Residency

Hi, This is not a new topic however, we have been trying to get a residency appointment and it appears the police are not taking appointment. Has or is anyone else having the same problem? thanks

Word on the street in all areas is that no appointments for uk citizens until November , that also applies to simple things such as changing Nie address ..!!

Oh really, thank you, I guess its ok to leave and return to Spain though

camionpilot wrote:Word on the street in all areas is that no appointments for uk citizens until November , that also applies to simple things such as changing Nie address ..!!

I have heard that appointments , at least for residency, are suspended for the time being until the situation re Brexit becomes clearer and the authorities set up new procedures , not sure it could be anything as specific as 'until November' ...where did you hear that? Why November? If that was true esp in relation to NIEs it would mean the house sales market in Spain would be devastated - as no sales to Brits could go through without an NIE...

No matter what nationality you put in for an appointment in the Alicante region it comes up with no appointments available.
I tried it with Swedish, Dutch and German nationalities and it came up as no appointments at this moment.
Could be they are rather busy with a backlog?

I think you'd have to have been living in some sort of vaccum or bubble to only now be finding out that the waiting times for appointments for residency are either running into many months or are on indefinite hold. Back in middle of last year we had to wait about 6 weeks for one in Orihuela.

I hear they may have stopped it now but back then supposedly you could apply anywhere so could travel out of your area to somewhere there were less foreigners seeking residency and therefore less pressure on appointments.

Re NIE address. Strictly speaking there is no requirement in law to change the address on an NIE. As ever though, and in common with so many other administrative matters in Spain, local interpretations of the law rule!

Hi

Does this only apply to residency application? Will it effect non residence buying holiday homes in the Alicante region.

Barbara

billy bunter wrote:Hi

Does this only apply to residency application? Will it effect non residence buying holiday homes in the Alicante region.


Barbara

Hi Barbara,

You have to have an NIE number to buy a property in Spain, whether you are Resident or Non-resident. The problem with getting the appointment for an NIE is that it's handled by the same offices (National Police/Extranjeros) that process Residency applications - and as a backlog has occurred for the latter, because of Brexit, it seems that it is also now impossible to get an appointment for NIE applications.

Hopefully, once they've processed the backlog of Residency applications, they will open up the appointment system for NIE appointments, even if they have decided not to accept any further applications for Residency until Brexit is resolved. As Shiva helpfully pointed out, to deny issue of NIEs would impact the property market here.

I have heard that you can make an application for an NIE in the UK at the British Consul in Edinburgh and London, so if it's urgent, that may be your best bet.

Cheers,
Paul

Paulr's advice on trying for your NIE via the consulate in the UK is a very good idea. I got mine here but have gathered its possible via the consulate/embassy in UK and to be honest given the uncertainties here re appointments may be the quickest way.I am sure I have read on this forum of people doing it that way and it wasn't too difficult.

Here is the link to the guidance from the Edinburgh Spanish Consulate about getting an NIE though them : http://www.exteriores.gob.es/consulados ... dence.aspx