Becoming a Pareja Estable, also known as Pareja de Hecho, is an alternative option to marriage for many couples who wish to legalise a stable relationship. It has to be noted that although in some legal aspects the Pareja Estable resembles marriage, they are not equal in terms of rights and obligations. We recommend you seek advice from a specialist lawyer to see if it is appropriate for your situation.
Catalonia
To become a Pareja de hecho/estable in Catalonia, you will need to comply with certain requirements first in respect of your partnership:
You must both be 18 years old or over
Not be related (blood relative)
Be unmarried
Not live with a third person
Live in the same household with your Pareja Estable for 2 years or more
Formalise the relationship with a notary
To formalise the union with a public deed by a notary, it is sufficient to present the notary with a cohabitation Empadronamiento (Certificado de convivencia) certificate - which can be obtained at the local Town Hall, similar to a normal empadronamiento - which certifies that both partners are living in the same household, and to provide both NIEs/DNI/Passport.
After signing the acta notarial, the next step is to register the partnership with the Catalan Registro de Parejas Estables. Once registered, the registry will confirm the procedure is complete.
Registering the Pareja de hecho/estable into the Catalan registry
In Catalonia, you are able to register as a Pareja Estable in person or online. To start the process visit this website.
In person
The registration can be done at any time and you will need to provide the following documents:
Completed registration form, printed and signed. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file on your computer. The application will only be validated if all the required fields are completed.
The Justice Department will verify the information provided and the process will be complete. If required by the administration, you might also need to present the following documents:
ID document for both partners (DNI, NIE, Passport).
Birth certificate of each partner. If the documents are foreign, they have to be translated into Spanish and legalised or certified with the Hague apostille.
In case of a union with a common child, a birth certificate which shows that the child was born during the period that the partners were living together. You will need to present the form and supporting documents to one of the designated offices. You can get an appointment here.
Cohabitation certificate (certificado de convivencia). Can be obtained at the Town Hall and requires both partners to be Empadronados in the same address.
Online registration
To start the registration, go to this website. Each partner will need their own Digital Certificate in order to upload the registration form (one each):
Download and fill in the registration form. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file on your computer. The application will only be validated if all required fields are completed.
ID document of each partner (DNI, NIE, Passport)
Birth certificate of each partner. If the documents are not Spanish, they have to be translated into Spanish and legalised or certified with the Hague apostille
In case of a union with a common child, a birth certificate which shows that the child was born during the period that the partners were living together
Once you have filled in all the details and saved the document, go to step 3 on the website and upload the application form. In the field “Código personal”, write a name to identify your application in the future, which you can change at any time. Then press “Send/Envía”
Once the application form is registered, your screen will show a confirmation message and a confirmation document that you can print or download to your computer. You need to save that document. This confirmation message or “ Acuse de recibo” contains:
Entry date: date when the application was made.
Procedure ID: you will be able to track your application with it.
Fees (Tasas): in some cases, with the confirmation for the application, a payment letter will be issued to you to pay the administrative fee for the procedure.
On the confirmation page you will also find information regarding other documents to present later on in the process.
Result
The result of the application will be notified to each partner in the Pareja Estable via the postal address indicated for this purpose, within a maximum period of two months of the date the application was submitted.
You can consult the status of your application, make changes to your information, ask for a certificate or formally end the Pareja Estable by visiting this link.