Working in Spain if my wife has Spanish nationality, Spain forum

ahcuellar

Member

Member since 18 May 2022

ahcuellar

18 May 2022 19:45:30

ahcuellar

18 May 2022 19:45:30

Hi!

If my wife and kids are Méxican, but have Spanish nationality/passport. We married in Mexico and our marriage is registered in Spain Book.

Is it possible to look for a job ins Spain?

Do I have to apply for a visa or something similar?

I'm a Mexican national.

gwynj

Bulgaria Expert

Member since 30 June 2020

Bansko, Blagoevgrad

gwynj

19 May 2022 10:00:17

1051

gwynj

19 May 2022 10:00:17

1051

Bansko, Blagoevgrad

Greetings @ahcuellar and welcome to the expat.com forum. Good luck with your potential move to Spain!

You have 90 days visa-free with your Mexican passport to visit Spain, look for a place to live, interview with potential employers. But you can't work! You might be able to get a job offer, if they know you're the spouse of a Spanish citizen... but many will want to wait until you're in Spain with your own residence permit and right to work. Your wife, however, as a Spanish citizen, could start work immediately (although perhaps she'd need an ID/tax number - the NIE - which might take a few days).

Your wife must be in Spain to complete the formalities, which include the "padron" (registration at the town hall) and the immigration process of "family reunification" with her spouse (you). Family reunification will get you a residence permit, and you'll be able to work. (But not sure how quickly you could do it, maybe a couple of months. So I'd guess you might need a chunk of savings that would cover the move and renting an apartment and living expenses.)

Once you're legally resident, you should note that Spain has a special path to citizenship for citizen of Ibero-America of only 2 years.

Johncar

Spain expert

Member since 25 November 2013

Malaga

Johncar

20 May 2022 14:56:58

1401

Johncar

20 May 2022 14:56:58

1401

Malaga

Your wife and children are Spanish, they have Spanish passports

They can reside in spain,

Under the EU rules of family reunification (search online for info) you can easily get resident status and work

PS. I did not see there had been a reply when I posted my simple reply.

gwynj

Bulgaria Expert

Member since 30 June 2020

Bansko, Blagoevgrad

gwynj

23 May 2022 11:04:38

1051

gwynj

23 May 2022 11:04:38

1051

Bansko, Blagoevgrad

@Johncar

Short and sweet, well done!

Do you know how quickly someone in the poster's situation should be able to get through the family reunification process so that he has a residence permit and the right to work?

Working in Spain if my wife has Spanish nationality

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