Job Discussion Forums

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

Hey, a real question!!

Can I just turn up in Spain with my EU passport and start living there, going to the doctor when I'm sick and taking advantage of all the other things I'll be eligible for, or do I have to get some kind of permission to stay?

Given that Spain is probably somewhat like Mexico in the bureaucracy department (I've heard it said that Spain is where Mexico learned it all from), should I apply for this mysterious piece of paper now, for an anticipated mid-September arrival?

If yes to the above two, where???

Thanks!

Lozwich.

SEndrigo · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 437

Hi,

If you have an EU passport that's all you'll need. When you arrive you can apply for a resident card and you can also apply for the Spanish national health system.

No worries, if you have an EU passport!

Mouse · Joined: 24 Dec 2003 Posts: 208

As far as I'm aware, you can just turn up and claim your EU-given rights without any extra bits of paper. Whether they'll give you what you've asked for, punctually at least, is another story (but not a very interesting one)...

jamesll · Joined: 30 May 2004 Posts: 15 Location: Spain

Lozwich
From my experience, at the medical centre, they might ask you for 'El Certificado de Insripci�n Padronal', which you get from the local town hall which basically confirms you live in that town. The problem at the town hall is that they might ask you for paperwork in order to get the certificate. e.g a copy of your rental contract for your flat. This may not be a problem, but how many teachers have their names on the rental contract of a flat? I don't know. What they need is some kind of proof of residency in that town.

As for the residents permit or NIE, in theory, you don't need one now (Real Decreto feb 2003), but in practice.......we are in Spain after all! I remember last year, the secretary in the school trying to sort out my contract and not understanding the concept of me not having an up-to-date number (numbers are very important in Spain). I tried to convince her, who was in turn trying to convince the gestor and INEM, that I wasn't just a number, I was a free man! If you do choose to go through the process of applying for residency be prepared to be treated like cattle. When I applied once when I was in Andalucia, there was one person dealing with a queue of about 200 people, and as the crowd grew more unruly the policeman outside threstened to pull out his weapon to control the crowd. Needless to say in the section for Spaniards renewing their DNI cards the staff outnumbered the customers. Also be patient: the average waiting time now is 27 years for a five year card.
Catch you later
Jamesie

gsbcn08080 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 73

Getting medical insurance was the only thing that I found really easy in Spain and that did not involve any paperwork. I went to the nearest "ambulatorio" ( local doctor) told them I was living in Barcelona, showed them my passport and they asked me for an address. They never asked me if I was working. In two weeks they sent me a medical card ( looks like a visa) and with that I can go to any doctors, hospitals, etc.