Statements records in matters of immigration
As is well known, Notaries provide their services across a wide spectrum of people's lives, whether in civil matters (family, inheritance, contracts, personal), tax, commercial, etc., but it is not always known that to some extent public notaries have certain competences in Immigration matters. For this reason, we want to tell you about the Statements of Manifestations in immigration matters.
Without going into legal technicalities and, above all, to be as concise as possible, among the public instruments authorised by the Notary are the Notarial Statements in accordance with the provisions of art. 17 of the Notary Law in relation to art. 144, and others of the Notarial Regulation.
What are Notarial Records? Classification of Records
It is considered that the minutes contain the recording of facts or the perception that the Notary has of them, provided that due to their nature they cannot be classified as acts and contracts, as well as their judgments and qualifications, following a request or requirement from a party.
Now, within the scope of Notarial Minutes, we find, for example: Notoriety Minutes, Presence Minutes, Requirement and Notification Minutes, among others, but special attention is deserved by Manifestation Minutes and within these, those special in the field of immigration.
Regarding the latter and depending on the statements they contain, we can classify them as Manifestation Minutes of family reunification under the community regime and the hybrid of Manifestation Minutes of family reunification and Presence Minutes, whose content is to reunite a family member within the scope of the general immigration regime.
What is the content of the statements of family reunification under the community regime? Who is authorised to grant them?
In this type of record, the interested parties, that is, the EU citizen residing in Spain or Spanish citizen, wish to record certain statements, namely to reunite with their family member, so that, in this way, they come to live in Spain and become part of their family unit.
It may also be the case that, without being an EU citizen residing in Spain, nor Spanish, but being a non-EU citizen residing in Spain with a residence card as a family member of an EU citizen, they are entitled to grant this type of record, but with the peculiarity that they must appear together with their spouse or civil partner.
Among the statements that must be recorded is the degree of kinship between the reunifier and the reunified, the commitment to live together at the same address, and the obligation to provide food and medical care.
A point to highlight is that the record can be granted to those family members in accordance with the bilateral or multilateral Treaties signed by Spain regarding visas or those countries that the EU recognises as visa-free or those that require a visa to emigrate to Spain. However, in the case of those family members who can travel without a visa, they will carry out their reunification procedure on Spanish soil, providing the rest of the documentation required by the Police including the Statement Record.
Can any relative be regrouped as a Spanish citizen or EU citizen?
In accordance with Royal Decree 240/2007, of 16 February, on entry, free movement and residence in Spain of citizens of the Member States of the European Union and other States party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, the family members who may be reunited are the following:
- The spouse, civil partner or partner with whom a union analogous to marriage is maintained, duly registered in the corresponding public or administrative Register of any EU or EEA Member State, provided that there has been no annulment, nullity, divorce or separation in the case of marriage, or dissolution of the civil partnership.
- The children of the EU or EEA citizen, of their spouse or registered stable partner, provided that none of the aforementioned situations regarding marriage or partnership have occurred, that the child is under twenty-one years of age, or over that age if dependent on the EU or EEA citizen, or is incapacitated.
- The direct ascendants of the EU or EEA citizen or of their spouse or registered civil partner who live in their care, provided that there has been no annulment, nullity, divorce or separation in the case of marriage, or dissolution of the civil partnership.
- Any other family member who in the country of origin is economically dependent on the EU or EEA citizen.
- Any family member who in the country of origin lives with the EU or EEA citizen, but cohabitation must be proven reliably, at least a continuous cohabitation of 24 months in the country of origin.
- Also entitled is any family member who, for serious health or disability reasons, it is strictly necessary for the Union citizen to take personal care of in Spain.
- As for the unregistered civil partner, it must be proven that a lasting bond exists for at least one continuous year, unless they have offspring.
What is the cost of the procedure?
Notarial fees are regulated by Royal Decree 1426/89 of 17 November, and according to this, the approximate fee taking into account the number of pages of the Act will range between 60 to 75 euros. It is usually a very simple and quick procedure.
What are the Minutes of Statements of family reunification under the general immigration regime and the Presence one? Who is entitled to grant them?
For the granting of this type of certificates, Royal Decree 557/2011, of 20 April, which approves the Regulation of Organic Law 4/2000, of 11 January, on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration, is taken into account, that is, those certificates granted by foreign citizens residing in our country who wish to regroup those family members who are allowed to come and reside temporarily in Spain.
With this type of certificate, the interested parties, that is, the foreign citizen residing in Spain, want to regroup their family member so that, in this way, they reside together with them, but temporarily.
Among the statements that must be recorded, is the degree of kinship between the regrouping and regrouped parties, the commitment to live together at the same address, that this address meets all the requirements for living there, and that they undertake to provide food and medical care.
The most common is that only the Family Reunification Statement Certificate under the general foreign regime is granted, but for the reunification visa to be granted, it must also be proven the ownership of the property where the regrouping or regrouped party will live, or the lease contract or a usufruct right over the property, if it meets all the conditions for the regrouped person to come and live there. For this, the corresponding Certificate from the Town Hall where the dwelling is located can be requested or, on the contrary, the Notary can be required to establish themselves at the address and certify that it meets all the requirements for all the interested parties to live there.
However, not all Notaries are competent to establish themselves at the applicant's address, but it will be the one who, due to their territorial jurisdiction, can travel to the property, that is, a Notary in Barcelona will not be able to travel outside the city of Barcelona, for example: to Sant Adrià de Besòs or Badalona, and neither will any of the Notaries from these towns be able to travel to the city of Barcelona.
Which family members can I reunite as a non-EU citizen residing in Spain?
Among the relatives who can be reunited as a non-EU citizen are:
- Just like EU citizens, the spouse or partner with whom there is a relationship analogous to marriage, duly accredited with a registration and validity in a public or administrative register; or with any evidence accepted by law for this purpose, can be reunited.
- The children of the person reuniting the family, as well as those of the spouse or partner, provided they are under 18 years old or are in a situation of disability and are legally represented by the person reuniting the family.
- And, lastly, the first-degree ascendants in the direct line of the person reuniting the family or their spouse or partner who are dependent on them and are over 65 years old, or if under 65 years old, humanitarian reasons must be proven for the request to be granted.
It is very important that for the non-EU citizen to be able to request the reunion of any of the mentioned relatives, they must have at least renewed their first residence card. In addition to the above, certain economic requirements are demanded.
What is the cost of the procedure?
Notarial fees are regulated by Royal Decree 1426/89 of 17 November, and according to this, the approximate fee taking into account the number of pages of the Record, the concepts of Statement Record and Presence Record, the Notary's visit to the home and, if applicable, the round trip to their office, will range between 80 – 90 euros. It is usually a very simple and quick procedure.
We hope, with this article, to have resolved your doubts about Statement Records in matters of immigration. At JLA Notarios, we can assist you if you need to carry out the procedures described. Our notarial services are varied and among them, Statement Records stand out.
If you wish, you can consult our blog to get to know us better and find out what the services of a notary office are in general:
And if required, you can make an appointment with us either through our email bcn@jlanotarios.com, or through the contact form on our website. You can also visit our offices on the Diagonal in Barcelona.
