Moving back to Spain

Previously my friend was a resident with residencia and Spanish driving licence and in full time work. Would he be able to return and get his residencia back etc or would he have to start again through NLV route.

Kingy0 wrote:Previously my friend was a resident with residencia and Spanish driving licence and in full time work. Would he be able to return and get his residencia back etc or would he have to start again through NLV route.

When did your friend leave spain?
Did your friend have permanent residency?
What documents does your friend have to prove residency?

He could just move back and fill out the form for a TIE showing his previous proof of residency. Such as A4 document or whatever he has. The form for TIE does not ask if you have been resident the entire time, it just asks when you became resident, which would eb his original date. They would then give him a permanent residency TIE card. His potential problem, and its not a guarantee, is with the tax office. He could theoretically be looked at in the future at some point, and asked where he has been.

The NLV is way more difficult than just moving back to Spain and getting an appointment to "update to TIE card". He will need to get on the padron at his local town hall before he goes to the police station appointment. That will be his hardest part, the appointment system is fixed, crooks running it meaning you would need to pay for an appointment.

Many thanks for the replies. One of my neighbours also recently moved back to Spain and had no difficulty exchanging their old paper residency paperwork to the new TIE card. Hopefully my friend would also be able to do so too.