Note for Chinese citizens going to Spain
2004/09/29
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I. Visa, Entry and Customs
(a) Visa Regulations
For a Spanish visa generally need to apply for two weeks in advance, the West according to the applicant's request for the issuance of a month valid, the maximum period of stay of up to 3 months of the Shorts stay visa. Anyone traveling to a third country through the West, regardless of whether they leave the airport or not, is required to apply for a transit visa.
Application procedures for an official visa to the West: (1) note or official letter (original, copy) should indicate the purpose of the visit and the duration of stay; (2) to provide a letter of invitation, a copy of the original, invitations are invalid; (3) fill out a set of four visa application form, hand in four 2-inch color photographs, the application form should be marked in the name field of the code and the Chinese language; (4) more than three people (including three) to fill out the list of two forms.
If you are applying for a business visa, you need to go to the embassy or consulate in person to submit the application, and you also need to provide the original and copy of the household register, a copy of the last three months' pay slips, a copy of the business license of the individual unit, and the original certificate of deposit of more than RMB 40,000 or the original of the regular deposit slip or passbook, etc., which were deposited in the bank three months ago.
In addition, Spain is one of the countries of the Schengen Convention, holders of Chinese passports who wish to travel to the countries of the Schengen Convention can go to one of the Schengen Convention countries to apply for a Schengen short-stay visa at their embassies or consulates general in China, which applies to the following scope of application: France, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland, and other 15 countries. The scope of application is as follows The Schengen visa is limited to tourism or business only, and the maximum stay within six months shall not exceed ninety days, in principle, the visa shall not be extended.
Specific matters related to the application for a visa can be contacted by the Embassy of Spain in China, in the following manner: 9 Sanlitun Road, Beijing, Tel: 010-65321986, Fax: 010-65320784. or contact with the Consulate General of Spain in Shanghai: 301-305, No. 12 Zhongshan East Road, Shanghai, Tel: 021-63213543, Fax: 021-63211726: 021-63211726.
(B) Entry and Customs Regulations
1. Entry into Spain must be accompanied by a valid visa or Spanish Residence Permit, or else you will be repatriated on the same plane;
2. Drugs and other contraband are not permitted;
3. The amount of goods allowed to be carried duty-free in Spain per person shall not exceed 175 euros (for travelers over 15 years of age) or 90 euros (for travelers over 15 years of age).
(1) 200 cigarettes or 50 cigarillos or 250 grams of tobacco;
(2) 1 liter of spirits with an alcohol content of more than 22 degrees or 2 liters of wines and alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of less than 22 degrees;
(3) 50 grams of perfume or 0.25 liter of Floral water;
(4) 500 grams of regular coffee or 200 grams of espresso;
(5) 100 grams of tea or 40 grams of espresso.
4, carrying endangered wild animals and plants specified in the Washington Convention into and out of the country, must get the license certificate of the relevant international trade institutions.
5. No counterfeit or pirated products are allowed to be brought in, and the Customs has the right to detain them once they are found.
Second, medical conditions and health insurance
Spain has a high standard of medical care, and the relevant medical equipment is quite advanced. Spain is a high social welfare system, all the people enjoy social health insurance, in addition to private health insurance companies such as anitas, Asisa, etc., the insurance covers the scope of medical consultation, hospitalization, surgery, maternity, etc., and with its contracted hospitals and clinics throughout the country, weekdays and holidays are very convenient to seek medical treatment. In addition, Spain's health situation is good, there is no widespread epidemic of infectious diseases, but in spring and fall there is the occasional phenomenon of influenza, children under two years of age and the elderly over 60 years of age must be vaccinated.
Third, the security situation
In recent years, Spain's security situation is deteriorating, especially in the capital city of Madrid and the second largest city of Barcelona, the crime rate is high, robberies, burglaries are frequent, in June 2003 in Madrid, the Greek tourists resisted the assassination of the incident. Including my citizens, including Asian tourists and business people are most likely to become the target of robbery and theft, in 2003, January to September, because of the robbery to the consular department of my embassy in the West to apply for replacement of travel documents of the citizens have more than 50 people.
Most of the criminals are immigrants from North Africa and Latin America, with black skin color, mainly in gangs, mostly in the city center tourist attractions, train stations and airports, underpasses and hotel doors; the means of operation are as follows: dressed as tourists, holding a map in their hands and asking for directions; dressed as plainclothes policemen, searching your bags; telling you that your clothes are stained and kindly provide assistance; They will intentionally puncture a tire and then steal your luggage while you are helping to change it; they will arm-twist you from your backpack or use a chemically-soaked handkerchief to render you unconscious; and they will pose as gypsies to sell you flowers and other small items.
