Joanne C. Says:
My husband and I would like to retire to Europe near the Mediterranean in a few years—most likely Spain. I have Irish and Canadian citizenship, my husband has only Canadian citizenship, and we both reside in Canada.
What is the best way to obtain residency as a couple when only one spouse has the European passport?
Global Diversification Expert Ted Baumann Says:
Hi Joanne,
Although citizens of EU countries have the right of residence throughout the Union, rules for spousal visas depend on the country you want to live in.
As an Irish national, you have the right to live in Spain. You must establish residency there before you can apply for a spousal visa for your husband. That means finding a place to live, opening a bank account, getting a cell phone contract, and other things that tie you to Spain.
Once you’ve done that, your husband can come to Spain, and on arrival you would declare that he is a family member of an EU citizen resident in Spain. That will give him a one-year renewable residency permit. Once he’s got that, you can apply for a permanent family reunification visa.
This would be quite a bit simpler and less confusing than having him apply for a visa on his own account. If he did that, he would have to make the application from outside Spain, and await the outcome before going there.
It’s likely that Spanish authorities would even notice that he has an EU spouse already living in Spain and tell him simply to join you there and apply for a spousal visa as above.
For more details on how to establish residency in Spain, consider our Escape to Spain guidebook.
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