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Have you asked the Spanish Consulate on the best way to proceed. Since they will be the people who will approve your application, they are the best people to answer your question about what options are available to you and what steps need to be taken.

If you haven't asked, I'd pull together specific dates and number (NIE and etc) and ask them the options.

Consular Section at the Embassy in Washington, DC

2375 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20037

Tel: (202) 728-2330

Fax: (202) 728-2302

cog.washington@maec.es

Jurisdiction: Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia, North Carolina

I have and after several emails, I have given up -- I get sent huge emails with basic immigration info (cut and pasted into the email), never has a human actually taken the time address me personally.  It is frustrating and we do not have an embassy or consulate in our state so we would have to physically go to Washington D.C. to speck to someone in person. MEH!  Thanks for the reply though.

First things first. You are a EU citizen so you and your family have the right to live in Spain, regardless of whether you’re working or not.

The rule is a residence permit (NIE is juts the number on the permit) can be renewed during the 90 days following its expiry date.

However, Covid has created a delay in many processes and a grace period has been added to normal deadlines, which is of 6 months in addition to the 90 days if the expiry date ocurres during the Covid period and of 9 months from the moment an appointment was obtained during the Covid period but could not be honoured because of it.

in summary, if you are not in one of these cases it is very likely you will have to start all over again. However I would not be surprised if you find there is a fast track given the backlog they have and are trying to expedite.

you will need to be already in spain, justify your domicile with an address in Spain and then your wife can apply again.

You shouldn't have to go to Washington dc. I just found out there is a Spanish Embassy  here in Georgia.  Please check with them and see if they'll be able to help you,  you do have to make an appointment in order for them to see you.  I wish you all the best and good luck to you and your family.

@digital_nomad

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@digital_nomad

Don't beat yourself up, emergencies happen. And I don't think it's a big deal, as you can easily re-do your residence applications.

To clarify: many get confused about NIEs (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) and TIEs (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero). The former is your unique ID / tax number, and, as far as I know, it doesn't expire. The latter is the biometric ID card (which does expire).

If your residence permits expired several years ago (2018 or 2019), I think you just have to start again. Firstly, you should do the EU Citizen Registration step again (as a Belgian citizen) and get a new certificate valid for 5 years. Your EU registration step does NOT require a job; you need proof of address. proof of funds, proof of health insurance. You need to do this in person, in Spain, at an immigration office (appointment booking, cita previa is online). I don't believe these steps can be done at a Spanish Embassy abroad. The requirements are listed here:

Secondly, do the Family Reunification step again for your non-EU spouse. Requirements listed here:

Of course, it's a bit of a pain, but I don't see that it will be particularly difficult.

After your first 5 years (around 2019), you would have qualified for permanent residence. But an absence of several years to 2023 would have been sufficient to lose that anyway. If you re-start this year, you can apply for permanent residence in 2028.

Or, in relation to your questions:

Is it possible to renew her NIE and regain her family reunification residence status? - No (IMHO)

Do we have to start the family reunification card process all over again upon return? - Yes (IMHO), but only after YOU return and do your EU Citizen Registration again.

Can we start this process while in the US (we are currently in North Carolina) - No. It's an in-person appointment at your local immigration office (Cita Previa).

I am not currently employed (my spouse is head of household) and I will need to re-establish myself back in the EU (i.e. look for work in Spain), but can show proof of funds (savings) and health insurance if required - EU citizen can relocate for any reason, job not required. You need proof of address + proof of funds + proof of health insurance.

I suppose there is a very slim possibility that the "family emergency" + Pandemic caused an unavoidable absence would be justification for allowing you to get permanent residence now. For this, you'd have to see an experienced immigration attorney and see if they feel it's worth trying. However, it seems very unlikely (and complicated/expensive) to me. In particular, while you didn't overstay in Spain, after expiry, which is good, you should note that there are residency requirements related to absence from Spain, and these were breached.

I think there's also a slight possibility that you could sneakily get back to Spain (drive over from France) and pretend you never left... and apply for a permanent residence permit on the basis that you've been there since 2014 (and EU passports don't usually get stamped so it might not be clear that you left). You need your little registration card. And the problem is that it expired 4 years ago. But I think they are more forgiving of EU citizens. It's a real long shot, but if you don't ask, you don't get. :-)

@gwynj

Thanks for the great info and taking the time to write. It sounds like we need to start the process again. Do you know if my wife could work (she is 100% remote for a US company) while her residency is being process? The first time, I was the head of household so it was not an issue and to be honest, I can't remember...

@Carlosan71

Thank you for the info and taking the time to write.

@Tiffannie

Thank you for the info and taking the time to write.

@Lmflmf1

Thank you for the info and taking the time to write.

@digital_nomad

Officially, she can't work until she's legally resident. But if she's 100% remote, it's not like anybody would know. :-)

The immigration process is not long. The time is gathering the paperwork/proofs for your application. In particular, you probably want to take a look at a few places and properties before rushing into a long-term rental or purchase. Sometimes there's a wait of a few weeks for your cita previa, depending on where you apply.

But when you go to your cita previa, you should leave with your registration certificate.

Then there's another delay as you prepare your family reunification paperwork and wait for your second cita previa. I think they review this application, but it doesn't take long. Once it's approved, she's legal... but I think there's another step (with another cita previa) which is to get a TIE which is a nice biometric identity card, and a proof of legality - and what most/all potential (Spanish) employers would want to see.

You're an EU citizen, so for you there's no time pressure. Your wife will have 90 days visa-free, so the clock is ticking. I think when we did the same process, we flew into Madrid for a few days and got my registration card there. Then it took a few weeks to sort out my partner's family reunification.

It's nearly 5 years ago for us, so my recollection is a bit hazy too. :-) I think there's some important differences in the requirements between the EU citizen and family reunification, so it's important to check the exact list. For example, I don't think my step needed a proper rental contract, or registration on the padron. I'm not sure, but I think I got away with putting the address of our hotel. :-) Whereas, for my partner, we had to have the proper proof of address (long-term rental contract or property deed) and BOTH be on the padron certificate.