# Hi guys, i'm new here apologies for a boring first thread!



## Plym (Jul 14, 2009)

Firstly, hi everyone and i'm so glad I found this forum since it has helped me with a few queries already but as always... there are still a few things I need help with!

I'm moving to Barcelona mid-August for a new start with a friend of mine who has left his job in the city (I'm a web developer so I can work pretty much anywhere which has the internet luckily!). I've been learning spanish for a while now and i'm almost fluent but my first question is... is it advisable to learn Catalan as well and is there much difference between Spanish and catalan?

Secondly, I'm a bit confused by the bank account situation... I keep reading different things. 

1. Can you open a spanish bank account from England?
2. Which spanish banks would you recommend? (I only want a basic one to pay the bills etc since I already have a job which pays into my english bank account)
3. What do you need to open a spanish bank account and how long does it take?
4. Do you need a spanish bank account at all? If you have a VISA debit card from an english bank can you just get away with paying everything (shopping, restaurants etc) with that card? I don't need to pay rent from spanish bank account as I've agreed to pay upfront for a 6 month contract. 
5. Is it worth getting a resident account or can you just get away with having a non-resident account? 

Finally, and i'm sure you are all bored of this by now, but NEI! I'm planning to take up permanent residence there so what things do I need to get... just the NEI? Can I apply for the NEI/residence permit from England?

I have a few more queries (cars and important stuff like football teams!) but thats enough for now I think! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

Plym said:


> Firstly, hi everyone and i'm so glad I found this forum since it has helped me with a few queries already but as always... there are still a few things I need help with!
> 
> I'm moving to Barcelona mid-August for a new start with a friend of mine who has left his job in the city (I'm a web developer so I can work pretty much anywhere which has the internet luckily!). I've been learning spanish for a while now and i'm almost fluent but my first question is... is it advisable to learn Catalan as well and is there much difference between Spanish and catalan?
> 
> ...


Hi Plym ... welcome to the forum! ... and dont worry we dont get bored! (not too often anyway!!!) 

Im at work at the moment and just about to have a well deserved lunch break! will come back to you later on some of the queries ..... but no doubt by then you will have had many more replies!

Sue


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Hi and welcome. Unfortunately, I´m just on my way out and cant properly answer your post, in fact I´m not the sharpest tool in the box anyway LOL
But for now.....

You will need a spanish bank account to be able to rent out here. If youre planning to work from spain then you must pay your taxes etc through Spain and wil therefore need a bank account and an NIE number, funnily enough I was talking to DWP in spain this morning and thats what he told me. Wherever the work or money comes from, if you´re physically doing it in Spain then it Spain who gets the taxes. Its called Autonomo if you wanna have a google

I dont know about other banks, but I do know that there is a "sol bank" in London where you can open an account.

Once you live here you must have a resident account, you can change it when you´re here, but if you dont the Guardia come a looking for you LOL (not a big deal, but it happened to us cos we forgot)

I´ll stop now, cos I need to think properly about the rest of your questions, feel free to ask more tho, we dont mind, we learn stuff too??!!!! and I´m sure they´ll be others along to help you shortly


Jo xxxx


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

Plym said:


> Firstly, hi everyone and i'm so glad I found this forum since it has helped me with a few queries already but as always... there are still a few things I need help with!
> 
> I'm moving to Barcelona mid-August for a new start with a friend of mine who has left his job in the city (I'm a web developer so I can work pretty much anywhere which has the internet luckily!). I've been learning spanish for a while now and i'm almost fluent but my first question is... is it advisable to learn Catalan as well and is there much difference between Spanish and catalan?
> 
> ...


Sue :ranger:


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

You need an NIE to buy a car!! Second hand cars, we found are more expensive than the UK, however, that was before the credit crunch and the collapse of the car industry so things may have changed. 

As for football??? its boring!!!!!Steve Hall who comes on here regularly will be "your man", he´s an avid football suporter

Jo xx


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Football, did somebody say football? How can I help 

The answers you are looking for are Real Madrid and FC Torrevieja although I also have a season ticket for Alhaurín de la Torre. Now what are the questions? LOL


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> Football, did somebody say football? How can I help
> 
> The answers you are looking for are Real Madrid and FC Torrevieja although I also have a season ticket for Alhaurín de la Torre. Now what are the questions? LOL


Sad git!!! 

Jo xx


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

:welcome: to the forum Plym. 

For my own reasons I have to recommend La Caixa bank. My bag was stolen and within 20 minutes the barstewards took €600 from my account via my debit card. I wasn't expecting to get that back but they paid up without quibble.. You can't get better than that!!!


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

GOLDEN RULE - get a bank with a good coverage and with international experience. If you are off to Murcia, then the Caixa Galicia is probably not your best bet! 

