Residency

Both myself and my Wife have A4 Green certificates of registration they are numbered and dated in 2008 , do we need to go and re register for permanent residency

Your A4 Green paper certificate is a Permanent Certificate. It will have it written on it. No need to change unless you want the card one.

I am aware it is a Permanent Certificate and does not need renewing but does it give me Residency

It seems that you have to apply for permanent residency which you can do after five years. It also looks as if you get a card as you did in the old days.

We also have the green certificates and I wonder of you can get the new card with less hassle than the green paper. !!

https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/faq/a ... -resident/

TerryG wrote:It seems that you have to apply for permanent residency which you can do after five years. It also looks as if you get a card as you did in the old days.

We also have the green certificates and I wonder of you can get the new card with less hassle than the green paper. !!

https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/faq/a ... -resident/

If you have a green certificate, whether A4 or credit card sized, then you are a resident in Spain. You are automatically classed as a permanent resident after 5 years from the date of the certificate.

You do not need to apply for permanent residence.

Some people are applying for permanent residence to receive the green credit card sized certificate with the word "permanente" written on it, this is not necessary according to the British Ambassador Simon Manley.

You do need to apply for a new certificate, though, if you change your address from the original certificate.

Any correspondence we receive from the Spanish Government with regards to our residency , possible modified TIE, post Brexit, will be sent to the address on the certificate

Thank you for that Espanabums .. I did see that it was not necessary to change the A4 sized document but I didn`t know that you were classed as permanent after holding one for over five years.
If it`s hassle free getting a credit card one then it may worth doing because they are more convenient to carry .. but knowing Spain.
Any idea of a company that will do this.

TerryG wrote:Thank you for that Espanabums .. I did see that it was not necessary to change the A4 sized document but I didn`t know that you were classed as permanent after holding one for over five years.
If it`s hassle free getting a credit card one then it may worth doing because they are more convenient to carry .. but knowing Spain.
Any idea of a company that will do this.

You misunderstand me Terry, they only issue the credit card sized certificates now, no longer the A4 ones. If you choose to get one that reads "Permanente", or you change your address etc., you need to apply for one all over again.

In Torrevieja this means jumping through all the proof of income, pensions, healthcare etc. It is not without hassle.

Also you can only make an appointment online, in the province in which you live, and in Alicante province there are only a couple of places currently offering appointments, one of them being Benidorm. This is because so many people are applying to beat the Brexit deadline.

The consulate advice is that you keep your appointment , even if it is after 29 March 2019, to have some proof that you are at least trying to comply before Brexit

The British Ambassador to Spain and the Spanish Consulate in Alicante are doing a series of videos on Facebook, here is the first one with lots of information about residency and healthcare.

https://www.facebook.com/BritsInSpain/v ... 266063846/

Thank you. I was under the impression after reading the links that the green A4 `Certificado de la Ciudadano de la Union por Extranjeros `and the credit card sized `Residencia de carácter are permanente` are different, but you say that they are tantamount the same .

I`m not sure how I misunderstood you only for the fact that I didn`t know that the green A4 certificates are no longer issued. Why they changed from the credit sized ones is beyond me.

there has been so much conflicting advice on this subject. I read in one of the papers that you do have to apply for permanent residency after 5 years , but it is not compulsory, and that it would be a good idea to do it as nobody knows what you might need if we leave europe without a deal.. Our residency certificates are now 18 years old and do not have the word 'permanent' on them, so I have asked an abogado to help me to get them. He agrees that you do not have to do it, but it is possible we may need them after Brexit. I am going in March to Alicante.

According to Espanabums you don`t need to apply for permanent residency because ... I quote..." You are automatically classed as a permanent resident after 5 years from the date of the certificate." Therefore .. " You do not need to apply for permanent residence. "

Although the Gov.uk website does say this.. " After you have been registered as a resident for five years, you can apply for a certificate of permanent residence in Spain. You will be issued with a similar credit card size Residence Certificate, but it will additionally state that you are a permanent resident (residente permanente). It doesn`t actually say anywhere that you are classed as permanent after five years registered... so some confusion there.

Maybe your Obogado can tell you so as to save all the hassle of jumping through the hoops again trekking off to Alicante. He should know.

Is it worth it just for the credit sized card Residencia.