Having a baby!
 

Hi all.

My Spanish partner and English I are expecting our first child. We are both employed full-time and resident here.

We're not married (not being religious or traditional we've never seen a need) but I have been advised that it would be highly recommendable to be so ASAP. If true, why is this? What differences would it make to rights and entitlements?

Following this, I'm not sure what we need to do in terms of registering the birth. Obviously it will all be registered here and we have lots of info on this but what, if anything, will I need to do in the UK?

We're still a good few months from due date yet but I want to be as prepared as possible. I have had a look on the UKinSpain site and am slowly gathering information from various sources but any advice from those with experience would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

Mike

Re: Having a baby!
 

I know a few couples who are not married and have a child - I have no idea why you would need to be

Re: Having a baby!
 

I think it stems from her being Spanish and me not. Something about my rights as a foreigner should we split up or anything happen to my other half but I'm far from clear on the issue!

Re: Having a baby!
 

If you are from outside of the EU them that could be an issue, but then you would have to apply for legal residency anyway

Re: Having a baby!
 

Might well have deep implications if you have a house and she dies, if you are not married, you may well have a lot of inheritance tax to pay.

Re: Having a baby!
 

Why not ask her? I would think she will understand the rules and regs far better than anyone on this forum.

Re: Having a baby!
 

Hi from the France forum!
FWIW, the Inheritance Tax on the share of property and assets willed by the deceased to the surviving partner of a couple "not legally bound", is 60% in France (the child paying much less on 'its' share...)
As mentioned, your partner should be aware of the ins and outs of Spanish laws, and the same would apply to her if Spanish law is similar to the French, and you died first.
Food for thought, as no one is immortal....

Re: Having a baby!
 

She may even have a view on the subject.

Re: Having a baby!
 

Having lived most of her adult life in the UK, my girlfriend is as in the dark as I am unfortunately. Not sure why she'd be an expert on expats rights anyhow or why you'd think I haven't spoken to her about it, but thanks for the replies anyway.

Her opinion is like mine, if there is a valid reason to do so, we'll get married.

Re: Having a baby!
 

You didn't give that info in your first post, hence my question.

She has no Spanish relatives or friends who might be better able to advise?

Re: Having a baby!
 

+1
You'd do well to consult a Spanish Notary and discuss the situation with him.

As for the birth, whether you're legally bound by then or not, I presume you'd do like all fathers, and declare the birth at the Town Hall? And then register the birth at your nearest British Consulate. My two daughters were born in France and obtained their British Passports at the Paris Consulate. No steps to be taken in the UK....

Re: Having a baby!
 

This doesnt have to be done by the father - and there is no need to register them at the British consulate, unless you want your child to have a British passport.

My little boy has a Spanish passport, makes sense if he is living and growing up in Spain, and given that he and his mum are Spanish.

Btw, I would always advocate talking to lawyers, not notaries, notaries are just paper pushers with little knowledge of the law

Re: Having a baby!
 

I have a Spanish wife and we've had 2 children in Spain. I have not registered their births with the UK authorities since it is a bit pointless, although I will soon try to get them British nationality. The main thing is to get the birth registered in Spain - you only have a week to do so! The hospital will give you a form with the information about the birth, and you need to take that along to a registery office. You will then need to register with the social security.

Apart from the inheritance issues already mentioned, there are advantages with registering as a civil marriage (it doesn't have to be religious) especially if you are both working. I don't know the details but things like getting days off work to look after the kids if your partner (or one of your partner's family) is taken to hospital are much easier: there are very strong laws allowing you to take time off under such circumstances. There may also be other tax breaks, and you might find things like applying for credit/mortgages a lot easier.

Edit: also things like international travel are a lot easier. For obvious reasons, it is not always straight forward for one parent (especially the father) to travel alone with a child from one country to another. If you have the Libro de Familia it helps getting any appropriate documentation to wave in front of immigration officials.

Re: Having a baby!
 

"Her opinion is like mine, if there is a valid reason to do so, we'll get married" - maybe the c word - commitment??

Re: Having a baby!
 

I think the c-word "child" probably demonstrates a lot more commitment than signing a few papers at a registry office.