In view of the above, we would like to put forward the following safety precautionary suggestions to our citizens coming to Spain:
(1) It is better to go out in a group and pay attention to whether there are suspicious people in front of and behind you;
(2) Do not bring your passport and air ticket on your body when you go out if you don't have to; it is better to make a copy of your passport and air ticket and store them separately from the originals in order to make replacements;
(3) Don't carry a lot of money with you when you go out. > (c) do not go out with a lot of cash, such as the need to bring cash, should be scattered to carry, so as to avoid all the cash at a time to be robbed;
(d) try not to backpacks, backpacks or fanny packs, can be held in an ordinary plastic bag or shopping bag with the necessary items and tea and drinks, etc., so that it is less likely to cause criminals coveted;
(e) if you are a solo traveler, travel on the bus and boat, please remember to keep their own safety, do not accept strangers to give you food or drinks, do not accept a stranger. Do not accept food or drinks from strangers. If you are in a sleeping compartment, lock the compartment at night and add chains to the door, tie up your luggage and put it under your head, and store your valuables separately in the inside pockets of your clothes, not in the same purse or pocket;
(6) If you are robbed by armed robbers, generally do not resist, so as not to jeopardize your life;
(7) Early in the morning, late at night, or during the lunch hour (2:00 to 4:00 p.m.), you may be robbed by a stranger, but you may not have to pay the price for your luggage. (7) Early morning, late at night or during lunch time (around 2:00pm to 4:00pm), when the police force is relatively weakened, is a favorable time for criminals to commit crimes, so special attention must be paid to prevent.
If you have been robbed or stolen, please do the following:
(1) Report the incident to the police immediately and ask for a certificate, so that you can apply to the insurance company for a claim and get a replacement air ticket, passport, and visa from another country.
(2) When traveler's checks and credit cards are lost, stolen or robbed, report them to the issuing bank or company as soon as possible to prevent them from being stolen or claimed.
(3) If you need to replace your travel documents, please contact the Embassy of Spain or the Consulate General in Barcelona immediately and the staff will try their best to assist you.
The Embassy of Spain, Tel: 003491-7216286/ Fax: 003491-5192035, C/Arturo Soria, 113, 28043 Madrid, and the Consular Section Tel: 0034-917414728, C/Josefa Ualcá rcel 40, 1a-Plan. rcel 40, 1a-Planfa, 28027, Madrid.
Consulate General in Barcelona Tel: 003493-2541197/ Fax: 003493-4173833, Address: C/Tibidabo, 34, 08022, Barcelona.
( (D) If you are injured, please call the local emergency number: 112, or the National Patrol: 091.
IV. Common Legal Questions
(A) How to get married in Spain for our overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese who have settled down in Spain can register their marriages in accordance with Chinese Marriage Law as well as Spanish Civil Law.
1. Marriage according to Chinese marriage law can be registered at our Embassy in Spain or the Consulate General in Barcelona. The age of marriage is: 22 years old for the man and 20 years old for the woman. The required documents are as follows:
(1) Documents proving the identity of both parties (valid passports and residence permits);
(2) Proof of unmarriedness (divorced, widowed) issued by the relevant domestic authorities; (If the person is not of marriageable age when leaving the country before receiving the Spanish residence permit, the proof of unmarriedness in the country is not required).
(3) A certificate issued by the Spanish Civil Registry Office stating that the marriage has not been registered anywhere in Spain.
(4) Three three-inch photographs of the couple.
After registering the marriage at the Embassy or Consulate General, you should immediately apply for a certificate of marriage in Spanish, which should be certified by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for future use.
2. Spanish nationals can also get married in accordance with the provisions of the Spanish Civil Code, according to the religious ceremony (referring to the parishioners) or in the local court or civil registry office for civil marriage registration.
(1) a valid ID card (passport or residence permit);
(2) a certificate of domicile from the local district government;
(3) a certificate of consular registration from the embassy;
(4) a birth certificate of the person concerned;
(5) a declaration of unmarriedness (divorce, widowhood).
If the person applying for registration is a minor, a parent must be present to sign his/her consent.
The procedure for civil registration is as follows:
(1) Both parties and two witnesses (the witnesses must be adults and legally reside in the country) go to the civil registry office to register and submit the required documents;
(2) After a number of days, and after the documents have been examined by a judge of the civil registry office, the couple goes to the registry office to sign the documents and choose a date for the marriage;
(3) The couple goes to the registry office on the appointed date and time. At the appointed date and time, the newlyweds and their witnesses go to the auditorium of the registry office and are married in a civil marriage ceremony presided over by the judge.
In accordance with Spanish law, in the case of civil marriages, the judge (or magistrate) who presides over the marriage ceremony must read to the parties the contents of articles 66, 67 and 68 of the Civil Code (CODIGO CIVIL), which the couple is required to comply with. After receiving an affirmative answer from the couple, the presiding judge declares that they are, as of this date, husband and wife. The couple and the witnesses sign the marriage register, and the clerk of the judge hands the couple the marriage certificate (also known as the Libro de Familia), which can be used as proof of the couple's relationship, or it can be used at any time later to issue a certificate of marriage at the registry office, which makes a photocopy of the page signed by the judge, the clerk, the parties, and the witnesses, and stamps it with a seal of confirmation. Confirmation seal. If one or both of the parties to the marriage do not have a sufficient command of Spanish, they must be accompanied by a legal interpreter.
