Could I live in Spain with my Korean wife?

[stewy88]

Hello everyone! As you gathered from the title, we are hoping to relocate to Spain pretty soon. Of course, asking whether we can live there or not is a broad question and I’ll give you a little bit of background with regards to our current situation. Thank you in advance!

Our Story

- I am 23 and British; my wife is 21 and South Korean.
- We met when I was teaching English in Korea, via the Couch Surfing website to be exact!
- Times were tough and for personal reasons I don’t really want to delve into, we decided to up and leave together.
- My wife’s family have never really supported her through her entire life and true to form have chosen to disown her.
- We left for Malaysia and together, managed to hitchhike from Kula Lumpur to Bangkok.
- We soon tired and money became tight. Stuck in the Bangkok floods we made the move back to the UK and have been back for a couple of months now.
- My wife received a 6-month tourist entry pass. At that time she wasn’t my wife, we only recently got married here in the UK. During this time we have been living with my Mum and times have been tough, both financially and emotionally for all parties involved!

Our Situation Today

Things are not looking up and having exhausted so many options, it seems like we are back at square one again. Let me give you an overview of our options…

- Even though we are married, this doesn’t give my wife any immediate visa extension of chance of residency. She must first return to Korea, apply for a visa and return back here. This runs in to the thousands and at the moment is out of the question.
- She only has 6 months here and has to leave by the end of April. She cannot do any border runs of sorts because she is only entitled to enter the UK again after 6 months have elapsed.
- You might say: why not go to Europe and then return to the UK? Well she is only entitled to 3 months in Europe under the Schengen visa rules.
- I can’t really return to Korea seeing as I ran out on my contract. I can but it is difficult. In addition, we are both aware that life in Korea would put such a strain on our relationship just like before. Her friends would be poisonous and it would drive us apart.
- ASIA: We could go to Asia and she could in some fashion be attached to my work visa. The upside to this is that the Korean community and demand for Korean is greater out there. The downside is that flights are costly and we would be so far from home and without funds if things were to go pear shaped again.
- EUROPE: EU Treaty rights dictate that she can live with me in an EEA country provided I could prove self-sufficiency or find work. That being said, the cost of living is high in Europe and I’m not entirely sure about our chances of finding a job.

Our Credentials

So what do we have to offer? Well I have a 4-year degree in English and American Literature. I have work experience in the UK, Italy and South Korea (English teaching). I also have an online TEFL certificate.

My wife on the other hand does not have a degree. Her talents lie in 3D Graphics and she has a high proficiency in the related software. We understand that a good portfolio is the most important thing, however her portfolio is in Korea and her mother being typically cruel as ever, decided to destroy it…other than that she speaks Korean to a native level and her English, whilst being good, is by no means fluent.

Back to the Question

That takes me back to my initial question. In this case, could we live in Spain? I suppose I need some advice on the following…

1. If we were in Spain, could we find work? Could I find English teaching work or work in which I could use my language skills as an asset? Could my wife find work from within the Korean community or maybe within a Korean company or maybe even 3D graphics related?

2. If I found a job or she found a job, would it be easy to remain in Spain after our 3 months? By this I mean would it be easy to attain work permits for myself and gain residency for my wife?

I am of the belief that if we are strong enough we can stand on our own two feet and survive anywhere. On the other hand I want to build a future for the both of us that lets us live a happy and normal life for a change!

I realize this is long winded and I thank you again for taking the time to read it. Any advice is warmly welcomed and the both of us very much appreciate it.

Cheers,

Stewart.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by stewy88

Hello everyone! As you gathered from the title, we are hoping to relocate to Spain pretty soon. Of course, asking whether we can live there or not is a broad question and I’ll give you a little bit of background with regards to our current situation. Thank you in advance!

