IntroductionRegistering a birth, arranging a marriage or filing for a divorce are similar in Spain to most European countries. There are some complications with dual nationality but this too is found in most countries.
For UK nationals, marriage is simpler in Gibraltar than in a Spanish church or in a local civic office.
Death is dealt with quickly, sympathetically and efficiently, mindful of the requirements of burial and the stress involved for loved ones.
Birth
Registration of a birth must be made within eight days at the Registro Civil (Spanish civil registry where births, marriages and deaths are recorded) in the town where the birth takes place. Registration applies to everyone irrespective of nationality or residential status. If a child is born in Spain it must be registered in Spain. The birth is
certified in the normal way by a doctor, or an official of the hospital, or a registered midwife. It includes the hour, date and place of birth, the child’s first and last names, the full names of both parents and identification of the person completing the certificate.
There are two forms of birth certificate (inscripcion de nacimiento):
- a short certificate called a Certificacion Extracto which gives the birth date, the names of the child and parents and is sufficient for most legal purposes;
- a full certificate called a Certificacion Literal containing all details of the birth.
Unusually a birth certificate must state whether a child is legitimate or illegitimate (an illegitimate child is born less than 180 days after its parents’ marriage or within 300 days of a divorce, annulment of a marriage or death of a father).
A UK citizen is required to report a birth to the British Consulate in Spain which will require a full certificate before issuing a birth certificate for their own country. Parents’ passports, full birth certificates, marriage certificate (not the Libro de Famila) and any divorce decree will also be required to complete the paperwork. The Consulate then issues a certificate of the birth of a citizen abroad.
Birth registration by parents of a child for British citizenship, who are not married, is more complex. A child is entitled to British citizenship if the mother was born in the United Kingdom. There is no provision at the British Consulate for the registration of births of children where only the father is British and the parents are not married. However, British born fathers are able to register their children who are born abroad via the Home Office. Where parents are not married, it is necessary for both of them to make a paternity declaration if the father’s details are to be shown on the birth certificate.
A child born to foreign parents in Spain is not Spanish even if its parents are residents of Spain at the time, but should the child, at age 18, choose to apply for Spanish citizenship it will be granted, particularly if he or she has been living in Spain for most of the time. If one of the child’s parents is Spanish the child is entitled to Spanish nationality. A child born out of wedlock, where the nationality of the father is not disclosed, is also entitled to Spanish nationality, regardless of the nationality of the mother.
Abortion
Abortion is legal and tolerated by the Catholic Church. Spain does not have abortion on demand. It is available during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in certain circumstances, e.g. when a pregnancy threatens the mother’s life, the foetus is severely deformed or the pregnancy was the result of rape. Recent attempts to liberalise this law have met with failure.