Hoping to move to Spain. Help! :)

Hello everyone! 

I am new to this forum and I joined hopefully to get information on our possible move. I have a number of questions and any information that you guys can help with will be MUUUUUCH appreciated!

1. I am Filipino and my husband is Spanish but were are both currently living in Sydney. We got married in Sydney. Can we have our marriage registered in the Consulate General here in Sydney?

2. What would I/we need to do for us to move there? Do I need to get some spouse visa of any kind?

3. What is the best city for new entrants in Spain to move in?

4. How much cash (rough approximate) do we need to move there and rent an apartment while at the same time look for a job? 

Thank you so much in advance for all your friendly help! :)

Xx
Maria

Hello Maria a good Filipino name for Spain.

Points 1 & 2. Go to the Spanish Consulate in Sydney, they will have all the information you need, much more accurate than best guesses posted on here.

3. How would anyone know such a thing.

4. That would depend on your lifestyle, but probably cheaper than Sydney.

Hi Bamber!

Thanks so much for your reply! Well noted for pts. 1, 2 and 4. 

For pt. 3, my apologies I should have been clearer on what I was asking. Basically, I wanted to know which city, if any in particular, is easier for an expat to move to? For example, would it be easier to move in to bigger cities such as Madrid or Barcelona, as opposed to to smaller cities in terms of cost of living, job hunting, etc.? :)

Thank you Maria

That would depend on your skills, profession and qualifications. If you are a doctor or merchant banker, Madrid and Barcelona would be fine, but if you are a crop picker a more rural and cheaper cost of living area would be more suitable.  

Hope this helps.

Maria, as the spouse of a Spanish national (or even an EU national if they were resident in Spain) you have an absolute right to live with your husband in Spain.   Spain signed an EU Directive which makes it illegal to prevent a married couple residing together unless there are extraordinary circumstances.  My wife is Filipina. We married in Manila. Her visa was issued quickly and her application for RESIDENCIA was straightforward. She has been here 11 year and has permanent residency status.

You will need a visitor’s visa issued by a Spanish Consulate in Australia.  When you arrive in Spain you must start proceeding to become RESIDENT, in your case that mean apply for RESIDENCIA, within the validity of the visa.  That it expires after you have started the application and before your application is approved, is not relevant

Where to live:  Unless you are fluent in Spanish, I would have thought that a place where English is commonly spoken would be a good place to live, so Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca etc. would make life easier

Item 4:    A single EU national applying to become resident in Spain must show they have 366.90 € p.m income ;  a couple 623.73 €  p.m.   

NB  You of course, as a spouse of a Spaniard, will not need to prove your income.  Those amounts are considered by the government to be sufficient to live on.  I think doing so would be difficult, but hopeful that gives you an idea.

Good luck

Hello Maria

Just a word of caution, rules, laws and procedures are always changing, especially regarding immigration.  They will always remain a work in progress, that’s why it’s more advisable to go to the Spanish Consulate in Sydney, they will advise you and your husband on the very latest regulation requirements and will in fact be processing your resident visa application. Relying on what someone did 11 years ago is risky advice and it’s not as if they are a Spanish immigration lawyer. Avoid ''Good Luck'' advice.

johnzx, Thanks so much for that! Your experience seems to be in line with the research I've been doing so I guess generally, those are the steps we would need to take. It's a bit comforting to know you and your wife were pratically in the same situation my husband and I are in now!

Bamber, Thank you for your word of caution! I appreciate it! Like I said though I would soooo love nad welcome any advice or experience anyone can share with me. But yes I will definitely consult the consulate here. They were actually on strike for about a month :o They put a temporary halt to their strike recently so I guess they have a backlog of emails to reply to so it's taking them a while to get back to us. Would love to find a lawyer here in Sydney if its possible!