# Is There A Definitive List of 'What I Need To Do To Move To Spain'?



## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

Hello All,

As a relative newby, hoping to move to Spain once I've sold my house. I wondered if there was a definitive list of things to do to go through the process of moving to Spain? 

I realise there is an awful lot of information on here, and some invaluable advice, but I just wondered if there was a list of the things you need to do, and in the recommended order?....even if it is a book anyone could recommend?

I'm not referring to 'rent first' advice, but more the protocol of going through the red tape and bureaucracy etc i.e.....

1, Arrive
2, Get NIE number
3, Notify Padron
4, Get Medical Insurance if necessary
5, Open a Bank account
6, Etc etc

I know it may seem a daft question, but when you're trying to accumulate all the information, I'm sure I'm going to forget something, or do it in the wrong order.

Any help always gratefully received,

Steve


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Steve.R said:


> Hello All,
> 
> As a relative newby, hoping to move to Spain once I've sold my house. I wondered if there was a definitive list of things to do to go through the process of moving to Spain?
> 
> ...


it's going to vary a bit depending on where you are, because although you will have to do the same things, some offices want different bits of paper in different orders....

here though...

1. Arrive
2. Open non-resident bank account & arrange for regular deposits or one biggish one (make that #1 though if you can do it on a trip in advance)
3. Register on padrón
4. Arrange health insurance if you need it 
5. Register as resident - a NIE will be issued at the same time if you don't already have one
6. Change bank account to a resident one


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

Thank you for the reply.

I think I'm getting my head around what I need to do...it's all seeming a lot less daunting...but I'm convinced that I'm going to overlook something major and be deported or thrown in jail!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

It won't be an oversight if you get deported, it will be a major crime!! I assume you have carried out several fact finding 'holidays' and know roughly where you want to live? Of course, the usual advice would be to not sell your home in UK and rent it out just in case things don't go according to plan and you have to return, but if you have already made the decision, fair enough. We sold up before moving out here but we did do a huge amount of research before we came over and also OH's parents have lived in this region for over 10 years so we had a font of knowledge to draw upon. We were fairly confident that we wouldn't be returning to the UK for many many years and that view has only solidified since we've been here, no going back for us, this is home!!

You will make mistakes; I suspect nearly everyone does, but you won't get shot for making them and for us it was part of the learning process and part of the fun. When we came we knew almost no Spanish. I simply cannot learn from books and CDs but knew that immersing myself here would help and it has. Although often fazed by the Andalucian accent I can now hold a conversation with most Spanish I meet and be understood, albeit with a few smiles and giggles thrown in. My four year old son is now correcting my Spanish haha - I always knew he would but didn't expect it to be this soon....

We opened our bank account second day of our life here but didn't know that we had opened a non-resident one. After three months the bank froze the account and we had to become resident for it to be unfrozen (Cajamar and this is still their policy but don't know if other banks do the same - probably not). Make sure your UK driving licence is up to date - the photo bit which has to be renewed every 10 years.

But post away on the forum - someone will know the answer...


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

thrax said:


> It won't be an oversight if you get deported, it will be a major crime!! I assume you have carried out several fact finding 'holidays' and know roughly where you want to live? Of course, the usual advice would be to not sell your home in UK and rent it out just in case things don't go according to plan and you have to return, but if you have already made the decision, fair enough. We sold up before moving out here but we did do a huge amount of research before we came over and also OH's parents have lived in this region for over 10 years so we had a font of knowledge to draw upon. We were fairly confident that we wouldn't be returning to the UK for many many years and that view has only solidified since we've been here, no going back for us, this is home!!
> 
> You will make mistakes; I suspect nearly everyone does, but you won't get shot for making them and for us it was part of the learning process and part of the fun. When we came we knew almost no Spanish. I simply cannot learn from books and CDs but knew that immersing myself here would help and it has. Although often fazed by the Andalucian accent I can now hold a conversation with most Spanish I meet and be understood, albeit with a few smiles and giggles thrown in. My four year old son is now correcting my Spanish haha - I always knew he would but didn't expect it to be this soon....
> 
> ...


I was only joking about being deported 

We have been looking to move to Andalucia for about a year, and seriously looking for about nine months. We were pretty certain of the area we want to be...around Jimena/Casares....but we have also quite thoroughly driven around Andalucia, from East to West, to make sure. There are still areas and villages that are undiscovered to us, but we come over every month or so now, and Jimena is feeling more and more like home, so I think we 're happy with where we're heading for. We are still discovering different places, so until our house sells we are still open to other areas.

We were going to rent first, but we fell in love with a place, and decided we wanted it....unfortunately our house is not sold yet, so we may miss out on the property that we would like to buy....but in a way it has stopped us rushing into anything. So we may resort to renting again. We're going to sell the house in the uk anyway.

