Hello there,

I have been through all the threads in this section of the site and have been unable to find out anything that may relate to my situation.

I am a British citizen and I got married about a year ago to a non EU citizen. We applied for a settlement VISA for him to the UK but this was denied because he has an outstanding criminal record in the US. He is not a US citizen. (We are currently in the process of appealing against that decision).

Would this affect his application to Spain?

I know that i am able to travel to spain and live there and work there without the need of a residence permit/entry visa or work permit - So no issues here.

What i want to know is how my spouse can go to Spain with me. For e.g. Woud he be able to get a tourist VISA and then once we decide to stay there [if that becomes the case], can he change his immigration status from tourist to resident?

We’ve been told that in order to apply for a residency card thing, we have to prove that our marriage is registered with the British Authorities. How would we do that? The british high commission does not allow for residents of his country of origin to register marriages overseas nor is it possible to deposit the marriage certificate.

All these views and not a single reply?

Come on all you Expat experts!!!  We really do need your assistance!!!!

Ok so the title of the thread was only to grab your attention but still!!!!!

why would we want to help someone of this sort? What country is he from?

Thats a pretty judgemental view you have there. Just because he has a criminal past, doesnt make him a bad person. More specifically, the ‘criminal’ charges are just drinking/driving. In any case, would this make a difference to the application?

of course it is. You didn’t specify how he was a criminal. I know a criminal record check is part of any visa process though, so he might have problems. Where is he from?

Is it possible to change immigration status whilst in Spain?