The biggest percentage of expats by far are with the CAM. I have an account with them - no problems. I prefer Banco de Valencia but that would be USELESS on the Costa del Sol or the islands. I know. Check their coverage in Catalonia www.bdv.es


If you want to work among the locals in Catalonia then, yes, you should learn Catalán. If you are almost fluent in castellano, then learning català should not be a challenge. 

Our man in Catalonia, Simon Harris is the person to talk to. He's a top guy apart from his enthusiasm for next season's subcampeones! He also runs a football forum in English.


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## grahunt (Jan 22, 2009)

Banks! They are suddenly not the friendly places they have been for years as the bank managers to longer have the ability to make decisions and you have now become a number rather than a persn. Most banks are much of a muchness but they are all generally OK. Careful of hidden charges for cards, running the account etc but usually when you are in credit banking is free with most.

Personal recommendation and i work with a lot of banks are Caixa Catalunya, quite apt for where you are going, CAM as Steve mentioned above and BBVA, just don't ask for a personal loan from them as their rates are horrendous at the moment.
Regards
Graham


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

I have also found that sometimes with banks here, they vary from branch to branch, so depending who they have in charge they may have a totally different attitude from the branch down the road. 

At one point, I tried to open a new bank account as I was transferring quite a large amount of money from UK, and my own bank here wanted to charge a large percentage simply for receiving it (not transferring it). So obviously I was not going to do that. Then the company doing the transfer recommended BBVA, and the bank in Madrid called me and said they had spoken to my local branch and I could go and open it with NIE, passport and rental contract. When I went there, the manager said I had to have an employment contract too, which I didnt. (they said they had problems with Brits doing a bunk before - yes, Sue, Fuengirola again.) Even though I explained I was giving them a large amount of money to deposit, they didnt want it without a contract. So I walked out and round the corner into the Cajamar. I was flying to the UK the same day to do the transfer, and had about 15 minutes before the banks closed, so was under pressure! 
I only went to Cajamar as I liked the look of it and had a good feeling about it (i know, a very female reason), and was in a panic with the time factor. But they didnt charge a high percentage on paying in large deposits and I only needed a passport to open it. And have a large international clientele, So was good intuition.
However, another branch of theirs I have found a bit less helpful, and one or two things that put me off the staff there. So it also depends on the branch too.


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

You are absolutely 100% on about the individual branches having (or they did have!) more autonomy. I should definitely have put that. I was 100% happy with 8/9 of the BdV branches but one I would just never use - whole wrong "Feel" about it .....and allowed staff to smoke! 

Caz, the best bet for that would probably have been a currency transfer company like Currencies Direct or MoneyCorp. Definitely the way to save significantly on international transfer.


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> You are absolutely 100% on about the individual branches having (or they did have!) more autonomy. I should definitely have put that. I was 100% happy with 8/9 of the BdV branches but one I would just never use - whole wrong "Feel" about it .....and allowed staff to smoke!
> 
> Caz, the best bet for that would probably have been a currency transfer company like Currencies Direct or MoneyCorp. Definitely the way to save significantly on international transfer.


Yes, I used MoneyCorp to do the actual transfer. But the banks told me they took a percentage not for the actual currency transfer but just for making a deposit of a large sum of money! Which seemed outrageous to me.


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Ah, now I see. The usual "can't win" with banks worlwide! Love them!


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## Plym (Jul 14, 2009)

This information is absolutely priceless... many thanks to you all.

So, I'm pretty much helpless here stuck in England... not much I can do until I actually get out there. I presume the absolute first thing I need to do as soon as I arrive is to get an NIE and then after that get a bank account and then i'm golden! I heard good things about LaCaixa too so I think I might go with them.

Now for the important stuff...my mate has always been a Barca fan so I've decided to support local rivals Espanyol and I hear they've moved into a new stadium. Already got a shirt but does anyone know how far their new stadium is from town centre and roughly how much tickets are and how easy are they to get. Also, looking to sign up to a gym and maybe get involved with some local sports team (doesnt matter what it is - altho i'm not expecting cricket!). Any of you guys play and get invovled with local teams?

Finally, last time I went to Barca I flew to Girona but this time I'm flying straight to Barcelona airport. How much roughly is a taxi to the city centre from there? I've read a bus is 5 euros but if a taxi isn't too much more then I'd rather get that.

Cheers!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Plym said:


> This information is absolutely priceless... many thanks to you all.
> 
> So, I'm pretty much helpless here stuck in England... not much I can do until I actually get out there. I presume the absolute first thing I need to do as soon as I arrive is to get an NIE and then after that get a bank account and then i'm golden! I heard good things about LaCaixa too so I think I might go with them.
> 
> ...