We feel pretty confident we would make a go of it in Spain, and very much want to make it home. I think we're pretty adaptable, and can take a few knocks, and feel more excited by it now, rather than the roller coaster of fear/daunting/dread/excitement/worry that haunted the decision to go to Spain to begin with. I'm pretty sure we would never want to return to the uk.

As regards the language...I'm like you, I struggle with cd courses, but would pick it up as I go along...I am doing a course, but trying to fit it around work isn't easy. My partner is having two lessons a week, totalling 3 hours, and she's picked it up very quickly....although she is Italian, and it is a similar language.

I think our biggest fear is falling into one of the many pitfalls that are discussed when buying a place in Spain....we are still deciding which solicitor we would use, and where we would find him, who's recommendation we should trust, and how do we find out if he's any good?....getting a good solicitor is our biggest worry.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

As far as solicitors are concerned, the best advice is don't use a solicitor recommended by the agent selling the house. It isn't always a problem but better to have someone independent. You would still be far, far better off renting for 6 - 12 months, just to be sure you have the right area, and house hunting is far more relaxing when you don't have a strict timescale...


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## el pescador (Mar 14, 2013)

If you don't know any Spanish start now.
Memrise is a good starting point.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Steve.R said:


> Jimena is feeling more and more like home, so I think we 're happy with where we're heading for.


Good choice! It's a great little town, full of character and history and with easy access to everything you need (including Gibraltar for emergency teabag supplies). We live on the other side of the PN Alcornocales, 17 km as the vulture flies but an hour and a half by road.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

If your UK property is on a mortgage, extending that mortgage to finance a purchase in Spain is a possibility (It's what we did) but with today's housing market it is a little more risky.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> (including Gibraltar for emergency teabag supplies). QUOTE]
> 
> No, no, no, that has to be a joke, right? Emergency??? No, no, no.....


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

Alcalaina said:


> Good choice! It's a great little town, full of character and history and with easy access to everything you need (including Gibraltar for emergency teabag supplies). We live on the other side of the PN Alcornocales, 17 km as the vulture flies but an hour and a half by road.


We were initially unimpressed with Jimena, mainly because the square could do with a bit of prettying up...that, and walking up the streets was a nightmare!...but like you say it has everything you need, and the location is ideal...on the doorstep of the PN Alcornocales, near to the coast, an hour to Gibraltar, and athe possibility of day trip to Morocco is a bonus....we feel at home when we arrive there now. We are confident that there, or around that area, is where we want to be.


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> If your UK property is on a mortgage, extending that mortgage to finance a purchase in Spain is a possibility (It's what we did) but with today's housing market it is a little more risky.


I don't think that is an option, even if it was possible....well, unless we were to rent long term rather than buy. If I was to extend my mortgage to the limit of what we need, the repayments would be too high, and I think we would struggle, and the constraints on us in Spain would make the 'new life' a bit strained.

I think until we sell our house, we are using the time to re-think things, take a back step from house viewings, and waiting for us to be able to do something positive. We may go back to getting a long term rental in Spain, keeping our house on the market, and giving it a few months to make sure it's the right move (which we're pretty sure it is) for us...if we find it's not, then we return home, into our unsold house.

But....although it goes against all advice...I think we prefer the idea of being committed to the move. We realise it won't be straight forward, might be frustrating, will most likely be daunting, will definitely be a culture shock...but we have to make it work, because it was the choice we chose to make. We would rather be 'giving it a go' rather than 'seeing if we like it' if that makes sense?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Steve.R said:


> Hello All,
> 
> As a relative newby, hoping to move to Spain once I've sold my house. I wondered if there was a definitive list of things to do to go through the process of moving to Spain?
> 
> ...


Hi Steve.

With a ton of help from people here on the forum, I came up with a to-do list for when I get to Spain. I'm coming in as an Expat from Canada and a Repat to Spain, although I never lived in Spain. So basically I'm like an immigrant to Spain although technically I'm repatriating. I've modified my to-do list that I think would work for someone who is coming in as an immigrant/Expat. Perhaps others on the forum can verify that these are the steps for you, with the links for further info:

1 & 2. Get job and apartment/house in Spain.

