Talk Quesada forum

Having read through all the posts in this thread there are lots of broad statements that may be correct in some situations, but could be incorrect in others.

Take my personal situation as an example...
I applied for an NIE when we bought our house about 14 months ago, so was issued with one which includes the statement on the bottom saying that the certificate expires after 3 months. If I went through the renewal process then I'd keep the same number, but hopefully now get a certificate that doesn't expire.

I spend less than 6 months of the year in Spain, so am not a resident. In addition, I spend less than 3 months at a time in Spain, so don't need to register for residencia. As a result, I can't register for the padron either.

I have a Spanish registered car in Spain and needed my NIE certificate to register it. At this point the certificate was in date, so no problem. I'm told that if I wanted to replace my car in future then I may get away with a photocopy that blanks-out the 3 month expiry date at the bottom of the form, but it's not guaranteed. An NIE isn't needed to sell a car, but it is required to register one. It's needed because you're paying a purchase tax, and your NIE is your tax reference number.

If you have a residencia then I believe that you need to be currently registered on the padron as well to be able to register a vehicle, but I may be wrong about this.

Hope this help to clarify the situation for part-time visitors to Spain who want to buy a vehicle.

Pete.

PeteKnight wrote:Having read through all the posts in this thread there are lots of broad statements that may be correct in some situations, but could be incorrect in others.

Take my personal situation as an example...
I applied for an NIE when we bought our house about 14 months ago, so was issued with one which includes the statement on the bottom saying that the certificate expires after 3 months. If I went through the renewal process then I'd keep the same number, but hopefully now get a certificate that doesn't expire.

I spend less than 6 months of the year in Spain, so am not a resident. In addition, I spend less than 3 months at a time in Spain, so don't need to register for residencia. As a result, I can't register for the padron either.

I have a Spanish registered car in Spain and needed my NIE certificate to register it. At this point the certificate was in date, so no problem. I'm told that if I wanted to replace my car in future then I may get away with a photocopy that blanks-out the 3 month expiry date at the bottom of the form, but it's not guaranteed. An NIE isn't needed to sell a car, but it is required to register one. It's needed because you're paying a purchase tax, and your NIE is your tax reference number.

If you have a residencia then I believe that you need to be currently registered on the padron as well to be able to register a vehicle, but I may be wrong about this.

Hope this help to clarify the situation for part-time visitors to Spain who want to buy a vehicle.

Pete.

Actualy Peter most of what you are saying is correct but if you live in the Rojales are which a lot of the people on the forum do you can register on the Padron even as a part timer and non resident in Spain FACT! you don't have to but it is benefficial to the community in our area.

The idea of the 3 month expiry was so that people would clarify their status as either resident or non-resident. There is a bit on the bottom of the application for an NIE that asks if you are applying as a resident or a non-resident.
If becoming a resident, you would be issued a green resident card which contains your NIE so the NIE certificate itself becomes just another piece of paper. Your green resident card never has to be updated as it is valid for life along with the NIE number.
If you applied as a non-resident, you would be issued a non-resident card which, again, contains your NIE number so the NIE certificate is, again, just another piece of paper. The non-resident card is valid for 2 years but the NIE number is valid for life. You would simply renew your non-resident certificate every two years or until you become resident.

The system didn't seem to be working so they have reverted, again, to an NIE certificate that has no expiry date but please do not mix the certificate up with the number.
Regarding the padron, only those whose main residency is in Spain should sign on the padron. It puts you on the electoral role and you are able to vote in local and EU council elections.
Some town halls still allow non-residents to sign on the padron as a non-resident (Rojales being one of them) and will even issue a temporary SIP card on the basis of it. I don't think Orihuela Costa or Torrevieja allows you to sign on the padron unless your are a permanent resident.
As a resident, my NIE certificate is stuffed away in a file somewhere and still has an old address from the Orihuela Costa on it. I've never needed to show it for anything, including buying a car, and when the bank was updating our records they didn't ask for it, just the resident card.
Our next door neighbour, a non-resident who got the non-res certificate, had their bank details updated and only needed to show the non-res card, not the NIE certificate.
Things do change and different municipal areas (like Rojales and Orihuela Costa) have different rules. Best to check at the town hall what you can and can't do.
As an example, when I was in the process of selling my house in Quesada, the agent told me I'd need a 2nd licence of occupation (or 2nd habitation licence). The guy at the Rojales town hall looked at me as if I was stupid when I asked for one and said you don't need it. Apparently you do need one if you come under Orihuela Costa so, as said, different rules for different municipal town halls.

scubydoo wrote:Actualy Peter most of what you are saying is correct but if you live in the Rojales are which a lot of the people on the forum do you can register on the Padron even as a part timer and non resident in Spain FACT! you don't have to but it is benefficial to the community in our area.

I live near Villamartin and am told that Playa Flamenca town hall don't allow you to register on the padron unless you hold a residencia.
Even if they did allow it, I'm not sure I'd bother going through the process as I have other ways to spend my time when I'm in Spain. If the process was easier then maybe I'd do it - if it were allowed - but it seems that like most things in Spain the process is overly bureaucratic.

Pete.

PeteKnight wrote:

scubydoo wrote:Actualy Peter most of what you are saying is correct but if you live in the Rojales are which a lot of the people on the forum do you can register on the Padron even as a part timer and non resident in Spain FACT! you don't have to but it is benefficial to the community in our area.

I live near Villamartin and am told that Playa Flamenca town hall don't allow you to register on the padron unless you hold a residencia.
Even if they did allow it, I'm not sure I'd bother going through the process as I have other ways to spend my time when I'm in Spain. If the process was easier then maybe I'd do it - if it were allowed - but it seems that like most things in Spain the process is overly bureaucratic.

Pete.

