marm1te wrote:Tracey, what an ordeal. I have had some frustrations of my own as a British person married to a Moroccan national. I have only just found this thread and was about to offer my 2-bits to you about the recognition of marriage document required by the Spanish but your story has already reached this point.
I have not suffered your anguish in that, for the time being, we live together here in Morocco however I have experienced some of the frustrations of the consulate mentality. The French (and you say Spanish too) do not accept the Moroccan marriage certificate with certified translation however they do accept a piece of paper from the British drawn from a glance at the same paperwork. Talk about being difficult.
Anyway, I had this same letter prepared for me in early March. I requested specific wording concerning the validity of our marriage and that it must include clear and indisputable references to the EU Directive about freedom of movement. The British are still very good at adding a load of disclaimer at the bottom - for you too?! I have not tested this letter on the Spanish yet, however, friends in Spain who are immigration specialists with many years experience of Moroccan cases say that this wording should be fine. They told me that the most important thing, apart from the marriage reference, is that it is from and signed by the British Consulate in Rabat or Casablanca (not an Honorary Consulate, as in Marrakech).
Anyway, I don't think I have offered you anything except that sometimes there is a small comfort in knowing you're not the only one in a maze of 'border' people and paperwork!
Wishing you the very best of luck for what I hope is the conclusion of the test of your love. I am sure that anyone reading this forum thread will agree that you have passed!
PS If you have a moment, please do send me details of your translator (by Private Message is okay, if you prefer). Official, turnaround time, cost?
Thank you for your kind words. I can give you specific translator information if you like - just let me know which you need and where, we have had several documents translated from one language to another between french, arabic, spanish and english in all combinations... lol We have paid between 70 DH and 250 DH per document and definitely seem to pay more when english is involved. We have used 2 different translators in Tetouan, but only the one for english, and one in Tanger for our marriage certificate to english which cost 250 DH but was done within 2 hours. Normal turnaround appears to be 1 to 3 days though. The letter from the Consulate that we droped in last Thursday, he couldn't do before today (Monday) at 4pm as it was from English to Spanish which is trickier for him, I guess. We paid 200 DH for this one in Tetouan.
The letter itself is perfectly worded and yes, does have a slight disclaimer at the bottom, but nothing to worry about. I am actually grateful that we were not able to get something when we were in Tanger as the document that I was shown there was not nearly as 'good' as this one. The UK Embassy knew exactly what we needed and said it was what they issued for the Spanish and French and I am positive that it will be acceptable at the spanish consulate. We will see tomorrow when we drop by there with it.
A call to the UK Embassy this morning to inquire on the status of the EEA FP actually yielded some positive news in the disguise of bad. While they are waiting for information and therefore the Permit not processed, I learned that they are waiting for information to confirm that the 'stuff' that seems to be on Rachid's profile and giving us all the trouble at the Spanish border is being resolved. Apparently, they have heard back from the Spanish and UK authorities and are waiting for the Italians (!). The ECO confirmed that they have, with the fingerprints that they have, deduced that it is somebody else and said to me that in the long run, this will benefit us as the 2 records will be separated. Since (my) Rachid has never set foot in Italy, I am hopeful that this will be sorted quickly now.
Am I be being over-optimistic to think that if they are running these checks and the ECO is talking to me about how as it is an EEA FP, they are giving it top priority, that they may actually now be processing this application under EU law and acknowledging that we are eligible and therefore may actually get it? I do hope so.... I will call them again tomorrow.
The spanish consulate, we will drop by in the morning with all but Rachid's passport which they probably wont like, but I think it will be worth the short trip to Tetouan to talk to them about what is happening with the UK consulate and verify that with the Embassy letter, they are going to be happy now to treat us as a married couple under the Directive.