Irish national resident in spain with turkish fiance

[trevor]

I am currently a resident in spain, and am planning to marry my long term girlfriend who is Turkish. She has been living with me on a three month tourist visa, but we are in the final stages of arranging to get married here in spain. What I would like to know is what you can tell me as regards to how long before she will be able to work in Spain, and what procedures there are for applying for the visa/residence.

Thanks a million!

Trevor.

[archigabe]

If you are getting married in Spain,make sure you talk to the Irish embassy there about proceedures to have the wedding recognized by Irish law.Then She and You would have to take the wedding certificate to the Spanish Embassy in Turkey to apply for the E.U Spouse Visa in Turkey.It usually takes a few weeks to as long as 6months according to some other posters on this forum.But please talk to Spanish immigration authorities in Spain too!
Best of Luck!

[John]

She and You would have to take the wedding certificate to the Spanish Embassy in Turkey to apply for the E.U Spouse Visa in Turkey.

I am not sure I agree with that. If the marriage is in Spain, why can she not apply for her Residence Permit in Spain?

And what is a "E.U Spouse Visa"? I don't think that exists! What we have here is an EEA Citizen from Ireland exercising his treaty rights in Spain. Accordingly his non-EEA Family Member (as she will become as soon as they are married) possesses rights to live and work in Spain, but needs a Spanish-issued Residence Permit in order to prove that.

And as regards Ireland recognising the Spanish marriage, surely Ireland has laws similar to the UK? Indeed because it pre-dates Irish independence it could well be the case that the UK's Foreign Marriages Act 1892 is also in force in Ireland? If that is the case then a marriage legally recognised where it takes place would also be recognised as legally valid in Ireland. Well it certainly would in the UK.

[scrudu]

As far as Ireland recognising the Spanish Marriage, Ireland will recognise any marriage once it is recognised by the laws of that country.

From the General Registry of Civil Marriages
http://www.groireland.ie/getting_married.htm#section3

"3.2 Marriage outside of Ireland:

Marriages which take place outside the State are normally registered in the country in which they occur and are NOT registered in Ireland by a Registrar or the General Register office. Persons marrying abroad should ensure that all the legal requirements of the country in question are met, and should enquire as to the procedure for obtaining a marriage certificate from that country - the relevant Embassy/or religious authorities may be able to advise.

The General Register Office has no function in advising on, or in the registration of, marriages which take place outside the State. There is no facility for registering such marriages in the State, and the civil marriage certificate would normally be accepted as the legal proof of the marriage. In cases where a serious doubt exists as to whether the marriage is recognised in Irish law, legal advice may be sought and an application made to the Circuit Family Court for a ruling under Section 29 of the Family Law Act, 1995 as to whether the marriage is recognisable under Irish law.

"

[John]

As far as Ireland recognising the Spanish Marriage, Ireland will recognise any marriage once it is recognised by the laws of that country.

It does indeed sound like the UK's Foreign Marriages Act 1892 remains in force in the Republic of Ireland. Or at least a law that says exactly the same thing at that UK Act.

On independence in 1922 all the laws in force in the UK, including the whole of Ireland, remained in force in the Republic at the moment of independence. But of course they then had the right to pass new laws to change that default situation. But at least they had a whole set of laws in place rather than having to start from scratch ... which would have caused anarchy.

Trevor, have you been in touch with the Spanish authorities and established how your wife, as she will be, goes about getting a Residence Permit?

[trevor]

Thanks for the replies.

My main concern was the time frame we would be looking at for getting a residence permit. Though having to return to turkey to apply for the visa is an added complication. I shall look into it further here, and let you know how it goes. Of course if anyone has any further information about the time frame involved in spanish processing of spouse visas, or on how to apply for one, I would be greatful.

Good to see boards like this by the way.

Trevor.

[scrudu]

As John said earlier, I doubt you have to return to Turkey apply for a "Residency Permit/Permission to Remain" as this will be issued by the Spanish authorities. Your wife will be applying as a Spouse of an EU citizen for Permission to Remain, based on her marriage to you.

A Spouse Visa is a visa granted if your wife were outside the country, e.g. in Turkey. Then she would apply to the Spanish Embassy in Turkey for this visa to enter Spain. This would be the visa she would then enter the country on, instead of a tourist visa.

I have no idea about the intricacies of the ES system, or about how long it takes for either of these options

[JAJ]

On independence in 1922 all the laws in force in the UK, including the whole of Ireland, remained in force in the Republic at the moment of independence.

Almost right ... however Ireland was a different legal jurisdiction from England & Wales, or Scotland for that matter, and even before independence certain laws were different from English or Scottish laws.

So it's not necessarily safe to assume that a pre-1922 United Kingdom statute ever applied in Ireland without checking the specifics of the legislation. Unless the issue clearly concerned a UK-wide concept, such as the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914.