EU citizens family member residence card
EU family residence card can be applied for through marriage or cohabitation (pareja hecho) with a Spanish national or EU citizen.
This type of residence is based on kinship between a Spanish (or EU) citizen and a third country citizen. If there is no kinship, then it is not possible to apply for EU family residence.
Related article: EU family card: get residence permit by marriage with a Spanish
What happens in case of divorce or separation?
If the parties are divorced or separated, it does not mean that the EU family residence is no longer valid. The law provides that you can continue to hold EU family residence even if you are divorced or separated, as long as any of the following conditions are met:
-Cohabitation or marriage must have lasted 3 years. Of these 3 years, 1 year must be spent in Spain.
-If the parties have children, the children are awarded to a non-EU citizen. If awarded to the other party, it is also possible to keep the EU dependent residence, as long as the non-EU citizen has visitation rights.
After a divorce or separation, if any of the above conditions are met, the EU family residence can be kept.
There is no need to apply for approval to retain EU family residence. The law only states that in case of separation or divorce, you need to inform the immigration office. For this, you can write a letter to the immigration office. As long as you notify the immigration office, your current residence is still valid. It can be replaced normally after the expiration date.
Note: To keep your EU family residence does not actually depend on the EU citizen anymore. This is because the EU citizen has no right to object and no right to prevent the EU family member from keeping their residence permit.
What if I have been married or cohabiting for less than 3 years?
If the above conditions are not met, then it is not possible to keep the EU dependent residence. In this case it is necessary to apply for a change of residence to another type of residence, such as work residence, employer residence, non-profit residence or permanent residence. The requirements for each type of residence are different and can be found in the relevant articles in our website.
