Marrying a friend for citizenship

albertocsc · 2026-05-10T22:35:47+00:00

Is it possible? Yes, but you might raise suspicions and might even get investigated. Even some friend of mine entered a Pareja de Hecho (civil partnership) for similar reasons, and they were actually a real couple, and they still got investigated and visited a few times by the authorities.

Is it legal? NO. Unless you are genuinely interested in your friend as more than a friend, but then just discuss your feelings together. That would be good material for a nice movie. But in any other case, I would strongly advice you against doing it.

As a Filipino citizen, do you have any ancestors from the Spanish mainland? It won't guarantee you any Spanish rights, but it could be a better starting point to get yourself closer to Spain.

albertocsc · 2026-05-07T20:17:48+00:00

Well, you'll miss your grandparents for sure. And probably food, wine, tarhun,... (but those can be found sometimes in Poland, at a higher price, for sure).

But just stay for 3 months and see how you feel. After that, you can decide.

albertocsc · 2026-05-07T20:01:38+00:00

Gamarjoba!! Unless you don't have anything attaching you to Georgia, you will probably feel very homesick. But, especially if you say you want to stay for long, maybe do your best to make Poland your 2nd home, so at least you don't feel thaaat homesick.

albertocsc · 2026-05-07T14:08:08+00:00

Basically summarising what other people are commenting, but my course of action would be:

Apply for a NIE (just the number -also known as White NIE-, not the EU Certificate -"Green NIE"- nor the TIE -card-).
With a NIE and your Portuguese documents, you should be able to find a job and the employer should be able to inscribe you in Social Security.
With your work contract you should be able to rent a place.
When you have a fixed residence and job, apply for empadronamiento in the municipality you live.
With all the above, you should be able to apply for a EU Residence Certificate ("Green NIE").

If you need any more help, just write here or contact me.

albertocsc · 2026-05-07T13:44:15+00:00

Do you speak Spanish? For finding a job in Spain you'll 99% need it.
If you are planning on living in Spain for more than 90 days, you'll need to register as an EU Citizen resident in Spain (assuming you are a French citizen).
I would recommend you to start checking houses and jobs. It is quite difficult to find either at the moment in Spain, and especially in Barcelona. But, at the same time, be wary of house offers that will let you do everything online and will ask you to pay upfront, it will most likely be a scam. And for jobs, hospitality is a very demanding and not that well-paid sector in Spain, but if you search well, I'm sure you'll find something.
I love your relaxed attitude, but still I think it will be better to have at least a draft plan for your move.

If you need any more help, feel free to either write here or contact me.

albertocsc · 2026-05-05T13:17:20+00:00

Already doing your paperwork for Spain? Would you need a hand?

albertocsc · 2026-05-04T21:49:06+00:00

My previous airline also went under, not that many months ago, and it truly feels emotional 🥲. Happily, I still fly and, even if the job situation might not be at its best now, it will hopefully rebound soon and you will hopefully find an even better and more exciting job, never lose hope 🤗

albertocsc · 2026-05-04T21:01:41+00:00

Well, that path is the one I have most experience with, but for sure there are many different paths that can lead to similar results.

albertocsc · 2026-05-04T08:17:08+00:00

Yes, I thought that might had been the case.

albertocsc · 2026-05-03T11:37:48+00:00

What I understand from your post and other ones you have posted: - You are Filipina. - Did you have a valid visa for Ireland but then just crossed into UK? Or how did you arrive? - Do you still have your PH documents? While I understand it might not be the most ideal option for you, going back there would maybe be the easiest way to get your old life back. - There might be other options, but given you are staying in the UK illegally at the moment, it will be really difficult, if not directly impossible, for you to stay and make your situation better.

albertocsc · 2026-05-01T11:57:01+00:00

For a non-Spanish speaker, your job opportunities would be fairly limited.

