Irish passport
 

I have an Irish passport - I was born in Belfast - but my husband is Scottish with a British passport. Are we able to move to Spain without him having to get a visa because he is married to an EU citizen?

Re: Irish passport
 

Yes. However, there is a little bit of red tape.

Re: Irish passport
 

How do I find out what we need to do. I'm struggling to find anything reliable online about our specific situation.

Re: Irish passport
 

Google and https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizen...n/index_en.htm is your friend

https://administracion.gob.es/pag_Ho...res-no-ue.html

Re: Irish passport
 

Thanks. I'll check that out.

Re: Irish passport
 

The answer to your question is YES and with ease.

I'm also Irish (there seem to be more of us by the day!) with a British partner and I wrote to the EU to clarify our rights. Here is their reply:

"Thank you for contacting the Europe Direct Contact Centre.Under EU rules, you have the right to travel together with your core family members (non-EU spouse, children, dependent parents or dependent grandparents) to an EU country other than the one you are a national of. If you have moved to another EU country, they can also join you there. These rules also apply to your non-EU registered partner if the country they are travelling to considers registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage.

Your non-EU family members must carry a valid passport at all times. When entering Schengen your registered partner's passport will be stamped and they may travel within Schengen with you without needing another stamp within Schengen.

Read more about your non-EU family members' residence rights if they move with you to another EU country.

United Kingdom citizens do not need a visa to travel within the EU for up to 90 days out of 180 and should not be required to prove residence. While you are traveling together and have a document to prove your legal partnership then the 90 days rule does not apply. For documents accepted as proof of residence please contact the national authorities / embassy of the member state.
We hope you find this information useful. Please contact us again if you have other questions about the European Union, its activities or institutions."

This link is helpful:

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizen...s/index_en.htm

So you can just move to Spain whenever you like and you can both obtain residency the EU way. You husband can benefit from the rights and privileges you have as an EU citizen.

Good luck!

Re: Irish passport
 

Thanks for this. I hadn't thought of contacting the EU directly! Good idea. I have lots of other questions for them as well.

Re: Family reunification rights for Britons resident in EU
 

Your husband needs form ex-19, you can find everything in Spanish here and there's an English guide here.

But before that you'll have to apply for a green certificate yourself.

Re: Irish passport
 

I'm slightly confused on this.
If a Brit was travelling to Spain then they would be restricted to 90 days without needing residency yet according to some of the answers on this thread the same applies even if you're married to an EU citizens.
My wife and I are in this situation and are planning on wintering in Spain for more than 90 days.
Do we leave Spain before the 90 days and return to re-set the clock ?

Re: Irish passport
 

You are referring to the normal residency rule, not the 90/180 Schengen rule. Yes the 90 days applies to everyone including EU citizens. That rule has been in existence for many years and most people ignore it. If you leave the country for just one day, the clock restarts. With no border controls within the Schengen area it is impossible to police so no one bothers.

Re: Irish passport
 

So long as all your affairs are all tickety-boo, you should be fine.

However, if you fall foul of the authorities for some reason, you are illegal and can be ejected out of the Schengen zone.

Entitlement to return to the Schengen zone can also be denied or restricted.

If you have any insurance policies based on this deceit, the insurer can declare them void, if they find out you mislead them.

Trying to get new insurance cover after you've been found out as having told a few porkies, will be nigh on impossible.

Re: Irish passport
 

If one of you is an EU national, then the 90/180 day Schengen travel rules don't apply. The non EU person will have their passport stamped on entry into Schengen but you are allowed to stay on for 180 days as long as you are together. You need to show your marriage certificate as proof on entry and more importantly exit to avoid being penalised for overstaying.

You can also apply for residency in the nice, easy EU way in the country concerned, you don't have to do it from the UK as a third country national. Again, you would need to show proof ie marriage certificate/civil partnership certificate or evidence that you are in a durable partnership.

Re: Irish passport
 

I don't think it is quite as easy. Flying to a Schengen county and extending your stay by showing a marriage certificate how is that going to work? Do they know what for instance a Greek or Polish marriage certificate looks like? Even if you are an EU national you will be flying from a non Schengen country. You will be queuing in separate lanes. So unless the British passport holder has some sort of endorsement in his/her passport it will be stamped.

We got a place in Portugal and posted a thread on the Portuguese forum. I don't think the rules in Spain are much different. As I am retired I would like to stay for 5 months but do not want residency. This is the advice that was given...

https://britishexpats.com/forum/port...%C3%A7-940736/

Re: Irish passport
 

I wrote to the EU on this very subject and they say otherwise. This is their reply and please read the final paragraph:

"Thank you for contacting the Europe Direct Contact Centre.Under EU rules, you have the right to travel together with your core family members (non-EU spouse, children, dependent parents or dependent grandparents) to an EU country other than the one you are a national of. If you have moved to another EU country, they can also join you there. These rules also apply to your non-EU registered partner if the country they are travelling to considers registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage.

Your non-EU family members must carry a valid passport at all times. When entering Schengen your registered partner's passport will be stamped and they may travel within Schengen with you without needing another stamp within Schengen.

Read more about your non-EU family members' residence rights if they move with you to another EU country.

United Kingdom citizens do not need a visa to travel within the EU for up to 90 days out of 180 and should not be required to prove residence. While you are traveling together and have a document to prove your legal partnership then the 90 days rule does not apply. For documents accepted as proof of residence please contact the national authorities / embassy of the member state.
We hope you find this information useful. Please contact us again if you have other questions about the European Union, its activities or institutions."

I would go with what the EU say because they make the rules. You could always write to them yourself if in doubt.

Re: Irish passport
 

The Foreign Birth Register for Irish passports will have some backlog when they finally re open in October.