Stuff the football nonsense LOL 

However, I think you need the bank account before the NIE. You need the bank account to rent, you need an address to get an NIE and you need an NIE to buy anything major, car, mobile phone, stuff....!!

Thats how we did it anyway, altho we´ve been here 18 months and alot can change over here in that time!!


ok, you may go back to the footie now 
Jo xxx


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

Hmmmmm... keeps fit...into sport! What d'ya think ladies??:eyebrows:


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

A man after my own heart! Anybody that supports Espanyol rather than turning into a glory hunter gets my vote! You really need to get hold of Simon Harris - I am sure he can answer all these points and more (albeit with an azulgran twist!) 

You will find Espanyol (and more!) Expat portal, living in Spain, retiring in Spain. | thisisspain.info They looked a rocking bet for relegation last season but put a late run together and there is great hope in their camp for 2009/2010. Certainly I am banking on them to be above los culés come the end of the season. Actually, Simon does have a soft spot for Espanyol and I am sure he'd love them to do well. The City is sports-mad and I'm sure you will have no problem getting a game of just about anything. There is a busy Liverpool fan club and even if you can't stand next season's runners up you'll get a day one social life BARCELONA REDS - Liverpool F.C. Supporters Club Warning, you will understand their català easier than their scouse! Actually their president is half Greek (serious) I had a quite "interesting" chat with him recently. Small world! Cricket is big there - can't remember the "main man's" family name - George Walenbeek (?) Sri Lankan. Nice Guy. Anyway, I am sure Simon can put you in touch.

All discussion about football is very welcome here. Jojo loves it really don't you, M'am?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> All discussion about football is very welcome here. Jojo loves it really don't you, M'am?



:doh::whip::whip:

Jo xxx


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## Plym (Jul 14, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> A man after my own heart! Anybody that supports Espanyol rather than turning into a glory hunter gets my vote! You really need to get hold of Simon Harris - I am sure he can answer all these points and more (albeit with an azulgran twist!)


Haha... it stems from years of supporting Plymouth Argyle. I kept an eye on La Liga towards the end of last season - pretty good effort to survive and I was surprised to hear Steve Finnan plays for them. Far more fun supporting someone like Espanyol who could finish anywhere from top 6 to bottom. I'd find it boring following someone like Barca who finish every year in the top 3. Was browsing for tickets to Espanyol v Liverpool (first match in new stadium) but impossible to get. Also trying to find some form of English Espanyol supporters branch but cant find any!

Any golfers on here? Any decent courses near Barca?


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

No, no, you know nothing. Barcelona are relegation certainties this season. Who have they signed? Who have Real Madrid signed? It will be a long hard season for the Barcelona team! 

Have you tried the Barcelona Reds for tickets? If so I can try the Costa Blanca Reds or the Mad Madrid Reds for you. 

They go from Barcelona to Lyn Oslo where they have a sell-out but tickets are up to 70GBP!!


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## grahunt (Jan 22, 2009)

Liverpool are playing in Barca!!!!!!! When?


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Did you not know? Versus Espanyol 2/8 to mark the opening of their new stadium. Not much on their official web. PM-ing you ticket details


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## littleredrooster (Aug 3, 2008)

I see Real Madrid are starting out with a really tough challenge,........

Away to Shamrock Rovers this week!


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## MovingtoSpain (May 6, 2009)

Not football connected, but we've just made the move to Barcelona, in mid-June, and here are a few of our observations:

1. We opened an account from the Uk with Halifax Hispania, which is connected to Halifax UK - I already had my current account with them and it means I can transfer money very easily from Uk to Spain without any charges. They have once branch in BCN, at Port Olympic, haven't used them yet to go in, but on the phone they're great and it was all set up for us when we got here. However, I have heard that they refusal to do the Aval (?) ie the bank guarantee which you need to rent out here very often. On plus side, very helpful English speaking people on phone, plus completely free banking. But if you already speak Castilian, less important maybe.

2. NIE - we got ours same day. Go to Joan de Borbon 32, in Barceloneta, with passport, photocopy of passport, and a reason to be here. Fill in the form they give you, get it stamped, go to bank next door (but only on Tues or Thurs 8.30 to 10.30, the banks refuse outsie those times) and pay 10 E, go back, then Bob's your uncle. We got residency that way.

3. Word of warning if you don't have accomm yet - it is prohibitively expensive, far higher than we thought, even though rents have fallen. And some landlords want 6 months in advance. Ours only asked for two, but you may need lots of money up front.

4. Castilian/Catalan - friends of ours who have been here for ages generally get by on Castilian with maybe 10 words of Catalan, though others are learning it, I will try once I have got my head around Spanish - otherwise I would get very confused indeed. They are much more forgiving of foreigners who speak Castilian, but obviously when in Catalunya...you will certainly be very popular if you learn it. Should be fine if you have Castilian and some French, it's like a mix of the two. 

