4 ms·

My girlfriend is English and I'm American. We met while traveling, so for the first several years we were together neither of us had a visa to reside in the ot

My girlfriend is English and I'm American. We met while traveling, so for the first several years we were together neither of us had a visa to reside in the other's country. For a while we'd fly back and forth between the US and England every few months, and we did a bunch of traveling to allow the return restrictions to expire. Finally we got fed up and simply moved to Spain, where neither one of us is allowed to live, but they just don't check very hard. Lived there for a little over a year, coming and going as we pleased with never an issue with immigrations.

staunch 16y ago
Getting married seems like a better hack. All you do is sign a little piece of paper and instantly attain a host of benefits (such as a guaranteed visa).
- jasonkester 16y ago
  Probably not the best course of action for a girl you've only known for a few months though. The crux was finding a way to live together for long enough to decide whether we wanted to do so for good. Spoiler Alert: We did.
  - lftl 16y ago
    Ignoring emotional issues, a proper pre-nup would basically let you treat a marriage as a simple way around those restrictions without large long-term ramifications if you decide to change course.
    - Super_Jambo 16y ago
      unless you wanted to live in england where pre-nups are not enforceable.
      - cameronh90 16y ago
        There was a fairly well publicised court case here in the UK last week. The general consensus now is that they are legally binding. http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/oct/20/banker-fails-challenge-prenup-heiress http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/oct/20/banker-fails-chall...
    - elai 16y ago
      Acck, pre-nup contracts in many countries can be easily overturned, even if it's done all properly with plenty of time and so on.
Someone 16y ago
The UK and Spain are in the EU. EU citizens can freely move between member states (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Market_(European_Union)#Freedom_of_movement_of_people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Market_(European_Union...), so your girlfriend can legally live in Spain for as long as she wishes.
- jasonkester 16y ago
  Indeed. That's actually how we managed to rent an apartment, since she was legally allowed to live there. I, however, was the stereotypical undocumented alien, living in the country illegally, not learning the language or integrating with the culture, stealing jobs from the local economy, sneaking across the border into the land of opportunity.
  - Andrew_Quentin 16y ago
    Not quite. As you were her bf, you have the same right as her. This is perhaps one of the benefits of being in the EU that in some cases you have more rights living in another country, that is spain, than in the UK, for a Uk citizen, especially in situations where a relationship with a person outside of the EU is involved.
    - hasenj 16y ago
      Are you saying that "boyfriend" is a legally recognised relationship status in Europe?
      - Andrew_Quentin 16y ago
        It kind of depends on the Member State and the exact law of the EU. I do know however that it does not need to be husband and wife in many cases.
- StavrosK 16y ago
  Conversely, you can probably become a citizen of an EU country that doesn't have stringent requirements and go live in England (I'm not sure if the requirements are set by the EU itself, though).

staunch 16y ago

Getting married seems like a better hack. All you do is sign a little piece of paper and instantly attain a host of benefits (such as a guaranteed visa).

jasonkester 16y ago
Probably not the best course of action for a girl you've only known for a few months though. The crux was finding a way to live together for long enough to decide whether we wanted to do so for good. Spoiler Alert: We did.
- lftl 16y ago
  Ignoring emotional issues, a proper pre-nup would basically let you treat a marriage as a simple way around those restrictions without large long-term ramifications if you decide to change course.
  - Super_Jambo 16y ago
    unless you wanted to live in england where pre-nups are not enforceable.
    - cameronh90 16y ago
      There was a fairly well publicised court case here in the UK last week. The general consensus now is that they are legally binding. http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/oct/20/banker-fails-challenge-prenup-heiress http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/oct/20/banker-fails-chall...
  - elai 16y ago
    Acck, pre-nup contracts in many countries can be easily overturned, even if it's done all properly with plenty of time and so on.

Someone 16y ago

The UK and Spain are in the EU. EU citizens can freely move between member states (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Market_(European_Union)#Freedom_of_movement_of_people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Market_(European_Union...), so your girlfriend can legally live in Spain for as long as she wishes.

jasonkester 16y ago
Indeed. That's actually how we managed to rent an apartment, since she was legally allowed to live there. I, however, was the stereotypical undocumented alien, living in the country illegally, not learning the language or integrating with the culture, stealing jobs from the local economy, sneaking across the border into the land of opportunity.
- Andrew_Quentin 16y ago
  Not quite. As you were her bf, you have the same right as her. This is perhaps one of the benefits of being in the EU that in some cases you have more rights living in another country, that is spain, than in the UK, for a Uk citizen, especially in situations where a relationship with a person outside of the EU is involved.
  - hasenj 16y ago
    Are you saying that "boyfriend" is a legally recognised relationship status in Europe?
    - Andrew_Quentin 16y ago
      It kind of depends on the Member State and the exact law of the EU. I do know however that it does not need to be husband and wife in many cases.
StavrosK 16y ago
Conversely, you can probably become a citizen of an EU country that doesn't have stringent requirements and go live in England (I'm not sure if the requirements are set by the EU itself, though).