(C) How to get a divorce for overseas Chinese in Spain
The divorce procedures for Chinese in Spain are divided into the following cases:
1. One party is an overseas Chinese, and the other party has settled in the country:
If both parties voluntarily get divorced and reach an agreement on the disposal of the children and the property, they have to apply for a divorce at the marriage registration office of the People's Government of the county or above where one of the parties is residing. Divorce. If only one of the parties requests a divorce, or both parties voluntarily divorce, but cannot reach an agreement on the maintenance of children and the disposition of property, the divorce proceedings shall be filed directly with the People's Court in the place of residence of one of the domestic parties.
2. Both parties are overseas Chinese:
If they request a divorce in the country, whether one party requests a divorce or both parties voluntarily divorce, they must apply to the People's Court in the place where the marriage is registered for divorce proceedings. If they originally registered the marriage at our embassy or consulate abroad, when applying for divorce, both parties, if there is no dispute, can apply for divorce formalities at the embassy or consulate where the marriage was originally registered; both parties, if there is a dispute, should be sued to the People's Court of the place where they were last registered as domiciled or resided before leaving the country.
Regardless of whether there is a dispute or not, it can be processed through the Spanish courts. The Spanish courts, in turn, will decide through a judge in accordance with Chinese marriage law and Spanish law. If one party leaves home and does not know where he or she is, the other party can sue the local court for abandoning the family; if he or she files for divorce because of this, he or she can also sue the court. Under Western law, the court may decide to grant a divorce in cases where the defendant cannot be summoned to court.
If the divorce is to be processed domestically, and the person concerned is unable to return to the country for any reason, he or she can apply for a power of attorney through a notary public or embassy or consulate, appointing a relative, friend or lawyer in the country as an agent to do the work on his or her behalf, and submitting his or her written opinion to the People's Court.
V. Spain's Nationality Policy
According to the Spanish Civil Code, if a foreign citizen wants to acquire Spanish nationality by way of settlement, he or she needs to be legally settled in Spain for ten consecutive years. However, citizens of South American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, and Portugal only need to be legally settled for two years in order to acquire Spanish nationality, and those who were born or married to Spaniards in Spain only need to be legally settled for one year. Spanish citizenship can be acquired after only one year of legal residence if they were born in Spain or married to a Spaniard. Spain has signed treaties on mutual recognition of dual nationality with thirteen countries in South America, including Chile, Argentina and Peru.
VI. Other useful information about Spain
1. Time difference: 7 hours with the domestic time difference, and 6 hours with the domestic time difference during the period of daylight saving time from April to October every year (12:00 noon Beijing time is equivalent to 6:00 a.m. Spanish time).
2. Currency: Since January 2002, the euro has been the single currency. There are seven types of euro banknotes: 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 dollars; and eight types of coins: 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents and one euro.
3, civil water, electricity: water quality is excellent, can be directly drinking; voltage specifications for 220V, the use of two-phase round plug.
4, catering: Spain's food culture is well developed, with seafood as the main delicacies rich in variety, the more famous dishes for the Valencia paella (Paella), Castilla soup (Sopa Castellana), central roast suckling pig (Cochinillo) and roasted suckling pig lamb (Cordero), the Northwest seafood soup (Sopa de Marisco), blood red cocktail, and so on. Marisco, Sangria and Jamon. Lunch is served from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and dinner from 9:00 p.m. to midnight. Tipping is customary in Spanish restaurants and public **** places and is about 10% of the purchase.
5, entertainment and shopping: Spain's soccer, bullfighting and flamenco dance is world-famous, in addition to a large number of museums and attractions. Shopping centers and large and small supermarkets all over the place, a variety of supplies of all kinds, the price in Western European countries in the middle of the lower. The stores are open from Monday to Saturday, and basically closed on Sundays.
6, banking services: Spain's major banks throughout the country can be exchanged for foreign currency, the opening hours are generally Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.
7, transportation: Spain's transportation is very developed, highway network is perfect, domestic aviation, trains, buses, etc., intensive frequency, Madrid city to the second largest city of Barcelona, there is also a dense air bridge flights, the average peak hour every fifteen minutes there will be a frequency, Madrid city to the third largest city of Sevilla (Sevilla) to build high-speed railroads (AVE) safe and comfortable. Madrid's metro is well connected, with ten lines and easy transfers, and there is also a suburban rail network (cercania) that connects Madrid to the surrounding municipalities.
8, Spain reference site: Spanish website: es.yahoo.com. (Spain comprehensive website)