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Once a person has EU registration you can apply for your non EU to join you under the EU family reunification rule

There is no qualifying period.

My wife is Filipino, she has been resident in Spain since we married in 2006.  After 10 years her Residencia was marked. ‘Permanent.’

Hi Johncar, Thanks for your reply. That is a positive note. I have googled for information on visa rules. A residency visa will be only a matter of applying for it every year or so. I think she has to wait 10 years which seems like a long time for a Spanish passport and then there is also Spanish language test. I worry about how much Spanish will be needed.

Hello,
If I'm understand well, you are Irish, married to a non EU national, with an Irish child?

If it is the case, she will be able to get permanent residency along with you and, after a period of some years, she can apply for citizenship. Or she can apply for the Irish one, I don't know the laws there.

If I can be of any help don't hesitate to contact me.

Have a great day!

Javier

To obtain Irish nationality one must live in Ireland for I believe it’s a minimum of 3 years. Just being the spouse of an Irish national dues not alter that.  I am Irish my wife is Filipino.

Hi Javier,
Thank you for your reply.
I got to do more research on it.
Rgds
Donal

Hi Johncar
I think we can get it quicker by staying in Ireland for a few more years.
We are keen to live in Spain. But then we got to wait for 10 years for the permanent residency.
If we were to go to Spain I guess the Visa is renewed each year for 10 years.
Its just all the red tape.............
Thanks for your replies
Rgds
Don

I would recommend that you get your wife Irish papers FIRST  .Then using yours and her Irish papers you can easily get TIE cards to live in Spain. I'm married to a Spanish woman and I'm from South Africa and it's been a long horrible process waiting in police stations and jumping through hoops for "burocràcia"  . The cops working in immigration are jaded by African immigration and they act like d**ks and are quite racist . And yeah you have to study Spanish, and take tests about Spanish history and culture and swear allegiance to the King ..whose father is in Dubai hiding because of tax evasion ..can you imagine..

Don

To clarify

When one gets residency status in Spain, it is temporary for five years. After that time, when one renews their status, it becomes permanent.

For Brits under the WA, EU Nationals and applications under family reunification, there is no requirement to renew one’s visa once the initial application is submitted.

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You appear to describing the process of obtaining Spanish nationality.  That involves passing written tests to prove your language ability and knowledge of it’s culture.

Yes, well I assumed they would start with A progress to B . Getting residency , then nationality. Especially if his wife isn't from Europe, I'm assuming she would want a full nationality for getting full rights. As a "resident" I can tell you , you don't get the same treatment or advantages.

Either way , if they start the process to get her a TIE or NIE in Spain they will have to deal with the police . And endure endless hours waiting in line .I can't imagine what Covid has done for the process.

I've got loads of friends from South Africa who British passports and I lived in London for along time and getting documents or stuff done is way easier in England or Ireland with way less discrimination .

They might even have to go into separate rooms and answer questions to police to prove their marriage is not an arrangement and "real" .

In Spain some poor people take cash payments to marry foreigners to help them get legal status. The police are really hard on people who aren't European ( white) . It's a fact.

I have been resident in spain 34 years.  Until 2010 that was as British and since then as Irish.  I have dual nationality. 

For 24 years I worked as a volunteer translator and co-worker with the police, amongst other things, assisting people applying for their paperwork.

My wife is Filipino, she came to spain in 2006 following our marriage in Manila.

We applied, without ‘professional’ help for her residence status under the provisions of the EU family reunification provision, as required within the 30 days validity of her visa. There were no significant problems. 

With that extensive experience, i do not recognise the situation described by Kev.

PS.  I was aware of problems with some applications, however, they were almost always caused by people not wanting to accept that they were required to follow the system.  Occasionally that was because of poor advice they had been given, online, by professionals, listening to ‘Fred down the pub,’ etc.

Thanks everyone for advice and sharing your experiences with me. Yea, My wife does wish for either an Irish passport or a Spanish one. Irish one would be quicker I am learning.

Lots of useful info here, well done everybody!

I would just add:

1. I've done "family reunification" and it's pretty straightforward.

2. You mention "partner" while others mention "wife". Civil partnerships and "durable" (unmarried) partnerships (more than 2 years) are recognized in the EU, but I found Spain to be quite vexing about the proof for said partnership. A marriage certificate for a wife is a lot less hassle!

3. "Residency rights" come with residence, which is pretty much immediate with your first "temporary" (5 years for EU citiziens and their partners) permit. As a resident there should be no discrimination between you and citizens (this is part of EU directives of free movement). However, 5 years is the timing for switching to "permanent" residence. It should be noted that permanent residence, granted in any EU country, is pretty much equivalent to a passport (aside from right to vote), and allows you to live, work, study and retire in ANY EU country, on the same basis as EU passport holders (ditto EU free movement). The permanent residence permit also has protections in terms of indefinite renewals and very restricted grounds for rescinding it. So while one might feel slighly more emotional about having a passport, the permanent residence permit is very nearly as good in practical terms.

4. There is nothing to stop you pursuing your dream of being retired in Spain, by obtaining legal residence in both Spain and Ireland. I hold residence permits in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Spain with property in each country. The initial temporary residence you can hold in many countries with no issue. However, you can only hold permanent residence in one EU country (hence why it grants pan-european rights). So you can find your retirement home, and enjoy both countries, while accumulating time physically in the country and being legally resident.

5. It's probably slightly easier to have a simple progression in one country from temporary, to permanent, to citizenship. But I don't think it's strictly necessary. You could have permanent residence in Ireland, but end up applying for Spanish citizenship, or vice versa. It just depends on the rules for citizenship, which are typically to do with time in the country. Spain does have a language requirement, but someone who already speaks 2 languages is unlikely to find this a barrier.

So for me, I'm currently spending more time in Bulgaria (because of the Covid Crisis), so I failed to get over to Cyprus and claim my permanent residence during the "transition year". But I didn't panic as I'll get permanent residence in Bulgaria next year, instead. However, it's unlikely I will apply for or get a Bulgarian passport as I am not learning Bulgarian. Whereas my Spanish is already above the level needed, and my partner will soon be a Spanish citizen. Likewise, I'd expect an Irish passport to be easier / quicker to get for the partner of an Irish citizen. By way of contrast, my partner is spending more time in Spain, and she's skipping permanent residence, and applying directly for her passport this year (Ibero-American exception).