Expert: Cesar - 3/4/2009

Question
I am an American Citizen born and raised.  I recently married a Colombian woman and she is soon to receive her Green Card granting her permanent residency.  She still have a Colombian passport, as she is a Colombian citizen.  We are planning to go to Spain for our honeymoon, but are not sure how the visa situation would work.  I have been to Spain a number of times in the past and did not need a visa because I was only staying for a number of weeks as a tourist.  However, my wife told me that a Colombian needs a visa to go to Spain even if it is for a brief two week tourist stay.  My question is, since my wife will have her green card, will she need a visa to Spain? If so, will the green card make it easier for her to get one?  Also, what is the process for a Colombian citizen to get a visa to Spain (while hold a US Green Card) and how long could the process take?  Thank you very much. Robert.

Answer
Dear Mr. Robert:

The best people to answer your question would be the ones at any Spaniard (from Spain) embassy, but I am convinced of the following:

1) Since she is not a US citizen yet then her residence would not count for avoiding having to obtain a visa to go to Spain. Only when she becomes a citizen she would be able to do something about it: travel as a US citizen, which she is not yet.

2) Since she is married to a US citizen and lives in the US, is a US resident, she would be coming from a developed country where income is higher. To Spain all of that would mean that it is more likely that she would have the financial means to be able to be in Spain without them having to worry too much about her running out of money. Normally, people traveling from poor countries need to demonstrate that they would be able to pay the expenses of staying in another country (being able to afford a hotel, pay for food, etc.), specially it is far away from them, like in Europe. Since she has some advantages as mentioned it should be easier for her to be approved for a visa. It would be easier for her to prove that she would have the financial means to pay for her stay in Spain.

She needs to go to an Embassy of Spain and apply for the visa. She/you should check the website of the nearest embassy and find out what the requirements are (usually: a visa fee, photos of an specific size/specifications, passport with at least 6 months more prior to expiration, fill out an application, etc.)

Take care,

Cesar
www.CesarUSA.com