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Residency,
NIE and the abolition of the Residency Card |
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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: All information is presented in good faith
and to the best of our knowledge. Please consult professional entities,
especially re: bureaucratic and legal matters to ensure the information
is accurate. |
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Interesting statistic: Acording to the free daily paper "20
Minutos*" (8th Feb 2006) 603,636 foreigners have residency cards in
Spain. Out of these, 78,000 are EU citizens with Italians coming in at number
one, followed by French, Rumanians, Ucranians and Bulgarians.
*Note:
I recognise, "20 minutos" is not the most reliable source, but
it is interesting nonetheless! |
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Residency and NIE: Eventhough you may not need a visa, you will
require a NIE (fiscal number) if you plan to live and work in Spain |
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EU citizens NIEs: Citizens of the European Union are not required
to get a visa for Spain since they already have the right to residency.
Prior
to March 2003, all EU citizens were obliged to obtain a NIE (Número
de Identidad de Extranjero) AND a residency card (Tarjeta
de Residente Comunitario). Now Tarjetas de Residente are no longer issued,
but the public doesn't always know this. (See below for more info). |
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Getting your NIE
A NIE ( Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is a
number the immigration service issues once you obtain residency (it appears
on your residency card, which many people slighly incorrectly refer to as
NIE). This is your identification number in Spain. It is needed in order
to work, open a bank account, set up a business, and for almost all other
forms you fill out. Both EU citizens and non-EU citizens get issued a NIE.
hello |
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To
apply for your NIE in Barcelona you must go in person to:
....1.
Av.
de Marques de Argentera, 2
....2. calle
Múrcia y la Travessera de Gràcia
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| NOTE |
The immigration
office (oficina de extrangeria) at Av Marques de Argentera is due
to close sometime in 2009, once its replacement office on the Passeig
Sant Joan opens. No date is yet set for this, but be aware of it.
To
view
article on
upcoming changes location of immigration offices in Barcelona click
the given link (Article in Spanish, sorry)
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| Address: |
Start
at Av. de Marques de Argentera, 2, Barcelona 08003...and
once you complete certain paper work here...
Joan de Borbo, 32., (Barceloneta's police
station on 10 minutes walk away...the good news is, is that it is
a nice walk in direction to Barceloneta's beach...enjoy the stroll
as you will have to stand in line again when you arrive |
| Tel: |
93
224 0610 (count yourself luck if they answer!) |
| Hours: |
Mon-Fri
9am - 2pm |
| Metro: |
Barceloneta
- (L4)...yellow line |
| NIE |
Click
link to download NIE
application form 14 (PDF doc) |
| Tips: |
1.
Queues can be long so be prepared to wait. One of our members arrived
a 7am and still was only number 12 in the line!
2. Incredibly, theydo not always speak English
so start befriending someone in the queue who does!!!
3. They will no photocopy any documents for you,
so be sure you arrive with all said photocopies!
4. Here you will receive a stemped form (and a
copy of above form but it's better to fill out the details at home).
That is all.
5. With this stamped form you are sent to the Comisaria
de Policia de la Barceloneta. Address: P. Joan de Borbo, 32. This
is a 10 minutes walk.
6. At this police station, line up in either the
middle or right handed queue. Here they will review your form and
register your details in a computer. Then you will receive another
form from them.
7. With this form you are asked to go to the nearest
bank (two shops towards the sea) and pay a small tax of 6 euros.
From the bank you will receive a statement of this payment.
8. With this statement you need to go back to the
Police Station and stand in the left queue. And it is here that
you will immediatly receive your N.I.E number! |
Click
the link for a complete list of "Offices for foreigners"
in Catalunya and the different processes they handle addresses
and specialties (these seem to include student visas etc)
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| Different
offices process different requests. The one given above is
for NIE (ie: EU residents). To access MIR's other
application forms |
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IMPORTANT: As of April 2007 the targeta de residencia,
a card incorporating your NIE (ie: fiscal ID number), your personal
details (including address), photograph and fingerprint are no longer
issued to EU citizens. A formal A4 document is instead issued stating
that a "targeta de residencia" is no longer needed as a form
of identification. You can opt to walk around with the precious document
folded up (which will soon get damaged), or if you drive, carry around
your drivers license instead.
Until
the general public understand that the Targeta de Residencia is no longer
issued to EU citizens, you are likely to have to spend a couple of minutes
explaining this to people. Frustrating yes, but, as the Spanish love to
say "Es lo que hay!". |
| Goodbye
to the 'residencia' card and hello to the "Registro Central de Extranjeros"
Instead, all
EU citizens have to register with the 'Registro Central de Extranjeros'.
If you have a valid 'residencia', you have to register when it runs out.
Registering
at the "Registro Central de Extranjeros"
Go to the Oficina
de Extranjeros (in Barcelona, it’s at Ave Marquis de Argentera,
next to Estación de Franca)
or the relevant
Comisaría de Policía for your area.
Take
the original and photocopies of :
- Your passport
or ID card from your country of origin
- Your current
Spanish residency ID card if you have one
- A completed
form EX16 form. Click link to download the EX16
application form in PDF
More
Information for EU citizens: Ministerio
del Interior "Registro Central de Extranjeros" . Check out
the FAQ
PDF doc it is very helpful...(but only available in Spanish)
You can also
call them toll free on: 900 150 000 (option 5)...ehem...of
course...when I tried to press option 5...all I got was silence....hmm...hopefully
you will have better luck.
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