need to show an income tax return.
T: How much dosh do I need to be earning?
S: For the first family member, you need 150% of IPREM, which means an annual figure this year (2022) of €10,422.30.
T: What about my kids?
S: For each additional family member you need 50% of IPREM, which is €3,474.10.
T: And how do I prove that I’m supporting my missus and kids already?
S: You should provide bank statements showing payments from you for things like rent, bills, living costs, school fees and things like that.
W: Is that everything?
S: No, there are a few more things to do, for example you need to prove that where you and your family are going to live is appropriate.
W: How do I prove that?
S: You can get a housing report from your local town hall. It tells you what condition the house is in, how many rooms it has, how big it is, and how many people live in it.
W: Do I need healthcare cover?
S: Yes, you’ll need private health insurance if you’re not already in a position to get public healthcare cover, like you and your family get if you’re employed or self-employed and paying Social Security.
W: Anything else?
S: Yes, you and your wife will need to have a criminal records check.
T: What about the kids?
S: It’s only for over 18’s
W: Are there any more rules and requirements?
S: Just one, the family members need to be in the country they currently live in at the time of application for them to be eligible.
T: What makes you such a bleeding’ expert anyway?
S: I’m not, really, I just have a lot of friends in this community who are specialists in what they do and they share information with each other.
T: Like a family?
S: Exactly. Peace & Love everyone.
W: Peas & fluff.
S: See you in the next video
W: Let’s dance!
Article by Skatz, Walter Ego & Tommy
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