Residence cards
What is a residence card?
It is a credit card-sized ID card showing your photo, personal details and a fingerprint. In Spain it is mandatory to carry it (or another form of photo ID) with you at all times.
EU Nationals
Since 14 February 2003, EU or Swiss citizens, whether employed, self-employed or student, do not need a residence card to live or work in Spain.
However, it can be very useful. It means you do not have to carry your passport around with you all the time. When you buy things with a credit card, you must show a form of photo ID such as your residence card.
If you are retiring to Spain you do need to apply for a residence card. You will need proof of a private health insurance scheme that is valid in Spain or of the right to Spanish public medical treatment.
You will also need a residence card if you are of independent means or if you are a non-EU national dependent of an EU (including Spanish) national. Although EU nationals (of non-retirement age) do not need a residence card, they do need a NIE - a tax ID number - if they intend to register for work, buy a property or a car in Spain.
Getting a NIE
You can live in Spain without a residence card but you won't get far without a NIE. It should be the first thing you apply for when you arrive in Spain.
First, get the relevant form from your local Comisaria or Oficina de Extranjeros (see list below) or from a gestor.
Fill out the form, then take the original and a photocopy, with two passport photos and a letter proving why you need residency (eg. a letter from an employer, a copy of your rental contract or mortgage agreement) to the Oficina de Extranjeros. They will give you a return date to pick up your NIE.
Getting a residence card
If you apply yourself, rather than employ the services of a gestor who will charge EUR 150-250 to deal with all the residence card bureaucracy for you, make sure you know exactly what documentation is required at every stage.
Spain's bureaucracy may involve a lot of paperwork.
Otherwise, you could find yourself queuing for hours when you simply needed to make an appointment for a later date or realise too late that you do not have the relevant documents on you.
First of all, go along to the Oficina de Extranjeros to make an appointment. This will be set for about 2-3 months later.
When you return for your appointment, take with you:
- three passport size photographs
- original and photocopy of passport
- NIE document
At this point, they will start processing your application and give you various forms (including one with which to pay your €6.31 fee at any bank - keep the receipt). They will also give you a date to return to have your thumbprint taken and hand in completed forms.
Also take the remainder of your three passport photos. You will also need a certificado de empadronamiento, obtained from your local town hall.
For that, you will need to show your rental contract and passport.
You will be asked to return about five weeks later to collect your residence card.
The rules regarding residence cards are constantly changing. Currently the Spanish authorities are legalising as many people as possible before clamping down some time in 2005. For the latest information contact the Ministry of the Interior (Secretaria de Estado de Inmigracion y Emigracion), tel: 900 150 000, extranjeros.mtas.es/es.
