How to satisfy the Spanish Embassy (Schengen Visa)

Surinder Singh Files
Surinder Singh for Newbies

Schengen Visa Files
Schengen Visa Handbook (English) and Schengen Border Codes (English)

Rights of Non-EEA Family Member: English

The Directive in different languages 
English; Spanish; French
You can look at the relevant parts in English and then search the Article number in the other language to present with your application or for arrival at the airport.

Relevant parts of the Directive (to save on printing): English

Guide to Free Movement
English; Spanish; French

Guidance Notes
English; French

Real Decreto/Royal Decree for Spain 240/2007
English and Spanish

What do I need?
Requirements for a visa
Officially, the documents to include (2 copies of each) are:

  • Schengen application form, dated and signed (don’t fill in the * questions) English, Spanish and French
  • Non-EU’s original passport, copy of each page and an extra copy of the photo page. If you can get them legalised then that’s a bonus.
  • Copy of spouse’s passport (photo page) and also any pages with visas or stamps when you’ve been together. Again, if you can get them legalised it’s a bonus.
  • 2 photographs of the non-EU (white background). More info here
  • Cover letter from Non-EU. Example of ours in English and Spanish
  • Cover letter from EU spouse. Example of ours in English and Spanish
  • Original marriage certificate, or newly issued copy; legalised and stamped
  • Official Spanish translation of marriage certificate, stamped by the Spanish Embassy

Extra things that Spain likes to see:

  • Itinerary – state the flights your spouse intends to get and include some vague plans for specific weekends. Example of ours in Spanish
  • Hotel reservation – I use Hotels.com as you can reserve and cancel for free and once you’ve booked, if you sign into their Spanish version of the site, you can download the reservation in Spanish without having to translate it yourself
  • If your marriage took place outside of the UK, you will need a letter from the British Embassy stating that registration of a foreign marriage isn’t possible in the UK. More info here
  • Travel insurance for non-EU: we gave in a copy showing one month, after their arrival they have the same rights to healthcare in Spain as you do

I live in Spain already so I also included:

Be prepared for them not to know, or at least appear to know, what the Directive is, or you or your spouse’s European rights. You might have to make a complaint to SOLVIT or get help from Your Europe Advice on the matter. Stand your ground, know your rights, and don’t take no for an answer.

As a little aside to keep in mind, when the Non-EU spose applies for residency Spain asks for the marriage certificate and Spanish translation to have been issued within the last three months before applying. So if you arrive in Spain in June and apply for residency on 1st July, the latest date it could have been issued (to be accepted) is 1st April, three months previous. It’s a special requirement that only Spain enforces, and some people have been issued residency with an older copy or even their original copy, but you have to weigh up the time constraints and whether getting a new copy would be too much hassle or not. You would have to complain to SOLVIT and after that Spain should issue it, but again, it all depends on your time constraints. We haven’t taken the risk and got a new certificate and translation issued and stamped by the local Wilaya (married in Algeria), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Embassy. After that, you should be good to go residency-wise.

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