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Hi all

I really really need help and I would appreciate if you took a little time to read my post and help a fellow traveller out

I have read all of the related posts to my subject
But I feel I need to post my story to get direct advice on my situation

I am an African travelling around South East Asia and the world for the last 3 years
Ive resided in Indonesia around Java and Bali for most of my time abroad resulting in more than 1 year residence in Indonesia on a Social Visa which allows me 6 months in the country at a time.

Ive met my soul mate 10 months ago and she is a EU citizen from Spain
We are now in the process of trying to figure out how to process my Schengen Visa

I know that from previous posts I have to apply for a Schengen visa from my country of residence
However I havent had a country of residence for the last 3 years
So I just want to know - is there at all anything I could do to avoid having to fly to Africa just to fly back to Spain?
**
Ive contacted all embassies and consulates in Africa and Indonesia
And theyve all told me that I have to apply from Africa
Surely this cant be reasonable having people fly back to their home country just to apply for a visa
I have friends living in Bali ( African & French) who dont have an official legal permanent residence known as a Kitas
But theyve rented a villa long term for 5 years and used this contract for documentation?
They applied for a Schengen visa to France and got it approved
**It seems it is possible to apply for the visa without a permanent residence so I am a bit confused
Any other foreigners from "undesirable" countries have the same issue with visa and migrating to EU?

My partner being in Spain in Barcelona is also convinced that it is possible as she says Barcelona is filled with more Africans than Spanish?
So we are a bit confused and convinced there must be a way but the embassies are not much help

Also
I work remotely on my laptop teaching English online on sites like Talk915
As well as doing odd design jobs on freelance websites such as Freelancer and Outsourcely
Thus I have never been formally employed in the last 3 years and also have not had an official permanent residence
When I get back to Africa can I can use my parents residence as proof of permanent residence?
Also how do I go about with regards to an employment letter & bank statements etc
Do I have to ground my own company ASAP to show that I work for myself online teaching english?

Another question -
The situation why we are desperate for me to go to Spain
Is because she has a chronic illness which she receives free medication from the state for
The medication is very expensive and just to travel or live abroad
She has to jump through hoops to get a 6 month supply
Else the usual supply is 2 per month injections, 1 every 2 weeks
So for us to be together more conveniently is for me to move to Spain
Else we have to do Visa applications and fly every 6 months back to Spain to get more medication
She is also at a risk of losing her local state provided medical care if she doesnt work in Spain for 2 years before the age of 26
So our only option is to move to Spain in order to be together unfortunately with the medical situation.

Thus we've decided to get married and for me to apply for the spousal visa + residency permit + working permit
We thought we could get the marriage certificates in Indonesia but this has proven to be impossible for non citizens
So we considered me going to Spain on a tourist visa and then getting married and doing the paperwork in Spain for me to remain in Spain.
How would this work and what is the process?

However now it seems that I might have to move back to Africa just to do the application

Does anybody have any info on the process of getting married in EU for foreign citizens on a tourist visa?
Then converting the tourist visa to a spousal visa & applying for the residence and work permit?

Ive read in previous posts that I have to leave the EU and apply for this from my country of residence or home country.
Is this true?
What advice could you wonderful people give me on my situation?

Would it be better for both of us to move back to my home country and process the visa there -
Or should we get married in my home country and process our marriage certificates - would we then be eligible for a spousal visa?
If we moved back to my home country and got married there what would the process be then?
Would it be possible to get married in my home country and apply directly from my home country for the residency permit and working permit etc?
How long could this process take?

As now she will return back to Indonesia with hopefully 6 months of meds
And we might have to time our trip back home to stay here for 3 months
And fly home and process everything back home in 3 months?
So that we can return to Spain in time before her meds run out?

Please guys, any advice would be valuable
If you dont feel to reply just post some useful links I dont mind reading everything

We are just really inlove and we want to be together all the time
Unfortunately with her medical condition it doesnt give us the freedom to live in a foreign country
Without having to return to Spain every 6 months to get her medication
This is the second time shes had to return to EU to collect her meds
We dont want to have to spend months apart all the time
Marriage is just a formality that we have to do now to make it easier for us to be together
Weve known since the moment we met that we would be together forever marriage or not
So its definately not a marry for visa situation
We just want to get married, process my residency permit and spousal visa & working permit
Live there for 1-2 years so she can pay taxes and keep her health insurance
Then leave again and live on an island as weve been doing together for the last 10 months

PLEASE HELP

Thank you so much if youve taken the time to read this and respond
The universe will grant you good karma in return

Namaste

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1

Im so sorry about this post I do apologise
After reading more posts I realise that this is a travel forum and I shouldnt post my query here
But after much reading I realise that this might be the only place to get the information I might need
Many people have the same issue and query as me
So please do excuse me I do apologise
But any help or links or advice would be appreciated

Thank you so much
Kindest regards

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this is basically a travellers website we are not immigration lawyers - you say you have visited relevant embassies who all say you must go back to Africa so that seems to be what you need to do - -you mention you have been working freelance so you must have bank statements showing you've been paid plus the online institutions must be able to provide some reference you have worked. An alternative may be to get a 3 months tourist visa (if possible) go to Spain, get married, find out while in Spain how to get perm visa - good luck

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Hi

Thank you so much for your response
I have apologised for posting my query here
Ive found most of my info on threads here on thorn tree
So I felt it might be the best place for me to get info
I know that there are no immigration lawyers here and I will try to contact some if its possible
I am also a traveller and it seems this is a common issue amongst travellers
So I do apologise again I hope it was not too much trouble for you
I am just a human seeking other kind hearted humans help
:)

Thank you so much
Namaste
Have a wonderful day

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too me the priority would be to send your girlfriend home as she needs medical treatment - your visa is separate issue - i do not believe there are that many if any prople on this forum who have your unique experience. Reading your post i am unsure what your exact priblem is - are you not able for some reason to fly to Spain and get the 3 month tourist visa at entry (ie 90 day tourist visa not Schengen tourist visa) does your passport/nationality stop you from doing this?

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http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/ maybe you find somebody there who can shed some light on your situation.

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I don't know if that helps, but my brother-in-law is from Grenada / Caribbean Sea and
came to Switzerland on a Schengen Tourist Visa. After about 2 month they decided to get
married and before the Schengen Visa run out they were married and (I don't no the process)
but they could change now after beeing married the Tourist visa into a permit to stay....
...but as gcn2234; if you even don't get for whatever reason a Tourist visa, then it's hard to tell what to do.

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