Civil Partnership in Valencia
If you live as a couple in Valencia, Alicante or Castellón and are thinking about formalising your relationship without getting married, registering as a registered partnership (pareja de hecho) in the Region of Valencia is the way to give that union legal effect.
What a registered partnership is
A registered partnership is the stable, freely chosen union of two people who live together in a manner similar to marriage without having married. By registering it in a public registry, that relationship goes from being a private situation to having legal recognition, with associated rights and obligations.
The key is the word registration: living together, however long, does not by itself create a registered partnership with full effects. What triggers those effects is the formal registration. In the Region of Valencia there is a specific regional registry for this, and that is where the union is formalised.
Regional registry and municipal registries
It is worth not confusing two things. Some town councils have their own municipal registry of partnerships, but the one that produces full legal effects at the regional level is the Registro de Uniones de Hecho Formalizadas de la Comunitat Valenciana (the regional registry of formalised partnerships).
Registered partnership: requirements in the Region of Valencia
These are the requirements for a registered partnership that are generally asked for to register the union in the Region of Valencia. Going over them before requesting an appointment saves you from submitting an incomplete application.
Usual documentation
Along with the application, you are usually asked for the identity document or passport of both members, the certificates proving marital status, the municipal census certificate and, depending on the case, additional documentation supporting cohabitation. When any of the documents comes from another country, translation and legalisation or apostille come into play, a point where files are easily delayed if not properly prepared.
Requirements
✅ Be of legal age or an emancipated minor. Neither of the two can be legally incapable of giving consent.
✅ Not be married, nor stably united to another person in another registered partnership.
✅ Not be relatives in the direct line by blood or adoption, nor collateral relatives by blood up to the second degree.
✅ Prove a free and stable cohabitation, on the terms required by the regional rules.
✅ At least one of the members must be registered on the municipal census (padrón) in a municipality of the Region of Valencia.
Benefits of a registered partnership
The benefits of a registered partnership are the reason many couples decide to register. Although they do not equate the union to marriage in every respect, they do recognise relevant day-to-day rights:
- Employment leave for registering the partnership, on the terms recognised by the collective agreement or the employer.
- Rights in the healthcare and administrative sphere, such as the possibility of being named as a beneficiary in certain benefits.
- Recognition for the purposes of housing and certain public subsidies that take registered couples into account.
- Effects in immigration matters, since a registered partnership can open the way to residency for a non-EU member.
This last point is especially important if one of you does not hold the nationality of a European Union country. A correctly registered partnership can be the first step towards applying for the residence card for a family member of an EU citizen, an immigration procedure with its own requirements. If this is your case, it is worth approaching the registration from the start with that goal in mind.
Differences between a registered partnership and marriage
Understanding the differences between a registered partnership and marriage is what will let you choose with good judgement. It is not that one option is better than the other: they solve different things.
Inheritance rights and pensions
Unlike marriage, in the Region of Valencia a registered partnership has no automatic inheritance rights by law, so making a will is essential to protect the surviving partner. As for the survivor’s pension, a registered partnership requires stricter proof of cohabitation and prior registration, compared with the greater ease of marriage.
Taxation and dissolution
Marriage allows joint taxation in personal income tax (IRPF), an option not available to registered partnerships unless there are children in common. Dissolving a registered partnership, in turn, is a more agile and simpler administrative process than a judicial divorce.
Process to register a registered partnership in the Comunidad Valenciana
At the Registro de Uniones de Hecho Formalizadas de la Comunitat Valenciana, the registration of the partnership can be handled in person or online. To register in person at the enabled offices or PROP points of the Generalitat Valenciana, you must request an appointment and submit all the required documentation.
It is now possible to file the registration application online through the Electronic Office (Sede Electrónica) of the Generalitat Valenciana. To do so, you need an electronic ID (DNI electrónico), a digital certificate or access through the Cl@ve system.
You must have the standardised application form for registration in the Registro de Uniones de Hecho de la Comunitat Valenciana, together with all the annexed documentation duly prepared.
Once received, the registry will confirm the processing, or will contact the applicants if corrections are needed or to arrange the in-person appearance.
Preguntas frecuentes sobre la pareja de hecho en la Comunidad Valenciana
When is a couple considered a registered partnership?
Living together is not enough, however long you have been together. Legally, a registered partnership exists when it is entered in the corresponding registry and a stable cohabitation is proven on the terms required by the regional rules. Until that moment, the relationship is a private situation without the legal effects of registration.
Does a registered partnership made before a notary have the same validity?
This is a common confusion. A deed before a notary can serve as proof of the relationship, but it does not replace registration in the regional registry, which is what produces full legal effects in the Region of Valencia. If your goal is to obtain those effects —employment, immigration or otherwise—, the step that counts is the registration, not just the notarial deed.
As a registered partnership, do you receive the survivor's pension?
It can be granted, but under stricter conditions than in marriage. Among other requirements, it calls for a minimum length of registration before the death and proof of a certain financial dependency between the members. Whether or not those requirements are met depends on each case, and it is exactly the kind of detail worth reviewing in advance.
Can we register if one of us is a foreigner?
Yes. Nationality does not prevent registration, provided the requirements are met and the corresponding documentation is supplied, duly translated and legalised where applicable. If there is a non-EU member, the registration usually also has an immigration purpose that is worth planning.
What happens if we move to another autonomous community?
Each autonomous community has its own rules and its own registry. A change of residence can affect the effects of your registration, so if you plan to move it is advisable to check it beforehand so as not to lose rights along the way.
Why choose us to help you
At Abogado Extranjería Madrid we have a team of specialists in immigration and nationality law who can help you handle your application effectively and error-free. We guide you at every step: from reviewing the requirements to filing the application, and appeals or contentious-administrative claims if your case calls for it.
Schedule your renewal with an expert lawyer
📞 Get in touch for a personalised consultation and start the path to your Spanish nationality today.