# SHowing ID at the bank - have the rules changed?



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

A couple of British resdents I know have recently been asked to show their_ tarjetas de residencia_ when visiting their banks here. These were different banks, but both said that the law had changed recently.

One was told that his green A4 _certificado de recidencia_ was no longer valid and he had to get a _tarjeta_.


Anyone know anything more about this?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> A couple of British resdents I know have recently been asked to show their_ tarjetas de residencia_ when visiting their banks here. These were different banks, but both said that the law had changed recently.
> 
> One was told that his green A4 _certificado de recidencia_ was no longer valid and he had to get a _tarjeta_.
> 
> ...


The green certificate IS still valid - in some areas the 'card' is still not being issued. Also, many have the green certificate before they started with a card.

Nah, this is simply pub gossip again or maybe the banks are confused.


Regarding banks asking to see a copy - it's not happened to us and I haven't heard of any new rule about it - maybe just a coastal thing where there are more expats?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> The green certificate IS still valid - in some areas the 'card' is still not being issued. Also, many have the green certificate before they started with a card.
> 
> Nah, this is simply pub gossip again or maybe the banks are confused.
> 
> ...



It's not pub gossip, it happened on two occasions recently to people I know well. And it's not a coastal thing, we are in a village miles from anywhere and there are hardly any expats here.

I suspect you are right and it's bank employees misinterpreting some guidelines. It could be they have had instructions to check the IDs of "extranjeros" and didn't realise that we aren't extranjeros, we are" ciudadanos del UE" and the rules about carrying your tarjeta de residencia at all times don't apply.

But I'd still be interested to know if this is happening anywhere else.


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Banks*



Alcalaina said:


> It's not pub gossip, it happened on two occasions recently to people I know well. And it's not a coastal thing, we are in a village miles from anywhere and there are hardly any expats here.
> 
> I suspect you are right and it's bank employees misinterpreting some guidelines. It could be they have had instructions to check the IDs of "extranjeros" and didn't realise that we aren't extranjeros, we are" ciudadanos del UE" and the rules about carrying your tarjeta de residencia at all times don't apply.
> 
> But I'd still be interested to know if this is happening anywhere else.


Yes, it happened to me two weeks ago in Chiclana in the Santander. I argued the toss with the employee and said that I had never been asked to show it in Cadiz and he said that when I first joined them I had shown both passport and card, which was not the point. I occasionally showed my passport in Cadiz but never the residency card since it is such a flimsy piece of paper I don't carry it around. The 'gold leaf' on my passport is all but worn away carrying it around with me. I assumed he was just being bumptious.


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Sorry to repeat this yet again, but there still is confusion for some. 

EU citizens do not have Residencia Cards (not issued since April 2007) they have EU Citizens Registration Certs, green paper (maybe credit card size or A4). It is not an ID and even states that on the back in capital letters. It is proof of one’s Fiscal Number, if accompanied by one's legal ID.

I have enquired of the sub inspector who is the officer in charge at the Extranjería where I have a connection. There is no suggestion that the Residencia Card will return for EU Citizens. Of course Non EU citizen do still have them, and they are official ID for them.

If asked for ID, the only legal ID for Brits is their original Passport. However, as exampled here, many people do not know what amounts to legal ID so will ask for the wrong document or will accept just about anything. My residencia card which expired in April 2007 still works well for me almost everywhere. I would not attempt to use in for the Police, Courts, Notaries etc, who would know it is as worthless as an ID as my EU Registration Cert is..


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

larryzx said:


> Sorry to repeat this yet again, but there still is confusion for some.
> 
> EU citizens do not have Residencia Cards (not issued since April 2007) they have EU Citizens Registration Certs, green paper (maybe credit card size or A4). It is not an ID and even states that on the back in capital letters. It is proof of one’s Fiscal Number, if accompanied by one's legal ID.
> 
> ...


I think most of us know this Larry, and Alcalaina certainly does. 
It's the bank employees who don't know it!


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I think most of us know this Larry, and Alcalaina certainly does.
> !


 As I said, sorry for repeating it, but a post said, "we are" ciudadanos del UE" and the rules about carrying your tarjeta de residencia at all times don't apply."

I thought that might mislead people, who do not know that ciudadanos del UE do not have residencia cards, so they do not have them, to carry at any time.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I got a phone call from my bank (Banco Popular) yesterday asking me to take my tarjeta de residencia into my branch. I called in with it this morning and the clerk told me it is a new requirement that they have to have a digital copy and according to him it is "para todo" which I took to mean Spanish customers as well as foreign ones, presumably the Spanish customers would need to provide a digital copy of their DNI.

