# Updates on residency with some new laws in Barcelona



## kimuyen (Aug 8, 2013)

So we arrived to Barcelona at the end of July 2014 and I just got my finger printing done last week and am now waiting to pick up my residencia card in 2-3 weeks. So what took us so long? A few missteps along the way that I hope this post help you avoid them...

FYI ... My husband has an Irish passport so he needs to register for his residency while and I have American passport and I need to apply under the familiar status.

We hired a firm to help us navigate the process as our Spanish was (and still is) very shaky. We also hoped to take advantage of someone who had helped people do this hundreds of times. This company turned out to be the worst we have dealt with in Spain.

1. They insisted that the registration for my husband would be very simple so they took me to the Officina de Extranjeria first. We got all the pieces of paper the funcionario asked for. And we still had a stack of paper to take home (and a stapler!)

2. When they tried to take my husband to the Police Station to register him, they learned that since June everyone had to have an appointment. So more delay.

3. When my husband finally got an appointment, he was rejected because our private insurance with Sanitas had a copay (a cost sharing scheme that the holder has to pay a small amount when s/he sees a doctor). We were caught by surprise as we had not heard anything like this even on this forum. So we had to upgrade our insurance policy to one without a copay before he could try again. More delay.

4. While all of these were going on and exactly 30 working days after I applied, they reviewed my filed and because my husband's certification was yet registered, they put my file in archive .

5. When my husband finally got his registration on the second try, the firm reopened my file through an appeal process. It took more than two months and that was after we hired another lawyer to follow up on this appeal. The first firm was useless (we deducted their fee to pay the second lawyer and they were not happy about that!).

So, don't trust a "professional" who downplays the process. Nothing is simple in this process even if you are an EU member. If anyone in the family needs to apply for residency as a dependent of an EU member, make sure that EU member is registered before everyone else's process. 

I also consulted two other lawyer about the appeal process (after the first firm already filed the appeal) and they both were against it as it would take very long (they favored a reapplying process). It turned out that they both were right. The down side of reapplying is that your marriage and birth certificates may be older than 3 months.

I am attaching a document we received at the Police Station that the funcionario marked the requirement for private insurance (it must be "sin copagos"). It also listed the income requirement. This is since May 2014 and in Barcelona. 

Happy New Year!


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

kimuyen said:


> So we arrived to Barcelona at the end of July 2014 and I just got my finger printing done last week and am now waiting to pick up my residencia card in 2-3 weeks. So what took us so long? A few missteps along the way that I hope this post help you avoid them...
> 
> FYI ... My husband has an Irish passport so he needs to register for his residency while and I have American passport and I need to apply under the familiar status.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your helpful post kimuyen!

Although my situation is different to yours, my own experiences with trying to get this done in Barcelona is similar. The obstacles put up to get it done keep on coming. Everything seems to be much simpler in the rest of Spain, which makes it all the more frustrating, especially when I see posts where it is emphasised how EASY it is with unnecessary use of capital letters and excessive exclamation marks!!!!! It isn't always easy, Spain is a very large place, and the political situation in Catalunya is, I think, also partly to blame.

Anyway, I'm glad you are now sorted. Mine will get sorted soon I'm sure.


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## mike kelly (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi, I recently registerd in Barcelona and it was not easy either. The people in the Extranjeria office were really rude and seemed to delight in saying "no" at every opportunity. Not sure why this is as I have never encountered such behaviour at any local government office. I did manage without a previous appointment though.


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## kimuyen (Aug 8, 2013)

mike kelly said:


> Hi, I recently registerd in Barcelona and it was not easy either. The people in the Extranjeria office were really rude and seemed to delight in saying "no" at every opportunity. Not sure why this is as I have never encountered such behaviour at any local government office. I did manage without a previous appointment though.





Helenameva said:


> ... my own experiences with trying to get this done in Barcelona is similar. The obstacles put up to get it done keep on coming... Mine will get sorted soon I'm sure.


In a way I am glad that our bad experiences are consistent so people coming after us can see the trend and prepare. On the other hand, I hope not everyone has to experience this. Truth be told, if it were not for this incompetent gestor, I would have had my residency at the end of September when they archived my file. My experiences at other local government offices have been surprisingly good. 

