Residence

Steps

1. Register on the padrón (population register) of your town hall (Ayuntamiento). The ministry requires it before the residence application.
2. Book an appointment (cita previa) at the Oficina de Extranjeros of the province where you live, or at the police station if there is none.
3. Fill in the official form EX-18 (application for an EU citizen registration certificate).
4. Pay the fee with modelo 790, código 012 (payment form for fee 790, code 012), at a bank, savings bank or credit cooperative. Keep the proof of payment.
5. Turn up at the appointment with your documents, originals and copies.
6. Receive your certificate on the spot. It shows your name, nationality, address, NIE (foreigner identity number) and date of registration.
7. Then report any change of nationality, civil status or address to the Oficina de Extranjeros of your province.

Documents

• For everyone: valid passport or identity card (if expired: copy of the document and of the renewal application), form EX-18, proof of payment of fee 790-012, and the originals and copies of the documents that prove your situation.
• Employee: notice of hiring or employer's certificate, or registered employment contract, or proof of registration with the Seguridad Social (social security).
• Self-employed: registration in the Censo de Actividades Económicas (census of economic activities), the Registro Mercantil (commercial register) or with the Seguridad Social.
• No activity (pensioner, person of independent means…): public or private health insurance that covers you in Spain at a level equivalent to the national health system (taken out in Spain or elsewhere), and proof of sufficient resources for you and your family. Resources are assessed case by case.
• Student: enrolment at a recognised institution, and comprehensive health insurance. The European Health Insurance Card (CEAM) is accepted if it covers the whole length of the stay.

Costs and timelines

• Fee: €12.00 (fee 4.6 of Orden PJC/617/2025 for the certificado de registro de residente comunitario).
• Application deadline: three months from your entry into Spain.
• Issuing time: immediate, at the appointment. The waiting time to get an appointment varies by province.
• Validity: no fixed duration stated; the certificate remains valid as long as you meet the conditions that allowed you to obtain it.

Common pitfalls

• Forgetting the padrón. Without registration at the town hall, your residence application may be blocked.

• Coming without an appointment. The cita previa is compulsory.

• No activity, no insurance. If you do not work, you need health insurance that covers you in Spain like the national health system. The official page only cites the CEAM for students, and only if it covers the whole length of the stay.

• Confusing the certificate and the identity card. The certificate proves your residence, not your identity: always keep your passport or identity card.

• Paying the fee at the wrong time or with the wrong code. Check that you have chosen the line "certificado de registro de residente comunitario" on form 790-012.

• The Canary Islands. The archipelago is an autonomous community, but the residence of EU citizens comes under the national rule (Real Decreto 240/2007): same certificate, same procedure at the Oficina de Extranjeros of your province.

• A refusal of a visa or residence: the deadlines run from notification. The immigration regulation (RD 1155/2024, additional provision 9) refers to the ordinary legal remedies, and the refusal letter must state the remedy, the body and the deadline (art. 28). You have two routes:

  1. the recurso potestativo de reposición (optional prior appeal, addressed to the body that refused), within 1 month if the refusal is express; the administration has 1 month to reply (law 39/2015, art. 123-124);
  2. or directly the recurso contencioso-administrativo (appeal before the administrative judge), within 2 months from notification of the refusal, or of the reply to your reposición (law 29/1998, art. 46). If you do the reposición, you can only go to the judge after its reply or its tacit rejection.

  These deadlines also apply to a refusal of a consular visa (the Washington consulate gives the same: 1 month and 2 months). If the administration does not reply, silence may count as a refusal (regulation, additional provision 8; for non-lucrative residence, art. 63): the reposición remains possible at any time and the appeal before the judge within 6 months (law 39/2015, art. 124; law 29/1998, art. 46). Before the judge, the assistance of an abogado (lawyer) is compulsory (law 29/1998, art. 23). Free legal aid (justicia gratuita) is provided for foreigners who are in Spain and do not have enough resources (law 1/1996, art. 2; organic law 4/2000, art. 22); if you are still abroad, the texts read do not clearly provide for it: to be confirmed.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens: procedure described above (Real Decreto 240/2007).
• Swiss citizens: the EU-Switzerland agreement on free movement is cited in the legal basis of the procedure: same certificate.
• Family members: EU citizens follow a similar procedure; non-European members apply for a tarjeta de residencia de familiar de ciudadano de la Unión (residence card for a family member), same fee of €12.
• British citizens (Scots included): since Brexit, they can no longer apply for this certificate. Those who were already living in Spain before the end of 2020 have a TIE card linked to the Withdrawal Agreement (fee of €12). Those arriving now come under the general regime for foreigners: a visa is needed, requested at the Spanish consulate before leaving (London or Edinburgh, depending on your place of residence). To settle without working (pensioner, person of independent means), the usual route is the non-lucrative residence visa (visado de residencia no lucrativa):
  • Resources: 400% of the IPREM per month for you. The IPREM is the public income indicator used as a reference for benefits and visas; in 2026 it is €600 per month. You therefore need €2,400 per month (€28,800 for the first year), plus 100% of the IPREM, that is €600 per month (€7,200 per year), for each dependent family member. The amount is that of the year in which you submit the application. You prove it by regular income (pension…) or by your savings (bank statements; the Edinburgh consulate asks for 12 months of statements).
  • Health insurance: public or private, with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, covering all the risks covered by Spanish public health (London and Edinburgh consulates). Form S1, once registered with Spanish social security, is accepted. The Washington consulate goes further: it requires insurance without a waiting period, without co-payment and without a coverage cap. The London and Edinburgh pages mention neither excess nor waiting period: ask your consulate before taking out insurance (to be confirmed).
  • Other documents: criminal record for the last 5 years (ACRO certificate for the United Kingdom; Edinburgh specifies that the Disclosure Scotland certificate is not accepted), medical certificate less than 3 months old, passport valid for at least 1 year, with a sworn translation into Spanish for the documents that require it.
  • Submission: in person, by appointment, at the BLS Spain centre of the consulate you come under. You pay on submission the fee modelo 790 código 052 (residence authorisation) and the visa fees; the amounts are on your consulate's page.
  • Timeline: the law gives the Oficina de Extranjería 1 month to decide, once the file has been forwarded by the consulate; with no reply, the application is considered refused (regulation 1155/2024, art. 63). In practice, London announces 2 months and Edinburgh 3 months, extendable.
  • Duration: the initial authorisation lasts 1 year (art. 61); you apply for your TIE card within the month following your entry into Spain (art. 63). It can then be renewed for 2 years (art. 64), provided in particular that you have resided genuinely and effectively for more than 183 days in the calendar year, kept your insurance and resources and paid the fee. The regulation (art. 37) allows a visa valid for up to 1 year and the London and Washington consulates announce 1 year, whereas a page of the Ministry of Inclusion would mention 3 months to enter Spain with the visa: to be confirmed at the time of submission.
  • Ban on working: this visa does not constitute a work permit. It excludes any professional activity, even remote (Washington consulate). To work remotely for a company outside Spain, there is a separate visa, the international remote work visa ("digital nomad", visado de teletrabajo de carácter internacional; law 14/2013, art. 74 bis to 74 quinquies): visa of one year at most, then authorisation of up to 3 years. In 2024, the London consulate asked for at least 200% of the monthly minimum wage and a recognised degree or 3 years of experience: conditions and 2026 amount to be confirmed on its page.
  • In case of refusal: see "A refusal of a visa or residence" in the common pitfalls.