A Non-European Spouse in Europe: Some Issues and Sources

By Brian Iselin, Co-Moderator

For those of you considering living in Europe with a non-European spouse, or for those non-Europeans considering living in the EU with their European partner, don’t be fooled into thinking this is an easy thing to do. There are trials, and tribulations, as well of course as the fabulous cross-cultural rewards. While it would be a mistake to assume it is all bad, likewise it would be a mistake to assume it is all plain sailing. Even if you are not making a huge move, and don’t think there will be enormous cultural differences, be ready for genuine challenges and frustrations.

National Registration: This is something not always familiar to the non-European, and absolutely anathema to most people coming from a common law system. I come from a common law country where there is no national registration, so the procedures for registering at the state or commune level if you are moving to a civil law country on the continent can be mind-boggling, and of course always in the local language which a genuine early challenge for new arrivals.

As a general rule within a very short period of arriving, normally a matter of days or weeks, one must register with local authorities. In some places this is done with just one or two applications (often local administration, tax, and health authorities) but some places will demand a number of separate processes. It is very important to get good advice on local procedures: those who are truly global nomads will often find they are square pegs seeking to fit into round holes: global nomads do not fit well into any of the forms provided by such agencies, and should allow far more time for these processes then the average nomad. If you can, make a personal, direct email contact with someone in any of these agencies, a person to whom you can address phone calls and emails. This is so valuable and should be treasured: it can make an enormous difference to you. In the more bureaucratic Francophone countries, this will usually not be possible and you may have to queue at various government offices for many hours instead. Expect when you start with an employer that you will need to take a lot of (usually unpaid) time off during office hours in advance to complete such processes. Often you will end up with a national registration/identity card from the process, and this should be carried at all times in lieu of your passport. You should be carrying your passport with you until you get the identity card.

Taxation status is also worth checking out earlier rather than later. The heuristic is that where you earn your income, there you pay tax. So if you are moving from one European country to another, you will likely have to change your taxation residency to the new place. Make sure you signal this change to the tax agency in your former country, to avoid the question of double taxation – a phenomenon which can still catch up with you even when you do all the right things simply through miscommunications in the tax agency of your former country of residence. Registering for tax in your new country usually involves a separate registration procedure on top of your national/local registration. The good news is that as a taxpayer in the new country, you then are often granted immediate access to the health services in that country. Depending on the country, it might be a good idea to have your own private health insurance on top: many expats do this not only for reasons of convenience, but for access to good quality services if the state health system is not a good one.

One of the really tricky questions about identity is the extent to which the system sees you as a person, distinguishable from your partner. The question of married, single, divorced, living together, etc is a vexed one. Common law systems generally are much more flexible to recognition: civil law systems usually see you as either single or married, and assume heterosexual, not-living-in-sin status as the norm. Anything else can be complicated and seemingly impossible for bureaucrats to comprehend. Civil law countries will often you make you register a relationship that is an alternative to the legal act of marriage, and until you do that you are single. This is a problem, a serious one, if you are moving because of your relationship. Until you register the relationship in the new country, you cannot claim that you have a legal identity in the new country. One catch (Catch-22 indeed) is that you may not be able to register your relationship until you have your national/local registration! Take care: moving from common law to civil law, and expecting to be understood when you have a common law relationship, is far from simple and needs to be handled carefully to make sure you are legal from all angles.

Immigration Status: Immigration status in Europe is complicated: complicated by your own nationality, any visas or permanent residencies you have, the nationality of your partner, what you intend to do for a living, and even the nature of the relationship with your partner.

Depending on your identity, a visa is often required to stay/live in the country of your destination in Europe. It is very important to note for non-Europeans that your visa for your intended country in Europe might actually ONLY be requested from the relevant Embassy in your country of origin. For global nomads this is often a serious problem: if you are like me you have not been in your country of origin for a dozen years or more, and certainly don’t have access to an Embassy there! This is a problem best addressed in advance, and a workaround solution identified as early as possible rather than a disheartening about-face at the border. Even if you are already in Europe and are simply changing countries, the rules might be different in the new country you are heading to and you might still have to apply for a new visa in that destination country, but through their Embassy in your country of origin. Don’t wait for this to be a problem: if there is one area in which you MUST be pro-active in your move it is your visa/residency status.
Perhaps testament to how darn complicated migration status can be, many European countries have immigration advisory services to offer free migration advice, and it is very well worth making contact early with the service in the country you plan to move to: find out what they recommend for you. The various expat websites listed below also often offer basic advice tailored to each country, including information on work permits, student visas, business visas etc.
If you are partner of an EU national, then the chances are you already have permanent residency in one European country. If you do have permanent residency in one European country (let us call it your first European country), then you are fortunate in having the same rights in your new European country (let us call it your second European country) as the first. Your health system access rights are the same in the new place, and indeed there is a new European Union Health Card which you can apply for before you leave that grants you access to health services in the new place. The EU directives aimed at improving the mobility of EU nationals extends to those with permanent residency.
There is one particular trap to watch if you are interested in applying eventually for citizenship in your first European country. There is a question of whether the time you spend in the second EU country counts towards your period of continuous residency for the purpose of applying for citizenship in your first European country. Unless there is a strong link back to the first country, for example if you are partner of a diplomat posted out, then your time in the second country will NOT count in your period of residence, which will impact on your citizenship application. It is something to keep an eye on if citizenship in your first European country is important to you in the long run.

Expat Networking:  As with most things, the internet has made life much easier when moving to a new country. One of the lifesavers of moving into most European countries is the proliferation of excellent expatriate networking and advice sites. Thank whichever god you worship for them! www.xpats.com – www.expatica.com – www.expat-blog.com – www.easyexpat.com – www.alloexpat.com  - just a few of the many such very useful web-based resources. A number of these sites break down into country of city-specific sites which include a wide range of tips for getting by, and several even have classifieds where you can advertise for or find services.
Beyond the expat websites, professional networking sites such as LinkedIn cannot be forgotten either: often groups exist to promote networking on professional issues but also networking in specific cities. The best advice about building a balanced life in a new city is of course to become a joiner: join clubs, groups, and networks and build relationships that will help you build a platform for life in your new city.

Embassies: Well, mostly Embassies of your own country are mostly an irrelevance when you move to a new country, and for simple budgetary reasons cannot possibly offer services to their nationals in settling into a new place. But there are some things that Embassies normally do which inadvertently can be considered services to their expats/nationals. One particular area of note is the identification of services in your language. Many Embassies, in trying to find services suitable for their own diplomatic families, do the legwork and identify a range of suitable, quality services offered in your own languages: important things like crèches, schools, doctors and dentists, and even lawyers perhaps. If you are lost for where to look for a service that is in your language, and you can reasonably think it is a service your own country’s diplomats might need, then the footwork has probably been done and you should approach your Embassy and ask if they have the relevant list.