And good luck, Helenameva!


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## angil (Sep 24, 2012)

Torremolinos was a nightmare for a family of 4 from the UK with all of their paperwork in order. At one point we were told via our 'translator' (kindly bilingual German customer who took pity on us) that the delightful desk clerk had actually said "these people coming to our country should speak our language". Give us a chance missus, we had just arrived! We had an appointment we didn't just turn up. So that's my first hand account going back to August 2013. Up to date December 2014 and a friend of mine had the exact same experience in Feungirola. & again she was here to spend; private school fees, rent, car purchase, all with cashed earned elsewhere by hubby, just as I am! Not looking for work / draining an already beleaguered economy. My friend eventually paid a company to do it all for her!
So, no, its not just Barcelona!


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## mike kelly (Aug 12, 2009)

angil said:


> Torremolinos was a nightmare for a family of 4 from the UK with all of their paperwork in order. At one point we were told via our 'translator' (kindly bilingual German customer who took pity on us) that the delightful desk clerk had actually said "these people coming to our country should speak our language". Give us a chance missus, we had just arrived! We had an appointment we didn't just turn up. So that's my first hand account going back to August 2013. Up to date December 2014 and a friend of mine had the exact same experience in Feungirola. & again she was here to spend; private school fees, rent, car purchase, all with cashed earned elsewhere by hubby, just as I am! Not looking for work / draining an already beleaguered economy. My friend eventually paid a company to do it all for her!
> So, no, its not just Barcelona!


was this in a Policia Nacional police station? By the way, I do speak quite good Spanish, so people who are going to be rude will just do so regardless. You could quote Don Quixote backwards and it wouldn't make any difference!


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## angil (Sep 24, 2012)

mike kelly said:


> was this in a Policia Nacional police station? By the way, I do speak quite good Spanish, so people who are going to be rude will just do so regardless. You could quote Don Quixote backwards and it wouldn't make any difference!



Yes, in both cases it was National Police Stations. I had dealt with immigration officers & Alien Registration Cards in Asia for years before coming to Spain and I had never been treat that badly. & the only language I am fluent in is English! Perhaps had I spoke fluent Andalusian Spanish this narrow minded little harridan may have treat us differently?! Alas we will never know! Just glad its done and dusted. Awful experience.


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

kimuyen said:


> 3. When my husband finally got an appointment, he was rejected because our private insurance with Sanitas had a copay (a cost sharing scheme that the holder has to pay a small amount when s/he sees a doctor). We were caught by surprise as we had not heard anything like this even on this forum. So we had to upgrade our insurance policy to one without a copay before he could try again. More delay.


I am trying to get some information about whether insurance with copays will be accepted for residence visas. I would much rather have a cheaper insurance with a copay since we don't often need to see doctors, but I am worried that we will run into this issue. I spoke to someone from DKV today who told me he has heard of it, though he was based in Barcelona. Do you have any sense of whether this is the situation in other parts of Spain?


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## kimuyen (Aug 8, 2013)

kdsb said:


> I am trying to get some information about whether insurance with copays will be accepted for residence visas... Do you have any sense of whether this is the situation in other parts of Spain?


See the attachment (at the bottom of the page). This document comes from the government website so I assume that it applies everywhere in Spain although the rule is subject to the interpretation of each funcionario or the local office.

I think you can change your insurance to "sin copagos" when you renew.

Best of luck!


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

kimuyen said:


> See the attachment (at the bottom of the page). This document comes from the government website so I assume that it applies everywhere in Spain although the rule is subject to the interpretation of each funcionario or the local office.
> 
> I think you can change your insurance to "sin copagos" when you renew.
> 
> Best of luck!


Thanks for getting back to me. I had seen that document but since it said Barcelona on top I wasn't sure whether it was universal in Spain. I tried calling the foreigners office in the city we'll be living in but didn't get through, but I'll try a few more times to see if I can get a clear answer. If it's unclear, we'll just get the more expensive policy without copays.


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## Taker13075 (May 17, 2016)

If you get an answer can you post it as there are other people in your situation. We are looking to go to Malaga.

Thanks


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