# Residencia taking ages



## Duchess (Sep 28, 2009)

We have a lady who has so far got us our NIE. She is now dealing with our residencia.
We have lived here now for 4 months, and gather it has to be done within 6 months, is this correct?

Also, she has taken a copy of ours of our marriage certificate, which she says needs to be translated, because we are under pension age and we need to prove that we are married. She also took bank statements to prove we have enough money until his pension starts.

I have another thread posted about what she says about buying a car and import tax which I gather is not required to be paid.

I just want some advice to see if all the above are the correct procedures, and we're worried about how long it's all taking, especially the residents'' cards!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Hi, I am not certain about the need for a marriage certificate; we did not require ours as the residencia is an individual thing. Of course, the rules change and also differ from one region to another. Translation of the marriage certificate is no bad thing as you will need it again when your husband retires and then qualifies to go onto the Spanish state healthcare. You will also be eligible as his dependant but will need to prove you are married to him. You also need to provide proof of healthcare which, assuming you are not on the Spanish system, will need to be private insurance. And of course you will need your passports. Normally, the whole process takes about a week maximum although I've heard of others which took far longer. Ours took 2 hours.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Duchess said:


> We have a lady who has so far got us our NIE. She is now dealing with our residencia.
> We have lived here now for 4 months, and gather it has to be done within 6 months, is this correct?
> 
> Also, she has taken a copy of ours of our marriage certificate, which she says needs to be translated, because we are under pension age and we need to prove that we are married. She also took bank statements to prove we have enough money until his pension starts.
> ...


Registering as resident is done on the spot, & the card issued there & then, once you have all the paperwork. 

Yes the marriage cert. needs to be apostilled &/or translated depending on the office. Legally, the apostille is supposed to be sufficient.

If she has had the cert. apostilled/translated, you have private healthcare, & you have the bank statements - it's simply a case of going to the extranjería - *you have to go in person to sign*

You might need an appointment, but most extranjerías give appointments within a few days of asking for one.

You didn't need to get a NIE number first, since one would have been issued at the time of registration.

You are supposed to register within 90 days of arrival, but don't worry too much - they won't kick you out for being a bit late!

That said, it does sound as if she's dragging her feet - & if she told you that you had to get a NIE first & separately to registering, the cynic in me suspects it's a way of charging you twice  


My understanding with the car, is that if you've owned it for 6 months before moving here - & going on the padrón which you should do as soon as you move here, there's no 'import tax' . It isn't really an import tax, but I know what you mean.


If she hasn't already had the marriage cert apostilled, you can arrange that yourself very easily - & cheaply. If she hasn't got that far yet, I'd be tempted to tell her that I was going to do to all myself & save the money. It really is a very simple procedure.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

thrax said:


> Hi, I am not certain about the need for a marriage certificate; we did not require ours as the residencia is an individual thing. Of course, the rules change and also differ from one region to another. Translation of the marriage certificate is no bad thing as you will need it again when your husband retires and then qualifies to go onto the Spanish state healthcare. You will also be eligible as his dependant but will need to prove you are married to him. You also need to provide proof of healthcare which, assuming you are not on the Spanish system, will need to be private insurance. And of course you will need your passports. Normally, the whole process takes about a week maximum although I've heard of others which took far longer. Ours took 2 hours.


They started demanding apostilled/translated marriage cers - & birth certs for kids - about 4 years ago


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## Duchess (Sep 28, 2009)

thrax said:


> Hi, I am not certain about the need for a marriage certificate; we did not require ours as the residencia is an individual thing. Of course, the rules change and also differ from one region to another. Translation of the marriage certificate is no bad thing as you will need it again when your husband retires and then qualifies to go onto the Spanish state healthcare. You will also be eligible as his dependant but will need to prove you are married to him. You also need to provide proof of healthcare which, assuming you are not on the Spanish system, will need to be private insurance. And of course you will need your passports. Normally, the whole process takes about a week maximum although I've heard of others which took far longer. Ours took 2 hours.


Thanks thrax she has asked for copies of our private healthcare, which we have taken out, so it all sounds good.
We just wanted to make sure everything is done correctly. I like the fact that I'll be eligible for state healthcare as his dependant. Would you advise continuing with private after he qualifies for state healthcare, or is the state system good enough to rely on?


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## Duchess (Sep 28, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> Registering as resident is done on the spot, & the card issued there & then, once you have all the paperwork.
> 
> Yes the marriage cert. needs to be apostilled &/or translated depending on the office. Legally, the apostille is supposed to be sufficient.
> 
> ...