You'll love it here, we feel so at home - give us a shout when you get here if you fancy a coffee!

Kate x


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

Pleased you are enjoying it Kate. Good advice there for anyone needing to go thru' the red tape bit


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## Pacífico (Jul 18, 2009)

Hi,

New here and thinking of moving to Spain soon.

Maybe I should out this as a new thread, but I'm just replying to point 3 of Kate's (MovingtoSpain) with regards to the price of accomodation in Barcelona. Can anyone give an idea of how much you can expect to pay to rent? I've looked at websites, though I know from renting in London for the past seven years that you need to really get out and see places to get a good idea.

We'd be looking for a two-bed place, near a beach to the north, as long as it's within 30-40 minutes of the centre. Any ideas what you would be looking at? We've seen some decent place on the net for around 700 euros, but it's hard to now whether these are half-decent from websites.


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

Pacífico said:


> Hi,
> 
> New here and thinking of moving to Spain soon.
> 
> ...



:welcome: to the forum Pacifico. 
If you don't get much joy on this thread you are better starting your own where I am sure you will get lots of advice. But sorry I can't help you with this one as I live on the CDS.

Good luck.

Chica.x


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## MovingtoSpain (May 6, 2009)

Yes, Grahunt's figures for Barcelona sound about right to me - and also the fact that once you've found somewhere, living well is relatively cheap because so much is free or very reasonable - the entertainment the council puts on, fab cheap gyms or libraries or amazing menus del dia, and the cost of public transport is very low.

Like a lot of Brits, we did want to live right in the centre (well, in El Born) but I know it is cheaper when you get out towards Eixample for example.


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## Plym (Jul 14, 2009)

MovingtoSpain said:


> Not football connected, but we've just made the move to Barcelona, in mid-June, and here are a few of our observations:
> 
> 1. We opened an account from the Uk with Halifax Hispania, which is connected to Halifax UK - I already had my current account with them and it means I can transfer money very easily from Uk to Spain without any charges. They have once branch in BCN, at Port Olympic, haven't used them yet to go in, but on the phone they're great and it was all set up for us when we got here. However, I have heard that they refusal to do the Aval (?) ie the bank guarantee which you need to rent out here very often. On plus side, very helpful English speaking people on phone, plus completely free banking. But if you already speak Castilian, less important maybe.
> 
> ...


Thanks Kate all of that is very helpful! I bank with HSBC who don't appear to have any Spanish sister bank so will have to set up a new account from scratch which is a bit annoying. 

Regarding the NIE... did you need to have a bank account first to get the NIE or visa-versa? Also, what did you say to them regarding your 'reason to be here'. Is it ok just to say to live and 'work from home'?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

you need a bank account before an NIE, our reason for being here was "residential"


Jo xx


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

I had my NIE long before I had a Spanish account - different towns, different rules. As usual!!


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Plym said:


> Regarding the NIE... did you need to have a bank account first to get the NIE or visa-versa? Also, what did you say to them regarding your 'reason to be here'. Is it ok just to say to live and 'work from home'?


If you do't want them to know anything "tramites de tráfico" covers a variety of sins!


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## Pacífico (Jul 18, 2009)

Thanks Grahunt and MovingtoSpain for the replies on Barca accom, very helpful and confirms what I thought. And apologies to Plym for jumping on your thread. At least it bumped it up a bit!


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## Plym (Jul 14, 2009)

Pacífico said:


> Thanks Grahunt and MovingtoSpain for the replies on Barca accom, very helpful and confirms what I thought. And apologies to Plym for jumping on your thread. At least it bumped it up a bit!


No worries Pacifico! 

Moved to Barcelona a few days ago, already got residencia (was surprisingly easy just fill out a form and pay E10) and Bank account. I absolutely love it here! Thanks again to everyone here for supplying useful info.


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## grahunt (Jan 22, 2009)

*I don't believe it!!!*



Plym said:


> No worries Pacifico!
> 
> Moved to Barcelona a few days ago, already got residencia (was surprisingly easy just fill out a form and pay E10) and Bank account. I absolutely love it here! Thanks again to everyone here for supplying useful info.


Christ on a bike!!!
Residencia already. The NIE number alone takes 40 days in Valencia.


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## doug610 (Mar 13, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> You are absolutely 100% on about the individual branches having (or they did have!) more autonomy. I should definitely have put that. I was 100% happy with 8/9 of the BdV branches but one I would just never use - whole wrong "Feel" about it .....and allowed staff to smoke!
> 
> Caz, the best bet for that would probably have been a currency transfer company like Currencies Direct or MoneyCorp. Definitely the way to save significantly on international transfer.


I can certainly recomend Moneycorp had the best rate from them and only paid 15 pound transfer fee the money was in my spanish acount next day


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