Registering with S1 forms to obtain permanent SIP card.

Hi
I know this will get me some replies. So first off I am not moaning or knocking the Spanish system .

What I would say is before you got to (Torrevieja) the INSS Instituto Nacional de Seguridad Soicial to do this first. (Social Security Department)

Make an appointment.
Good idea to use an interpreter.

I did neither of these.

I got there early and asked at reception where to go I was directed to a queue not to big though.
I confirmed this with the security man who was there also. I used my best Spanish to confirm that I was in the right queue and I was wish to register for a Tarjeta de Afiliacion.
This is a document that you then take to your local GP surgery and obtain your permanent SIP.. You do need to be a resident of Spain for your permanent SIP and a pensioner.


40 minutes later I get called forward and again in my best Spanish make my request with my happy smiling face.

The lady told me No! She gave me a slip off paper with a telephone number and a web site address and that was it. No adios kiss my whatever.

So ok I should have made an appointment and will not make that mistake again.
I drive home to Rojales very pleasant and go onto the internet. I find the form to complete not a problem. Until !
You have to answer a security question before you can move onto the next page. Example questions. 5-3 = 2. You have to write answer in a box.

The answer is incorrect??? I try possibly another 20 such like questions and none are correct. I must be stupid then.

OK so I decide to call and it is automated and my Spanish is just not good enough to understand 30 words per second (exaggeration) but a lot of words so that was no use.

I then called the information department and waited 10 minutes. I spoke to a lady in my limited Spanish and apologised and asked if she spoke a little English. Her reply No! and cut me off.

So a good day all round really.
So my advice is...


Make an appointment.
Use an Interpreter if you dont speak fluent Spanish.
Keep smiling.

I have now asked an interpreter to help me.

Please before anyone replies stating the obvious, learn Spanish or you should have made an appointment Please dont thank you.

Useful information I got from the INSS.

CITA PREVIA (Appointments)

Tel 901 10 65 70 (automated all in Spanish i think)

http://www.seg-social.es

Good Luck everyone.

OK, I know they keep changing the system but have you tried all avenues?
Firstly, the lady who sits under the stairs at Rojales town hall used to do it for you. Some people say she still does but others say there is now a man there who tells you to go the INSS in Torrevieja and you need an appointment first. Then the next week someone said they went to the town hall and the lady was still there and did it all for them.

I know it's annoying but you could ask there when the lady is back.
Also someone mentioned they just went to the Rojales medical centre with the S1 and they also did it for them.

Again, annoying as they seem to keep changing the system and getting the bum's rush every time would definitely put one off.

It really is annoying because, when we did ours (OK, quite a while back) it was the easiest thing we'd ever done but the lady at the town hall was extremely helpful.

Hi
It is annoying but I am still smiling. I did see the lady in Rojales Town Hall a couple of weeks ago. She was very nice but even she said I should go to INSS. Were you a resident when you did yours? It seems if you want a permanent SIP you need to visit INSS.

I will try the town hall tomorrow as the interpreter I found today did call INSS and there are no appointments at the moment unless i want to drive about an hour Alicante and a little further to Elda, Villajoyosa or Alcoi..
Happy Days. )))

Sorry you seem to be having a difficult time registering your S1. It was one of the easiest things for me to do last year through the helpfulness of the lady under the stairs... If you are saying THAT SAME lady under the stairs has told you she cannot help and you must run the gauntlet of Torrievieja, well that will be the case. It all just feels odd, are you sure you asked the right lady?

And just in case ... are you a Rojales resident? Lady in Rojales can't help you of you are a resident somewhere else.

And more generally...you seem to be having problems because your lack of Spanish language skill means you don't know either what to do or why officials are saying no. Suggest therefore you fork out for a decent gestor to sort it for you. It's YOUR problem, not that of the Spanish system.

Excuse me if you read my original message I did ask for no point the finger replies. Thank you for your words of wisdom though. You seem to be on the ball.

jorel wrote:Excuse me if you read my original message I did ask for no point the finger replies. Thank you for your words of wisdom though. You seem to be on the ball.

Hard to see how anyone can help you. Your situation seems very confused, at least how you present it. Good luck and I hope you can sort it.

We have just been through the process and, from our experience, you do have to have the application approved at the INSS office before you then go back to Rojales ayuntamiento (note, use of Spanish) where the person (either man or woman) will then process it, issue you with a temporary SIP, until you collect the plastic laminated one from Rojales Centro de Salud 2 weeks later (but you will be assigned a doctor at Lo Marabu centro).

My husband made the INSS appointment using the online form, and he had the same trouble with the security question, but he managed to do it (eventually), and I will check with him when he comes back how he did it, and let you know. Didnt use an interpreter - wasn't needed.

Thank you I will try today at the Town Hall in Rojales. It would be nice to know how your husband got past the security question when trying to make an appointment.