If you are looking to legalise your relationship with your life partner in Spain, but are not considering marriage, you most likely heard of “Pareja de Hecho” which in Spanish means Civil Union or Civil Partnership. Whether you live in Malaga or Madrid, most likely you just heard that it is another very lengthy and difficult procedure requiring lots of patience and paperwork.
Well, the good news is that the procedure of registering Pareja de Hecho in Malaga is by far not as scary as you might think and having a competent professional helping you along the way will make it for you sweet and easy! We at Malaga Expat Consulting have helped several of our clients to be inscribed in the Official Registry of Civil Unions of Andalusia and will be happy to do so for you, if and once you are ready.
But firstly, what is “Pareja de Hecho” in Andalusia? It is important to mention that Spain doesn’t have a country wide unique regulation for civil partnerships and each Autonomous Community regulates it directly, so the partnership registered in Andalusia would not be valid in Madrid and might have different regulations than Valencia. “Pareja de Hecho” in Andalusia is a voluntary union of two individuals with intention of living together in an affectionate and stable relationship comparable to marriage.
When it comes to comparison to marriage, there are several similarities such as for example the rights of both parties to medical information and intervention, public rights, the obligations and responsibilities towards common children and many more. Among main differences it is worth noting that the civil status of both does not change (both remain single), the separation of personal assets and income is being regulated by private acts and there are no automatic inheritance rights, meaning those are to be regulated by a will, same as if not being partners. Also, the dissolution of the union is much simpler and can be done either based on mutual agreement or unilaterally. For more detailed analysis of legal and economical consequences of Civil Union in Andalusia it would be advisable to contact a lawyer
The main advantages for foreign residents of forming Civil Union in Andalusia may be, depending on the circumstances, the right to residence in Spain and easier access to national health system benefits, however each case must be reviewed separately. Among the requirements of forming Pareja de Hecho in Malaga are: being of legal age and having legal capacity, not being direct relatives, not being in any other registered relationship and having habitual place of residence (be registered on “padron”) in one of the municipalities in the province of Malaga.
The procedure as such can be performed directly in the relevant department of the local Government – Junta de Andalucia, or in your local Town Hall. However, our experience shows that applying directly through Junta de Andalucia is much faster and more efficient. Once all documents are presented it only takes about two weeks until the Civil Union is inscribed in the official Registry and all formal certificates are received.
If you are thinking of registering your relationship as Civil Union or Pareja de Hecho in Andalusia but need assistance and advise of doing the above procedure in Malaga and Costa del Sol, let Malaga Expat Consulting help you make it as smooth and least bureaucratic possible, taking out all the paperwork stress and letting you enjoy the less formal way of “tying the knot” but staying single!