3. Open bank account in Spain.

4. Register for Certificado de Empadronamiento.
/SNIP/

5. Register for health card.


6. Register for NIE.
/SNIP/

7. Register as self-employed (autonomo) with Securidad Social. If not self-employed, have employer apply for you. For this link, you can choose the English version in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
Seguridad Social:Internet Ingles

I hope you find this info accurate and helpful.  If others on the forum find this incorrect, please speak up so I don't lead this guy astray.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> Hi Steve.
> 
> With a ton of help from people here on the forum, I came up with a to-do list for when I get to Spain. I'm coming in as an Expat from Canada and a Repat to Spain, although I never lived in Spain. So basically I'm like an immigrant to Spain although technically I'm repatriating. I've modified my to-do list that I think would work for someone who is coming in as an immigrant/Expat. Perhaps others on the forum can verify that these are the steps for you, with the links for further info:
> 
> ...


I've had to remove a couple of your links as they are to another forum, & against our rules

pretty much the same info is in our FAQs thread, &though sadly, that particular website is very often way out of date, too


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Hi Xabiachica. Thank you for cleaning that up to make it Kosher. So are you saying this list is correct?


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

To SteveR
If you have an EHIC card valid for date bring it with you, it will cover you for emergency care/A&E only in Spain, until you get private or Spanish health care sorted.
If you haven't got one apply online, for yourself and any partner/spouse, they only take 10 days max to arrive in the UK, while you still have a home address there.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> Hi Xabiachica. Thank you for cleaning that up to make it Kosher. So are you saying this list is correct?


not quite.....

you won't get a health card as a non-Spaniard until you have registered as resident - which of course you don't have to do


I'd say for someone (EU citizen) working here I'd switch your list a bit to this....

1 & 2. Get job and apartment/house in Spain.

3. Open non-resident bank account in Spain.(although as per my earlier list do this before moving if possible) 

4. Register for Certificado de Empadronamiento.


5. Register for NIE.


6. Register as self-employed (autonomo) with Securidad Social. If not self-employed, have employer apply for you. For this link, you can choose the English version in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
Seguridad Social:Internet Ingles

7. Register as Resident

8. Register for healthcare

9. Change bank account to 'resident'


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Thanks for fixing that up. So the forum members' work with me has paid off for someone else already. That's the idea, to pay it forward, eh? I hope Steve likes this.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

And if you are a bringing a car from the UK, get it changed to Spanish plates within three (?) months of becoming resident.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Here's a really excellent site map of the Spanish government site for the Ministry of Employment and Social Security (Ministerio de Employeo y Securidad Social). You can choose English in the top-right corner of your screen, under "linguistic information:"

Seguridad Social:Mapa Web


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

Alcalaina said:


> And if you are a bringing a car from the UK, get it changed to Spanish plates within three (?) months of becoming resident.


We are planning on selling our UK car, and then buying a new car when we get to spain....we have been told that secondhand cars are both expensive and badly maintained


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

fergie said:


> To SteveR
> If you have an EHIC card valid for date bring it with you, it will cover you for emergency care/A&E only in Spain, until you get private or Spanish health care sorted.
> If you haven't got one apply online, for yourself and any partner/spouse, they only take 10 days max to arrive in the UK, while you still have a home address there.


We both have EHIC cards, but will arrange private medical insurance once we are in Spain, or close to going. Then when we are eligible, we will probably join the 'opt-in' Spanish medical service


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

AllHeart said:


> Here's a really excellent site map of the Spanish government site for the Ministry of Employment and Social Security (Ministerio de Employeo y Securidad Social). You can choose English in the top-right corner of your screen, under "linguistic information:"
> 
> Seguridad Social:Mapa Web


A great link, thanks for that


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Steve.R said:


> We are planning on selling our UK car, and then buying a new car when we get to spain....we have been told that secondhand cars are both expensive and badly maintained


I don't know who told you that but, for the most part, it isn't true. Secondhand cars here *are * a little more expensive than in the UK but if you buy from a good source such as a main dealer, you will get a good vehicle, far, far better than you will get on the secondhand market in UK. More expensive? - a bit but they will most likely not have suffered the hardships they would have in UK, for a start they will not have been driven over heavily salted roads, etc. I am assuming that you will be looking for a sensible vehicle not something that the boy-racers (yes, we have some here, too) will have hammered.

My advice, unless you already have a specific type, make, model in mind is to have a look at the most common vehicle in your new neighbourhood - because that is likely to be the most suitable for where you live and therefore have a reasonable resale value.. If you are in an area where there are old villages and towns, then expect to see a certain number of vehicles with minor scrapes on the sides but that is more down to very narrow roads and very tight corners than bad driving.

We are on or second vehicle in five and a half years - there was nothing wrong with the first one - we just wanted to update slightly while the old one still had a decent resale value. We got this one from the Citroen main Dealer in the next town and we always get excellent service at a good price. The first one we got from a non-franchised dealer quite near the main dealer - we weren't told that its performance would be far from startling yet would carry the load, if we were prepared to wait(!) (this was the first time we had had one of these particular vehicles) It still took us (at a leisurely pace) on a round trip to the UK (via the tunnel). 