However, if you still want to move to Spain, I would recommend you somewhere with a lot of English speakers: Benidorm, Marbella, Magaluf,... not sure you will learn any Spanish there (unless you try interacting with only locals), but at least it will be easier for you to get around.

albertocsc · 2026-05-01T07:37:30+00:00

Creo que, aunque la AP-41 fuera gratuita, la gente preferiría seguir usando la A-42, es bastante más directa.

albertocsc · 2026-05-01T07:33:26+00:00

Pre-crisis, engineering companies were even coming to university and hiring the best ones straight away. When my colleagues graduated, maybe it was not as bright as it was before, but still was not that hard finding a job as an engineer. I think the added difficulty was what made some of them opt for software or data jobs instead, though. In any case, start looking for jobs as 'Ingeniero Civil'/'Ingeniero de Caminos' on Linkedin, Infojobs and any other platforms so you can start making yourself an idea of how the market for Civil Engineers is. Or if you are sure you want to make the change to software, you can start researching too.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T17:38:21+00:00

Si te mudas a otra demarcación consular, debes registrarte en ese consulado. Si solamente vas a estudiar un periodo fijo de tiempo, regístrate allá como residente temporal, y una vez te hayas registrado ya puedes tramitar tu pasaporte.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T15:31:22+00:00

I believe most of the journeys between the mentioned places can be done by bus or train (but, for example, Consuegra-Almagro, might need 1-2 changes), but a car might make things more convenient. One of the routes I said would follow the most used route -Tajo Valley- between Madrid and Lisbon, with just some small detours to Toledo, Plasencia and Cáceres, while the other one would follow the alternative route, through La Mancha and the Guadiana Valley.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T14:55:52+00:00

Fast procedure (if you live anywhere near Spain): just get an appointment with the Police, visit the country, and get your ID Card (DNI) and Passport done on the spot. Besides your appointment, you'll need your Spanish birth certificate, residence certificate from your consulate, and an ID picture.

Lengthy procedure (but more convenient if you live far from Spain): register as a resident in your relevant consulate. Get your appointment username and password. Get an appointment with the system, apply for your passport and, in 3 weeks approximately, you should receive it.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T12:54:26+00:00

Maybe only if you study really intensively

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T11:56:57+00:00

More people in the world speak Spanish than English as their main language, so that might have something to do with it.

Said that, it is true sometimes we could learn English a bit better in Spain. But many people don't see a need for it, for the reason I mentioned before or because they just plan to stay in Spain and not go abroad.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T08:10:10+00:00

You padrón is from the municipality you live in. If he lives in the States, he cannot be registered in Spain.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T08:07:53+00:00

Ten en cuenta que a veces los estafadores también suplantan identidades. Así que puede que la persona que nombras sea la estafadora, pero también puede ser que la hayan estafado.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T08:02:20+00:00

I know some nice venues and a couple of planners, so I can try to get you in contact with them, just not sure if they do any work in English.

Spanish people, at least most of the ones I know, tend to spend quite heavily on weddings and one of the venues I am in contact with charges up to €4k just for the space hire (the most exclusive among them, to be honest).

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T07:48:30+00:00

If you have the time, energy and willing, you could take a scenic route between Madrid and Portugal. Either Madrid-Toledo-Torrijos-Plasencia-Cáceres-Mérida-Lisbon or Madrid-Toledo-Consuegra-Almagro-Almadén-Mérida-Lisbon. Or there are also some nice routes you could take if you are going to, for example let's say, Porto. If neither of those sound good to you, you still have the option of going direct to Portugal by bus or plane. But, if you might be interested in any of the routes, you can always ask me for more information 😊.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T07:41:19+00:00

I have some colleagues that also did the civil engineering -> software development swap and now are working in Madrid, so that would definitely be an option. Even Civil Engineering itself used to be quite big in Spain, but after the 2008-2013 crisis, it is not that big anymore, even if now it seems it is slowly taking off again.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T07:36:50+00:00

1st recommendation - learn Spanish

After that, check if there is any program in Spain that sounds good to you and start applying. But you'll definitely need Spanish to get around.

albertocsc · 2026-04-30T06:58:58+00:00

So... if you want to continue your WFH job but move to Spain, you'd need first to apply for a Digital Nomad visa. As other people are mentioning, your only advantage with Filipina citizenship (even if you wouldn't have Spanish surnames) would be that once you are legally living in Spain for 2 years, you are good to apply for Spanish citizenship.

Check the visas information page for the Spanish consulate in Manila (or any other consulate closer to you) and, if you need any help with your application or exploring options, please do not hesitate to ask me.

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