Hello everyone,

I have been a lurker for a while and am a first time poster.  I’m an American citizen currenlty living in Barcelona on a tourist Visa, I’ve been here about 30 days so far this trip so I have 2 more months of legal status.

My girlfriend and I have decided to get married and I would appreciate your advice and how to go about taking care of all the paperwork.  It looks like it is a lot more complex to get married here then in the US.  We are going to just do a “civil wedding” for now and have a formal wedding sometime in the future.

My big question is, will I have to leave Spain and come back before I can stay here legally?  I’ve been doing the 90 days here 90 days there thing for a while and am really hoping I can just stay here this time. 

It looks like the most time consuming part of the process, at least as far as getting documents in order is going to be getting an “official” international version of my birth certificate that has been “officially” translated.  (sure wish they would just accept my passport).

I look foraward to hearing from you all!

well, i have been told that the marriage rules with Schengen countries is that if you get certified in one of them, it should be recognised in all. perhaps it would be easier if you get certified in an alternative schengen country with less restrictive rules..i’ve heard of some certification only taking afew days to do. or, it may be easier for you and your partner to get married in the US as the cert should be officially recognised globally and America is known for fast marriage service 😉

Hi I got married here a little over two years ago.  Its a long application process at your local juzgado or registro civil.  Of course I am a permanent resident, so I think it was probably easier for me. 
But just go to your juzgado or registro civil, explain your needs and they’ll help you get started.  They were really friendly and helpful to me.  It took us two months to get a date, just to give you a timeframe.

About 2 years ago I got married in Spain. I am British and was working legally in a small town [everyone knows everyone,quite helpful] whilst my now wife was non-EU, and had been there for several months over her permitted stay. No questions or problems from anyone ! We filled out the documents, obtained the paperwork from our own embassies,and were married at the local registry office. We were living in Alicante province and I believe that some places are easier than others. The fact that it was a small town and Spanish friends asked at the offices for information may have helped smooth our path, but no laws were broken. Spain does seem to be a country where different regions interpret the rules differently from each other. Good luck.