Getting married or registering a pareja de hecho in Valencia as a foreigner

How do foreigners marry or register a pareja de hecho in Valencia?

International couples in Valencia can marry in a civil ceremony after a marriage file handled by a notary or the Registro Civil, or register as a pareja de hecho (de facto couple) in the Generalitat's Registro de Uniones de Hecho Formalizadas.

Both routes need civil-status documents from each partner's country, apostilled and, if they are not in Spanish, translated by a sworn translator appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC).

Marriage changes your civil status everywhere; a registered partnership is a regional registration that Spanish residence rules also take into account.

Marriage or pareja de hecho: the two routes

Civil marriage is governed by article 58 of the Ley del Registro Civil (Ley 20/2011). Before the ceremony, a file proves that both of you have capacity to marry and that there is no impediment.

A notary where either of you is domiciled can handle it, as can the Registro Civil of the domicile of one of you. The ceremony then takes place before a mayor or councillor, a notary or a court official (letrado de la Administración de Justicia), as article 51 of the Código Civil provides; couples living abroad can also marry before the Spanish consular officer in charge of the Registro Civil.

A pareja de hecho in the Comunitat Valenciana is governed by Ley 5/2012 and by Decreto 34/2022, which regulates the registry. Under article 8 of the decree, you must:

• be of age or emancipated minors;
• live together in a relationship similar to marriage in the Comunitat Valenciana;
• not be married to someone else, unless legally separated by a final judgment or a notarial deed;
• not have another registered partnership, and not be closely related;
• declare your joint wish to register, normally in person at the registry (article 10 of Decreto 34/2022 also allows a public deed before a notary, or one partner attending with a notarial power of attorney from the other).

Living together is proved with a padrón certificate showing both of you at the same address in the Comunitat Valenciana when you apply. If at least one of you is on a padrón in the region, the decree also accepts other proof, such as a joint rental contract for at least six months, a joint purchase deed or children in common. Article 3 of Ley 5/2012 says the registry must decide within three months.

The rules may change: in 2026 the Generalitat opened a public consultation on amending the requirements and means of proof in Decreto 34/2022. Check the current rules when you apply.

Documents from the UK, Ireland, the US and Australia

Each office publishes its own list, but these documents come up in almost every file:

• Passport or national identity card for each partner.
• Birth certificate, ideally the full version that names the parents.
• Proof of civil status. For the registry of de facto couples, article 9 of Decreto 34/2022 asks for a civil registry certificate showing your current status if you are divorced or widowed, or equivalent documentation for foreigners. British nationals can get a certificate of no impediment or a marital status document through GOV.UK; the Spanish office tells you which version it accepts.
• Divorce decree or former spouse's death certificate, if you were married before.
• Padrón certificate for each partner, issued by the town hall.

Timing matters. Article 9 of Decreto 34/2022 asks for original documents issued no more than three months before the application, so order certificates, apostilles and translations close together. The marriage file sets its own deadlines; ask the notary or the registry. Our page on UK birth certificate translation to Spanish covers the most common document.

Apostille and sworn translation

Foreign public documents need an apostille from the country that issued them before a Spanish office will accept them. The UK, Ireland, the US, Canada and Australia are all parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, according to the HCCH status table.

In the UK, the Legalisation Office attaches the apostille to birth, marriage and death certificates and to court documents with a wet ink seal, as GOV.UK explains.

Decreto 34/2022 is explicit about translation for the registry of de facto couples: a document in a foreign language must be translated by a sworn translator of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a translation made in the country of origin must itself be apostilled or legalised.

The sworn translator translates the document and its apostille together, so apostille first, translate second.

Partial translations are possible when an office only needs certain pages; confirm which ones with the registry or the notary, and whether they want paper. A sworn translation costs about 70 € per page (60–70 € per page); our sworn translation services page lists the documents we handle.

We reply within 8 working hours, and the certified digital version takes 2–3 working days; paper adds about 2 days. For a wider view of sworn translation for residency, see our post on sworn translation for your NIE or TIE.

If the document is written in a foreign language or is not multilingual, it must be translated by a sworn translator-interpreter of the Spanish ministry responsible for foreign affairs.

Generalitat Valenciana, Decreto 34/2022, article 9.3Source: DOGV, Decreto 34/2022 on the Registro de Uniones de Hecho Formalizadas (trans.)

The interview at the Registro Civil

Article 58.5 of Ley 20/2011 requires the official handling the marriage file, whether court official, notary or registry officer, to hear both partners privately and separately, to make sure of their capacity and that there is no impediment.

The official may also ask for reports and other checks on your status, capacity or domicile, and on the genuineness of the marriage. Expect questions about your relationship and your plans, asked to each of you on your own.

For a pareja de hecho, the key moment is the joint declaration: both partners state, normally in person before the registry staff or in a deed before a notary, that they wish to formalise their union (article 3 of Ley 5/2012 and article 10 of Decreto 34/2022).

If one of you does not speak Spanish well enough to follow the interview or the declaration, ask the office in advance whether you can bring an interpreter. An interpreter can come with you in person; accompanying an individual usually costs 60–100 € per hour. See our interpreting services.

Using it for residency

For couples where one partner is not an EU citizen, marriage or registration is often the basis for a residence card. Two sets of rules apply:

• Partner of a citizen of another EU or EEA country (for example an Irish or German national living in Valencia): article 2 of Real Decreto 240/2007 covers the spouse and the partner in a union registered in a public register of an EU or EEA state. The application is filed in person at the Oficina de Extranjeros within three months of entering Spain, as the Spanish government's information page explains.
• Partner of a Spanish national: article 94 of the Reglamento de Extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024) provides a residence authorisation for the spouse and for a partner registered in a public register of an EU or EEA state or Switzerland, provided you live together.

Your marriage or registration certificate becomes one of the main documents in that file, along with your passport and proof of your partner's status. Spanish certificates need no translation for Spanish offices, but your foreign documents filed alongside them do.

Rules on partnerships registered outside the EU differ from case to case, so take advice from an immigration lawyer if that applies to you.

Frequently asked questions