From the main dealer, we have the same vehicle but with a smaller engine but with turbo (can now overtake much more safely) and a different badge. It is umpteen times better. The main dealer was quite happy to explain everything so that we had a better idea of what we were buying. A plus point was the main dealer was prepared to give us more PX on the previous car than the dealer from whom we originally bought it! so good deal all round.


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> I don't know who told you that but, for the most part, it isn't true. Secondhand cars here *are * a little more expensive than in the UK but if you buy from a good source such as a main dealer, you will get a good vehicle, far, far better than you will get on the secondhand market in UK. More expensive? - a bit but they will most likely not have suffered the hardships they would have in UK, for a start they will not have been driven over heavily salted roads, etc. I am assuming that you will be looking for a sensible vehicle not something that the boy-racers (yes, we have some here, too) will have hammered.
> 
> My advice, unless you already have a specific type, make, model in mind is to have a look at the most common vehicle in your new neighbourhood - because that is likely to be the most suitable for where you live and therefore have a reasonable resale value.. If you are in an area where there are old villages and towns, then expect to see a certain number of vehicles with minor scrapes on the sides but that is more down to very narrow roads and very tight corners than bad driving.
> 
> ...


I think it has been a general opinion in my research that secondhand cars are quite expensive, and badly maintained....but I'm pleased that you say this isn't generally the case 

Our idea was to buy a new car, and to basically run it for as long as it will last. We've pondered quite a lot on suitable cars...but until we've actually decided which property we are going to buy, it's hard to choose a car that is suitable. Also depending on what property we buy may determine the budget for a car.

I think realistically we're looking for a 4x4 type of vehicle. I don't think we need a full blown Land Rover, or a Defender, but something with a bit of suspension travel, and a reasonable carrying capacity. Our short list so far has raised these options....

Freelander 2....depending on budget.

Dacia Duster.......the Dacia models seem popular in the area, and we've looked at them in a UK showroom and they look good value. Especially as they have Renault engines, and Nissan running gear.

Dacia Stepway....small car, with a bit of suspension travel.

Skoda Yeti....seems an ideal vehicle for Spain?

We did also think of the old style Rav 4, and if you're saying secondhand cars aren't a problem, buying one these, or another suitable vehicle, would be a good option.

All these cars are all generally regarded as 'utility' vehicles, but aren't that big, because like you've said, the narrow streets are an issue...especially in the Jimena area where we hope to buy.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Steve.R said:


> A great link, thanks for that


You're most welcome.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Steve.R said:


> I think it has been a general opinion in my research that secondhand cars are quite expensive, and badly maintained....but I'm pleased that you say this isn't generally the case
> 
> Our idea was to buy a new car, and to basically run it for as long as it will last. We've pondered quite a lot on suitable cars...but until we've actually decided which property we are going to buy, it's hard to choose a car that is suitable. Also depending on what property we buy may determine the budget for a car.
> 
> ...


Our car plan was based on utilty as well and we opted for the Citroen Berlingo, and now have a Peugeot Partner (same vehicle different badge). It can carry five people with plenty of leg room in the back seat and there's is room for their luggage in the back unlike many vehicles that can take either the people or their luggage not both at the same time. It will also take a decent load. We carried our entire collection of kitchen units flatpack in ours, it was a bit weighed down but managed well. Don't know if there is a 4wd version but I believe there is for the Renault Kangoo which is a tad smaller.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Take a look at this website - you can set the options for what you are looking for. it will give you private sales as well as dealers and will give you an idea of what prices are being asked:
AutoScout24: Coches de segunda mano - ofertas coches de ocasión y usados


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Steve, you've listed some vehicles that are available in the North American market (like the RAV4 & Freelander). So here's a really good (and free) Canadian website that does car reviews: Used Vehicle Reviews - Used Car Reviews, Test Drives & Buying Advice - Autos.ca

Personally, if I were to buy a car in Spain, I'd probably pick this car. But admittedly it's probably more a Joaquin Cortes thing than a car thing.


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## JaneyO (Sep 24, 2012)

Check out the info on this forum about avoiding becoming Spanish tax resident in the year you sell your Uk house- if you sell at a profit- as you could be liable for capital gains tax here.
Good luck with it all!


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

JaneyO said:


> Check out the info on this forum about avoiding becoming Spanish tax resident in the year you sell your Uk house- if you sell at a profit- as you could be liable for capital gains tax here.
> Good luck with it all!


Yes I was made aware of that recently....I think I had to complete in July to avoid it, which as it is working put is not going to be a problem if I don't sell my place soon.

I'm still trying to get my head around the Inheritance Tax too...


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