There was no problem about my residencia card not having a photograph on it, he scanned a copy of my passport as well.

I got the impression this is just a one-off thing, but if I ever went into the branch to do something (withdraw cash over my ATM limit, for example), which I hardly ever need to do, I always showed my passport anyway.

When my passport needs renewing in 2017, I must remember to take the new one in (and I suppose other places will need it too, maybe the Extranjeria, the Ayuntamiento for the padron and the Centro de Salud for starters) as the number will be different.


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> There was no problem about my *residencia card* not having a photograph on it, he scanned a copy of my passport as well.


Sorry to say it yet again, but that was because it was not a Residencia (which non EU citizens have) but an EU Citizen’s Registration Cert. which is of course proof of your NIE but only when produced with your legal ID, your Passport


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

larryzx said:


> Sorry to say it yet again, but that was because it was not a Residencia (which non EU citizens have) but an EU Citizen’s Registration Cert. which is of course proof of your NIE but only when produced with your legal ID, your Passport


The point of my posting was actually to make people aware that bank customers are being required to take proof of ID into their branch due to a new requirement, not to prolong this endless nitpicking about what the card/certificate is called (and mine is card sized anyway). A tarjeta de residencia was what the bank employee asked for when he called and I was perfectly well aware what he meant.


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Lynn, That’s fine you know the difference, but had you not, you may have thought that just producing your Reg Cert would be sufficient. For my wife producing her Residencia is enough as that is proof her ID.

That the bank asked for the wrong document does not mean they were correct. If the bank ask me that, I would tell them I don't have a residencia and then they would probably ask me for what they need. 

This forum helps many people who do not know what happens in Spain. So I think it is better to call things by their correct name, so as not to confuse. For example, both are animals but to call a dog a cat is misleading. Just as residencias and Reg Certs are both documents but they are not the same.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

whatever any of us choose to call it, whatever a bank employee might choose to call it - the chances of us _being issued_ with the wrong thing are zero 

whatever it is _officially called_, it's a document or card which proves /records our status as a resident

I just hope that if my bank wants to see said document, that they don't insist upon a card version - because I don't have one of those... whatever they might choose to call it


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> '
> 
> I just hope that if my bank wants to see said document, that they don't insist upon a card version - because I don't have one of those... whatever they might choose to call it


Don't worry the green A4 paper is just the same as the credit card sized piece of green paper. The smaller size is just pressed out, by the staff when they give it to you, from an A4 sheet and is of course paper and serves just the same purpose.

It’s really not what one choses to call it but what it is. If the two were the same then no problem but they are different things, like dogs and cat. If you want a dog but ask for a cat, you would be disappointed to find you have a cat.

People (with non European features) have been sent to Malaga (to apply for residencia as non EU citizens) when they have asked for residencia at the extranjería, but what they really wanted was EU Registration. They were not please when they came back to the Extranjería after a wasted journey. Had they asked for EU Reg in the first place, that is what they would have got.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

This information from a bank website explains why this digital form of ID is being requested.

https://www.bbva.es/sistema/meta/info-legal/index.jsp

I understand that if banks have not received this from customers by the end of April 2015, then their accounts will be suspended.

This is what is important about this thread and frankly, arguments about terminology are just a distraction and irritating. Very.


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> This information from a bank website explains why this digital form of ID is being requested.
> 
> https://www.bbva.es/sistema/meta/info-legal/index.jsp
> 
> ...


Thanks Lynn. That page appears to require proof of ID and seems to ask for either an NIE, DNI or Passport. If one is working then there are other documents too, but I do not see where it says Residencia or EU Reg. Have I missed something ?

OK thats me 'outta here'


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

larryzx said:


> Thanks Lynn. That page appears to require proof of ID and seems to ask for either an NIE, DNI or Passport. If one is working then there are other documents too, but I do not see where it says Residencia or EU Reg. Have I missed something ?


Presumably it's covered under the "etc" in the relevant paragraph. Personally, if a bank employee asks me to provide something and my bank account might be suspended if they don't have it by a certain date, I don't waste my time or theirs by arguing the toss about whether they should be asking for it or not.

I really do think it's important for people to be aware of this as if their own banks haven't contacted them directly, or perhaps they've ignored a message as they didn't realise the importance, they could find themselves in trouble come the end of April.


