Spanish residency nightmare for Thai family of UK Citizen

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Have you found a local lawyer who is well versed in EU free movement law?

[MrDan1974]

I have but I think I may need another as he is very difficult to contact!

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

In my experience, knowing the legal position in advance is of great advantage before paying for professional advice (keeps costs down).

Can you advise what you are doing in Spain now?

[MrDan1974]

Well we have both been offered contract positions at a well known hotel chain. So hopefully, I will have signed the contract in a couple of weeks. BUT, the hotel won't give my wife the contract until she has residencia. She has a NIE number but not any certificate. The hotel have asked us to reapply for the residencia which I think will fail due to our 'out of date' marriage certificate and only 1 month's worth of the specified amount of funds in my bank account. I think that the hotel's logic behind this is that a stamped EX19 application form that is currently undergoing process will be sufficient in obtaining the contract. They have however given a written letter of the job offer. So maybe this will help?

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

The important point is that you would be a worker.

The Spanish transposition of dir mentions legalisation, but not a time limit. It also mentions that a beneficiary can establish their rights by other means than holding a residence card.

[MrDan1974]

Do you know where I could find this in writing?

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Do you know where I could find this in writing?

http://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2007-4184

[MrDan1974]

Thank you very much. I shall give it a thorough read!

[MrDan1974]

Now for the latest in the saga,
My wife has recently been approved for her residencia hooray!. She has a son of 14 years of age who lives with us in Denia, Alicante. Today, we tried to apply for his residencia in Altea but there was a problem with our marriage certificate. We were told that it requires further authorisation/stamping/legalisation(?) from the Thai authorities and we should contact the Thai embassy in Madrid. Now we are told that the embassy cannot help but the consulate can. Maybe you can help us and tell us what we should do? We are very familiar with the Spanish immigration authorities behaving illegally and in direct contravention of EU law directive200838ec. Our marriage certificate has been translated by a licensed translation office in Udon Thani, legalised and stamped by the Royal Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Madrid AND the Oficina De Extranjeria in Alicante.
This was sufficient verification for my wife's application for residencia to be approved and should be sufficient for my stepson to also submit his application. EU regulations for freedom of movement for the families of citizens of the union are derived from the proven family connection, for example our stamped and legalised marriage certificate and his stamped and legalised birth certificate verifying my wife as his mother. By the Spanish authorities failure to recognise these documents they are in direct breech of the laws of the European Union.
Oh..and the Thai embassy are just as bad...money grabbers!...we would be so grateful for any assistance you can provide.
Please feel free to ask us for any personal information needed.

Daniel Gorman

[mastermind]

As your residence has already been "established" (they issued your residence documents), they have no right to discriminate/harrass you and your family further.
See references to relevant European Case Law on page 15 of this document: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1 ... sequence=3

Even more importantly, once residence in a new Member State is established, (126) non-discrimination on the basis of nationality applies to EU citizens even in the cases where they
objectively fail to meet the minimal requirements of secondary law necessary to establish residence at
the moment of the dispute. (127)

126
To which end a residence permit is issued, which is not strictly necessary, as the right emerges from the Treaties directly:
Case 157/79 R. v. Stanislaus Pieck [1980] ECR 2171; Joined Cases 389 and 390/87 G.B.C. Echternach and A. Moritz v.
Minister van Onderwijs en Wetenschappen [1990] ECR 723.
127
E.g. Case C-456/02 Trojani v. CPAS [2004] ECR I-7573. The Court underlined that to rely on Art. 12 EC [18 TFEU] a
residence permit is enough (para. 43).

[MrDan1974]

Thanks Mastermind!
I agree that they are behaving unlawfully but it appears that they can do whatever they like without challenge....unless we could afford a competent lawyer! And even the majority of them never get back to you!

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

I am curious as to how you managed to resolve your wife's case. Did you have to do something special in the end?

I had posted the relevant sections of the real decreto previously. They would also apply to your son.