# Residency & receiving mail



## expatrocks (Jan 16, 2012)

After a 7-month process, I think I'm about to receive Spanish residency thanks to my Spanish wife. I'm going in for fingerprints this coming week. Does anyone know if I need to bring anything to the appointment besides photos, photocopies of my US passport, my wife and her Spanish DNI, and some cash? The letter they sent to my address here in Spain never arrived so we're going from the info online which I've found is not always correct. If I have to come back another day because I don't have everything, it will be a slight disaster because I'm flying to the US for an extended period the day after the appointment. I can't fly out later and it's just a coincidence that the appointment came through right before we have to leave.

Another problem is receiving mail from the Spanish government. I can imagine it is very important. The mailing address they have isn't completely reliable. Can I get a post office box or a Mail Boxes Etc. box and have them send all mail to that address? Do they do that sort of thing?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

expatrocks said:


> After a 7-month process, I think I'm about to receive Spanish residency thanks to my Spanish wife. I'm going in for fingerprints this coming week. Does anyone know if I need to bring anything to the appointment besides photos, photocopies of my US passport, my wife and her Spanish DNI, and some cash? The letter they sent to my address here in Spain never arrived so we're going from the info online which I've found is not always correct. If I have to come back another day because I don't have everything, it will be a slight disaster because I'm flying to the US for an extended period the day after the appointment. I can't fly out later and it's just a coincidence that the appointment came through right before we have to leave.
> 
> Another problem is receiving mail from the Spanish government. I can imagine it is very important. The mailing address they have isn't completely reliable. Can I get a post office box or a Mail Boxes Etc. box and have them send all mail to that address? Do they do that sort of thing?


congrats!! let us know how you get on :clap2:

yes, the postal service can be erratic, especially if the name of the street or the postcode has ever changed

pretty much everyone in my town uses 03730 as their postcode, but in fact that's correct for only a very small area, & every now & then the correos decides to make a point of not delivering anything with the wrong code 

if you go to the correos you can rent a PO box there, usually cheaper than a private company


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

expatrocks said:


> ...
> 
> Another problem is receiving mail from the Spanish government. I can imagine it is very important. The mailing address they have isn't completely reliable. Can I get a post office box or a Mail Boxes Etc. box and have them send all mail to that address? Do they do that sort of thing?




The beauty of them is that they are open 24/7 - at least ours is. This means that I can get my mail at any time of day or night and not just when the correos is open.


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## Bfpijuan (Apr 6, 2011)

expatrocks said:


> After a 7-month process, I think I'm about to receive Spanish residency thanks to my Spanish wife. I'm going in for fingerprints this coming week. Does anyone know if I need to bring anything to the appointment besides photos, photocopies of my US passport, my wife and her Spanish DNI, and some cash?
> 
> Hi, I don't recall about paperwork at that time. But, I would say don't forget to have actual passport with you. I do remember that I did not receive the residency card that day and had to return a couple of weeks later to pick it up.


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## expatrocks (Jan 16, 2012)

Thanks, I will bring my US passport for sure too.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I need my Spanish mail to be forwarded to my office in the US periodically. This must rule out Correos, right? Will Mail Boxes Etc. do this? I can imagine it will be pricey but I should be getting next to no mail in Spain, although I think the mail I do get from the government could be important.

How can I change the mailing address the Spanish government uses for me?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

expatrocks said:


> Thanks, I will bring my US passport for sure too.
> 
> One thing I forgot to mention is that I need my Spanish mail to be forwarded to my office in the US periodically. This must rule out Correos, right? Will Mail Boxes Etc. do this? I can imagine it will be pricey but I should be getting next to no mail in Spain, although I think the mail I do get from the government could be important.
> 
> How can I change the mailing address the Spanish government uses for me?



Mail redirection in Spain is poor (at best). I'm not sure that Mailboxes offer this service - I suspect not.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Finger prints? I never had mine taken when I became a resident.


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## Bfpijuan (Apr 6, 2011)

Thumbprint goes on the back of the card.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Hepa said:


> Finger prints? I never had mine taken when I became a resident.


But then you came from within the EU and don't have a DNI.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Hepa said:


> Finger prints? I never had mine taken when I became a resident.


non-EU citizens have to do the fingerprint & photo thing

at least their cards are good as ID though.....


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Hepa said:


> Finger prints? I never had mine taken when I became a resident.


I have to retract the above, her who knows everything has just corrected me


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Hepa said:


> I have to retract the above, her who knows everything has just corrected me


was that for the old 'residencia' then?

you don't have to have them done now


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Yes the old one, over 10 years ago.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Hepa said:


> Yes the old one, over 10 years ago.


that would be right


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## Chica22 (Feb 26, 2010)

I dont know anything about a US Citizen gaining residencia. However my advice would be to take an Empadronmiento from the Town Hall, if you are registered at a Town Hall here (original and photocopy).

Although we have lived at the same address for nearly 7 years, the number of times we have been asked for an up to date empadrionmiento at the various official residences is unbelievable.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

At least in the extranjería office where I go, fingerprinting is what happens _after _you've turned in all the millions of papers they ask for and after your residency has been approved. So I'm a bit confused about them calling you in for fingerprints if you haven't turned in the paperwork yet. Or have you turned it all in? 

All I've had to take when going for fingerprinting is my passport and the letter telling when to go in. The last time I renewed my card (2 years ago) it took them about 6 weeks to fabricate the card after they fingerprinted me. I could check online to see if the card was ready, and I had to go in person (with my passport) to pick it up.


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## expatrocks (Jan 16, 2012)

Yes I've already gone through the whole process and been approved. I'm just used to being asked for a million documents and I'm trying to make sure I bring everything with me for the fingerprint appointment today because I fly to the US tomorrow.

Thank you everyone for your help and please let me know if you have any idea how I could change the mailing address the Spanish government uses for me.


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## expatrocks (Jan 16, 2012)

Wow! We went to our "appointment" (something lost in translation there) and while in line at the police station, my wife asked an officer what we needed to have with us and she discovered that we needed to have a form that proved we had deposited 10.30 Euros at a bank. The officer told her all banks were closed because it was 3PM and that we would have to come back the next day. Cash was not an option. That would be a big problem because we had to fly to the US the following day. She thought fast and called her friend who used to work at a bank. Her friend called her previous coworker and discovered that the Santander bank in a nearby mall was open. She picked my wife up from the police station, they made the deposit at the bank, and she brought her back to the station just in time to hand everything over to the officials and save the day. The residency card won't be ready for a few weeks but we were told that we could go to the local Spanish consulate in the US and they would be able to have the residency card sent there for us to pick up. Great success!


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