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Good point, but as the law was passed, it apperas in 2010, maybe a lot of us have already produced the docs needed. I know our banks have a copy of my NIE and my wife's residencia and copies of both of our current Passports.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

larryzx said:


> Don't worry the green A4 paper is just the same as the credit card sized piece of green paper. The smaller size is just pressed out, by the staff when they give it to you, from an A4 sheet and is of course paper and serves just the same purpose.
> 
> It’s really not what one choses to call it but what it is. If the two were the same then no problem but they are different things, like dogs and cat. If you want a dog but ask for a cat, you would be disappointed to find you have a cat.
> 
> People (with non European features) have been sent to Malaga (to apply for residencia as non EU citizens) when they have asked for residencia at the extranjería, but what they really wanted was EU Registration. They were not please when they came back to the Extranjería after a wasted journey. Had they asked for EU Reg in the first place, that is what they would have got.


_
*I *_know that my cert is the same as one of the new cards - but clearly some bank employees don't - so what if they _insist _on a card?? 

and exactly - it doesn't matter what we call it - it IS what it IS - & everyone will have the appropriate document for their situation. 

I'm surprised the extranjería didn't ask those people a few questions before sending them off elsewhere - & lots of 'officials' call it all 'residencia' anyway - like our local Guardia, for example


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> _
> *I *_know that my cert is the same as one of the new cards - but clearly some bank employees don't - so what if they _insist _on a card??
> 
> and exactly - it doesn't matter what we call it - it IS what it IS - & everyone will have the appropriate document for their situation.
> ...


If I ask for a dog I don't expect the shop to ask if I am sure I don't really want a cat. _it doesn't matter what we call it - it IS what it IS _ unless it is something else. 

I really do not understand why anyone would insist on calling a document by a name which applies to something else when they know what it is that they are referring to. As I say, if you speak to a non EU citizen about residencia they do not imagine you are talking about a Reg Cert. so potentially very confusing.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

larryzx said:


> Good point, but as the law was passed, it apperas in 2010, maybe a lot of us have already produced the docs needed. I know our banks have a copy of my NIE and my wife's residencia and copies of both of our current Passports.


I opened a new account in 2014, and the bank certainly had PHOTOCOPIES of my passport and my residence certificate - but that is not the same (since you are so keen on the correct terminology being used) as a DIGITAL copy which this law requires, and as I said the bank went to the lengths of telephoning me to ask me to bring the documents in to be scanned. If you wish to rely on your bank having the photocopies, that is fine by me.

I do wish people who say they are "outta here" would stay "outta here". Why say it if you don't mean it?


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

Lynn, Your ref does not appear to say digital, and I am at a loss to understand what that word means.

I'd be grateful if you would you please tell me how it differs from any other printed document.? 

My A4 EU Reg Cert issued in 2007 does not appear any different from those being issued today. Both are printed on what appears to be ordinary paper on an ordinary printer, like many computer users have.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

larryzx said:


> Lynn, Your ref does not appear to say digital, and I am at a loss to understand what that word means.
> 
> I'd be grateful if you would you please tell me how it differs from any other printed document.?
> 
> My A4 EU Reg Cert issued in 2007 does not appear any different from those being issued today. Both are printed on what appears to be ordinary paper on an ordinary printer, like many computer users have.


Can I refer you please to my post #14 when I clearly said it is a digital form of ID which this new requirement is asking for. The BBVA link I included also clearly says, if you read it, that they require a "copia digitalizada".

I am sure any techies on the forum will explain this better than I can, but as best I can explain it it means that it is a copy scanned and uploaded to their computer system in a format their system can recognise, not a paper copy sitting in their files.


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

I believe from looking at the internet, that any image which is scanned is recognised digitally and thus recognisable by a computer. That being so the bank could scan any copy they have of a document and it would then have been digitalised. I do not believe any document is a digital document, it is an image. So whatever we call it, the paper issued by the police can only be an image.

The only reason I can see for a bank to ask for a document is because they do not have a copy which they can digitalise. 

As I believe most banks in recent years would take a copy of ones passport and NIE when opening an account, I would think that in most cases they must have what they need.

If my bank ask me, I will make a point of asking exactly what they want and why, and report back


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

larryzx said:


> I believe from looking at the internet, that any image which is scanned is recognised digitally and thus recognisable by a computer. That being so the bank could scan any copy they have of a document and it would then have been digitalised. I do not believe any document is a digital document, it is an image. So whatever we call it, the paper issued by the police can only be an image.
> 
> The only reason I can see for a bank to ask for a document is because they do not have a copy which they can digitalise.
> 
> ...


Do whatever you like, I really don't care.

My bank most definitely took a photocopy of my passport and resident certificate when I opened my new account just last year, and they have still asked for the documents to be brought in again to be scanned. Perhaps it was just a slow day and they were doing it for their own entertainment.

I thought it would be helpful for those who may not be as complacent as you appear to be to know what was happening.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Shall we stop this now, I dont think its helping !!!

Jo xxx


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