Our Story

- I am 23 and British; my wife is 21 and South Korean.
- We met when I was teaching English in Korea, via the Couch Surfing website to be exact!
- Times were tough and for personal reasons I don’t really want to delve into, we decided to up and leave together.
- My wife’s family have never really supported her through her entire life and true to form have chosen to disown her.
- We left for Malaysia and together, managed to hitchhike from Kula Lumpur to Bangkok.
- We soon tired and money became tight. Stuck in the Bangkok floods we made the move back to the UK and have been back for a couple of months now.
- My wife received a 6-month tourist entry pass. At that time she wasn’t my wife, we only recently got married here in the UK. During this time we have been living with my Mum and times have been tough, both financially and emotionally for all parties involved!

Our Situation Today

Things are not looking up and having exhausted so many options, it seems like we are back at square one again. Let me give you an overview of our options…

- Even though we are married, this doesn’t give my wife any immediate visa extension of chance of residency. She must first return to Korea, apply for a visa and return back here. This runs in to the thousands and at the moment is out of the question.
- She only has 6 months here and has to leave by the end of April. She cannot do any border runs of sorts because she is only entitled to enter the UK again after 6 months have elapsed.
- You might say: why not go to Europe and then return to the UK? Well she is only entitled to 3 months in Europe under the Schengen visa rules.
- I can’t really return to Korea seeing as I ran out on my contract. I can but it is difficult. In addition, we are both aware that life in Korea would put such a strain on our relationship just like before. Her friends would be poisonous and it would drive us apart.
- ASIA: We could go to Asia and she could in some fashion be attached to my work visa. The upside to this is that the Korean community and demand for Korean is greater out there. The downside is that flights are costly and we would be so far from home and without funds if things were to go pear shaped again.
- EUROPE: EU Treaty rights dictate that she can live with me in an EEA country provided I could prove self-sufficiency or find work. That being said, the cost of living is high in Europe and I’m not entirely sure about our chances of finding a job.

Our Credentials

So what do we have to offer? Well I have a 4-year degree in English and American Literature. I have work experience in the UK, Italy and South Korea (English teaching). I also have an online TEFL certificate.

My wife on the other hand does not have a degree. Her talents lie in 3D Graphics and she has a high proficiency in the related software. We understand that a good portfolio is the most important thing, however her portfolio is in Korea and her mother being typically cruel as ever, decided to destroy it…other than that she speaks Korean to a native level and her English, whilst being good, is by no means fluent.

Back to the Question

That takes me back to my initial question. In this case, could we live in Spain? I suppose I need some advice on the following…

1. If we were in Spain, could we find work? Could I find English teaching work or work in which I could use my language skills as an asset? Could my wife find work from within the Korean community or maybe within a Korean company or maybe even 3D graphics related?

2. If I found a job or she found a job, would it be easy to remain in Spain after our 3 months? By this I mean would it be easy to attain work permits for myself and gain residency for my wife?

I am of the belief that if we are strong enough we can stand on our own two feet and survive anywhere. On the other hand I want to build a future for the both of us that lets us live a happy and normal life for a change!

I realize this is long winded and I thank you again for taking the time to read it. Any advice is warmly welcomed and the both of us very much appreciate it.

Cheers,

Stewart.

very well thought out post


you wouldn't need a work permit

I have no idea of the process for your wife to live here, although I'm sure it's possible

the big spanner in the works is the fact that Spain has the highest unemployment in Europe, so the realistic chances of you finding work are low to zero -especially if you don't speak Spanish - although in the big cities you could find work teaching English, but for most people this doesn't pay enough to support more than one person

I see you have posted in Germany too - they have the lowest unemployment in Europe - so maybe you should focus your questions there


but please don't post this in every country - muliti posting isn't permitted

Oh dear. You guys have got it rough.
If you avoid the areas with high expat concentrations (big cities such as Madrid and Barcelona and the famous costas) I think you could most definitely find private English class work, at least on your own as an autonomo or small business owner. How much you make depends on the type of clients you find and how much you work. I will admit that you'll need a good base of Spanish to survive. What worries me is your wife. Since she doesn't speak all that much English and you said nothing about her Spanish skills, I think things will be exponentially more difficult for her.

As long as you're legally married in the UK, you should have no problem getting a "Family member of an EU citizen" identity card for her: http://extranjeros.mtin.es/es/Modelo...omunitario.pdf