Very helpful info thank you. She's had our marriage certificate for 4 weeks, and I'm getting fed up of waiting!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I thought you had to be physically present to have a NIE/Residencia issued. We got ours and Residencia at the same time, on the spot, when we applied at the Police Department that deals with these things. Very easy to do yourself, no need to pay anyone.
If you are eligible for regional 'free' health care should you need to show proof of private provision?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> I thought you had to be physically present to have a NIE/Residencia issued. We got ours and Residencia at the same time, on the spot, when we applied at the Police Department that deals with these things. Very easy to do yourself, no need to pay anyone.
> If you are eligible for regional 'free' health care should you need to show proof of private provision?


Duchess said that they are early retirees, so they do need private healthcare

I agree - it seems that she has actually done all the legwork herself, so why pay someone to go with them, when they can do it themselves??


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

Duchess, I'm not sure where you are living, but it isn't an easy thing to do in all parts of Spain, not anymore. In Barcelona, you can only get an appointment if you log on to the website between 8 and 10am on a Monday morning. You can't just turn up and hope there's a cancellation. The appointments are for three or four weeks in advance. If you aren't lucky getting an appointment when you log on, you have to wait until the next Monday and try again. When you get to your appointment, if you're missing anything there's no leeway, they kick you out and you have to start the process again. They will only speak Spanish and Catalan. If you aren't fluent in either you'll struggle.

I'm not trying to scare you. Hopefully you aren't in Barcelona and where you live is much easier and relaxed. But it's not always as easy as others say. I'm not convinced it's easy anywhere anymore since the crash but I don't know.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

xabiachica said:


> Duchess said that they are early retirees, so they do need private healthcare
> 
> I agree - it seems that she has actually done all the legwork herself, so why pay someone to go with them, when they can do it themselves??


Is the Solicitud still on the Stickies, I wonder? That is very useful. 
Our Police Station gives out fifty tickets at 09.00 each morning. Once you've got your ticket it takes about an hour and ten euros each (in 2008) to get everything sorted.
We spoke very little Spanish then but the official who dealt with us spoke English. This ever helpful Forum told us exactly what we needed to take with us so there were no problems whatsoever.
When we filled in the box that asked for reason for coming to Spain or something like that we wrote that we intended to spend our retirement here...so we got NIE and Residencia on one A4 sheet.


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## Duchess (Sep 28, 2009)

We are not paying for the residencia or NIE for reasons I won't go into, and yes, we did go to the police station and have got our NIE's.
It was just the process for the residencia that I'm concerned about and I've decided to chivvy her along after Easter!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Duchess said:


> We are not paying for the residencia or NIE for reasons I won't go into, and yes, we did go to the police station and have got our NIE's.
> It was just the process for the residencia that I'm concerned about and I've decided to chivvy her along after Easter!


Glad you aren't paying! She doesn't seem to be doing anything for you  maybe that's why 

You will have to go to the police station/extranjería again to sign on the list of EU residents (register as resident/get residencia or whatever you want to call it) 

It could all have been done in one trip though


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Is the Solicitud still on the Stickies, I wonder? That is very useful.
> Our Police Station gives out fifty tickets at 09.00 each morning. Once you've got your ticket it takes about an hour and ten euros each (in 2008) to get everything sorted.
> We spoke very little Spanish then but the official who dealt with us spoke English. This ever helpful Forum told us exactly what we needed to take with us so there were no problems whatsoever.
> When we filled in the box that asked for reason for coming to Spain or something like that we wrote that we intended to spend our retirement here...so we got NIE and Residencia on one A4 sheet.


You do realise it's 2016 already?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Helenameva said:


> You do realise it's 2016 already?


And your point is?


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> And your point is?


I think maybe the rules, prices, attitudes are different 8 years on, don't you? Did you have to show your healthcare documents, bank statements, work contract? Is turning up at 9am still the procedure? The price 8 years ago isn't very useful. Attitudes have changed, things are much stricter now. Whilst your personal experience sounds lovely, it doesn't really have much relevance today.

It's like saying, Flying from Malaga airport is easy, you can check in two suitcases for free, don't forget to ask for a seat on the plane in the non smoking section, the queue at customs is a bit long, it isn't mechanised but at least all they do is have a quick peek in your bag and your off, cost about 2000 pesetas.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Helenameva said:


> I think maybe the rules, prices, attitudes are different 8 years on, don't you? Did you have to show your healthcare documents, bank statements, work contract? Is turning up at 9am still the procedure.


Answers:

No
No
Yes.


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