# Residencia approved : what next?



## jakethepeg (Oct 24, 2014)

As the Edwin Hawkins Singers would have it "Oh Happy Day". But what about driving licence, what do I do with my S1, registering for income tax and all the other details. Where do I start?? Any pointers /advice would be most welcome. And now serious house hunting begins, not just watching repeats of a Place in the Sun


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

That must be a big relief for you!

You must apply to change your driving licence before the end of the year - or at least start the process by making an appointment at your nearest DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico). There are lots of threads about this.

You should take your S1 to the nearest INSS office (Instituto Nacional de Seguridad Social) and they will issue you with a card which you can take to the nearest public health centre and register with a family doctor. If you need treatment in the meantime you can show your S1 at the centre and explain the card is on the way.

No need to worry about tax yet. In May 2022 you'll need to declare your total worldwide income for the calendar year 2021. You can get a "gestor" to do this for you or go to the tax office (Agencia Tributaria) with all your paperwork.

Once you've found somewhere to live, register on the padrón at the local town hall. That gives you various rights including a vote in local elections.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

When we registered our S1s with the INSS, what we got next was a document confirming our entitlement to public healthcare. We had to take that to our nearest Centro de Salud and register with them, and a few weeks after that we received our Tarjetas Sanitarias through the post. If we had needed to see a doctor before the cards were received, we were told we could make an appointment just by producing our copy of the document from the INSS.

I guess the process might be slightly different according to which autonomous region you are in.

If you want to get the Agencia Tributaria to complete your annual tax return for you (which is a good service, we have used it several times and it's free) you can't just turn up at their nearest office, you have to make an appointment in advance (a cita previa). That was the case even before the CV19 pandemic. Appointments can be made via their website or by phone, the date when appointments become available from is publicised once the time period for submission of tax returns is due to begin. Once you have submitted your first year's return and have a copy to work from, you can fill in and submit your own tax return online, it's quite easy as long as you understand written Spanish and your tax affairs are not complicated. Unless you have a digital signature which allows you to access lots of different Government services online, you need to get a reference number from the Agencia Tributaria website which involves inputting a figure from your previous year's tax return as well as your NIE number.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

There is an extension of 6 months in which to exchange a licence.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

By the way, if you want to make an appointment for the Agencia Tributaria to complete your tax return for you, the only paperwork you need to take is your passport (for ID), your new TIE (to show your NIE number) and if you own a property, your most recent IBI bill (because they need to input the catastral reference number). If you rent they may want a copy of your rental contract, but we don't so I'm not sure of that. Also if you want to pay by direct debit from your bank account, take something official from your bank with your account details on it.

They do not ask for any proof of the income you are declaring so you do not need to take P60s, letters from pension providers, bank statements, etc. We have always just written down the amount of our pensions (converted into Euros) and the amount of interest on savings on a piece of paper and they just input those figures. If you receive any kind of Crown pension (Civil Service, Local Government, Teacher's Pension, etc) then that figure needs to be shown separately as renta exenta (exempt income).

If you are a couple, they will input all the figures and then show you a comparison between submitting a joint return or individual ones, so you can choose which works out more beneficial for you.


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## Catalunya22 (Apr 25, 2020)

Lynn R said:


> By the way, if you want to make an appointment for the Agencia Tributaria to complete your tax return for you, the only paperwork you need to take is your passport (for ID), your new TIE (to show your NIE number) and if you own a property, your most recent IBI bill (because they need to input the catastral reference number). If you rent they may want a copy of your rental contract, but we don't so I'm not sure of that. Also if you want to pay by direct debit from your bank account, take something official from your bank with your account details on it.
> 
> They do not ask for any proof of the income you are declaring so you do not need to take P60s, letters from pension providers, bank statements, etc. We have always just written down the amount of our pensions (converted into Euros) and the amount of interest on savings on a piece of paper and they just input those figures. If you receive any kind of Crown pension (Civil Service, Local Government, Teacher's Pension, etc) then that figure needs to be shown separately as renta exenta (exempt income).
> 
> If you are a couple, they will input all the figures and then show you a comparison between submitting a joint return or individual ones, so you can choose which works out more beneficial for you.



Lynn....Would a pension from Royal Mail count as renta exenta do you know?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Catalunya22 said:


> Lynn....Would a pension from Royal Mail count as renta exenta do you know?


There is a list here of "public" pension schemes which sets out which ones HMRC consider to be Government pensions and which are non-Government. Royal Mail doesn't appear on it at all as far as I can see, so I would assume not.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/international-manual/intm343040


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## Catalunya22 (Apr 25, 2020)

Lynn R said:


> There is a list here of "public" pension schemes which sets out which ones HMRC consider to be Government pensions and which are non-Government. Royal Mail doesn't appear on it at all as far as I can see, so I would assume not.
> 
> https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/international-manual/intm343040


Thanks Lynn


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## jakethepeg (Oct 24, 2014)

Thank you for all the suggestions. I hate paperwork with an almost perfect hatred, but will have to bite the bullet and get down to it


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## jakethepeg (Oct 24, 2014)

And BTW, I applied at the Alicante office, and from the date we submitted the full paperwork (our S1 was delayed, Covid 19 dontcha know) to to confirmation of residencia was 10 days.


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

What paperwork did you need ? I've been told so many different things, that's why I'm now doing it through my lawyer.


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## jakethepeg (Oct 24, 2014)

Hi Roy, I see you are from Ireland, so a different set of rules for you, and no rush


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

jakethepeg said:


> Hi Roy, I see you are from Ireland, so a different set of rules for you, and no rush


Yes I am Irish Jake but as I've worked in the UK all my life I need to do it this year for S1 purposes.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

Roy C said:


> What paperwork did you need ? I've been told so many different things, that's why I'm now doing it through my lawyer.


Let's hope they know what they're doing, not necessarily a given :fingerscrossed:


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## Glynb (Oct 6, 2016)

We applied (via a Gestor) to exchange our UK driving licences for Spanish. That was in February. We're still waiting!

Found out today that you can still hire a car in Spain on the basis of the form they give you in return for handing over your licence.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Glynb said:


> We applied (via a Gestor) to exchange our UK driving licences for Spanish. That was in February. We're still waiting!
> 
> Found out today that you can still hire a car in Spain on the basis of *the form they give you* in return for handing over your licence.


Yes, but that doesn't work in the UK. A lot of couples exchanged them at different times so one of them can drive if they need to go back in an emergency. Bit late now though!


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## Glynb (Oct 6, 2016)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes, but that doesn't work in the UK. A lot of couples exchanged them at different times so one of them can drive if they need to go back in an emergency. Bit late now though!


Fair point. But at the time everyone was being urged to exchange before the end of 2020 or face the risk of a Spanish driving test! We didn't want that! Nor risk the Spanish closing the door on new 'swaps' in October as could have been the case.

You hear so many rumours. Anyway, we're in the system and if we visit the UK now we're obliged to stay in for two weeks and can't drive anywhere


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## Catalunya22 (Apr 25, 2020)

Glynb said:


> Fair point. But at the time everyone was being urged to exchange before the end of 2020 or face the risk of a Spanish driving test! We didn't want that! Nor risk the Spanish closing the door on new 'swaps' in October as could have been the case.
> 
> You hear so many rumours. Anyway, we're in the system and if we visit the UK now we're obliged to stay in for two weeks and can't drive anywhere



You could drive to Barnard Castle to check if your eyesight is ok.


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