Again, different town halls. Going on the padron in the Rojales town hall takes about 3 or 4 minutes and you simply need your passport, NIE (or non-resident certificate) and nota simple or rental agreement. Renewing it takes about 2 minutes. Once you have it, a lady in the same building will issue you a temporary healthcard so you can see a GP without signing in with your EHIC every time.
Orihuela Costa town hall, on the other hand, would probably take a few hours if they allowed it at all. More than likely having another meeting on forming a coalition with someone or other. Still many areas under their control that don't even have a first licence of occupation after some 12 or 13 years.

Some great background information.thank you .
I am using a lawyer to pursue this and because I have renewed my passport since my initial nie am having to get a notarised copy of it sent from the a notary in uk( £25 plus 60e for lawyer in spain it's all adding up to an expense I wasn't expecting.).

marcliff wrote:The idea of the 3 month expiry was so that people would clarify their status as either resident or non-resident. There is a bit on the bottom of the application for an NIE that asks if you are applying as a resident or a non-resident.
If becoming a resident, you would be issued a green resident card which contains your NIE so the NIE certificate itself becomes just another piece of paper. Your green resident card never has to be updated as it is valid for life along with the NIE number.
If you applied as a non-resident, you would be issued a non-resident card which, again, contains your NIE number so the NIE certificate is, again, just another piece of paper. The non-resident card is valid for 2 years but the NIE number is valid for life. You would simply renew your non-resident certificate every two years or until you become resident.

The system didn't seem to be working so they have reverted, again, to an NIE certificate that has no expiry date but please do not mix the certificate up with the number.
Regarding the padron, only those whose main residency is in Spain should sign on the padron. It puts you on the electoral role and you are able to vote in local and EU council elections.
Some town halls still allow non-residents to sign on the padron as a non-resident (Rojales being one of them) and will even issue a temporary SIP card on the basis of it. I don't think Orihuela Costa or Torrevieja allows you to sign on the padron unless your are a permanent resident.
As a resident, my NIE certificate is stuffed away in a file somewhere and still has an old address from the Orihuela Costa on it. I've never needed to show it for anything, including buying a car, and when the bank was updating our records they didn't ask for it, just the resident card.
Our next door neighbour, a non-resident who got the non-res certificate, had their bank details updated and only needed to show the non-res card, not the NIE certificate.
Things do change and different municipal areas (like Rojales and Orihuela Costa) have different rules. Best to check at the town hall what you can and can't do.
As an example, when I was in the process of selling my house in Quesada, the agent told me I'd need a 2nd licence of occupation (or 2nd habitation licence). The guy at the Rojales town hall looked at me as if I was stupid when I asked for one and said you don't need it. Apparently you do need one if you come under Orihuela Costa so, as said, different rules for different municipal town halls.

Hi Marclif you state ' only those whose main residency is in Spain should sign on the padron'. Rojales however ask all to sign up as this provides funds for the area from government and there are so many non residents they do not get enough funds from government for the number of houses in the area for general maintanence etc. So all the residents and non residents actually suffer from the lack of funding. Anyone in the Rojales area who wants to see the place maintained properly should sign on and as you said it is not a big thing to do but is benificial to all in the area. So if you are in the Rojales area please sign on for everyone's sake.

scubydoo wrote:

marcliff wrote:The idea of the 3 month expiry was so that people would clarify their status as either resident or non-resident. There is a bit on the bottom of the application for an NIE that asks if you are applying as a resident or a non-resident.
If becoming a resident, you would be issued a green resident card which contains your NIE so the NIE certificate itself becomes just another piece of paper. Your green resident card never has to be updated as it is valid for life along with the NIE number.
If you applied as a non-resident, you would be issued a non-resident card which, again, contains your NIE number so the NIE certificate is, again, just another piece of paper. The non-resident card is valid for 2 years but the NIE number is valid for life. You would simply renew your non-resident certificate every two years or until you become resident.

The system didn't seem to be working so they have reverted, again, to an NIE certificate that has no expiry date but please do not mix the certificate up with the number.
Regarding the padron, only those whose main residency is in Spain should sign on the padron. It puts you on the electoral role and you are able to vote in local and EU council elections.
Some town halls still allow non-residents to sign on the padron as a non-resident (Rojales being one of them) and will even issue a temporary SIP card on the basis of it. I don't think Orihuela Costa or Torrevieja allows you to sign on the padron unless your are a permanent resident.
As a resident, my NIE certificate is stuffed away in a file somewhere and still has an old address from the Orihuela Costa on it. I've never needed to show it for anything, including buying a car, and when the bank was updating our records they didn't ask for it, just the resident card.
Our next door neighbour, a non-resident who got the non-res certificate, had their bank details updated and only needed to show the non-res card, not the NIE certificate.
Things do change and different municipal areas (like Rojales and Orihuela Costa) have different rules. Best to check at the town hall what you can and can't do.
As an example, when I was in the process of selling my house in Quesada, the agent told me I'd need a 2nd licence of occupation (or 2nd habitation licence). The guy at the Rojales town hall looked at me as if I was stupid when I asked for one and said you don't need it. Apparently you do need one if you come under Orihuela Costa so, as said, different rules for different municipal town halls.

Hi Marclif you state ' only those whose main residency is in Spain should sign on the padron'. Rojales however ask all to sign up as this provides funds for the area from government and there are so many non residents they do not get enough funds from government for the number of houses in the area for general maintanence etc. So all the residents and non residents actually suffer from the lack of funding. Anyone in the Rojales area who wants to see the place maintained properly should sign on and as you said it is not a big thing to do but is benificial to all in the area. So if you are in the Rojales area please sign on for everyone's sake.

This is what we were told in Quesada municipal centre where we signed on (Non Residents). It was a simple process and as long as you have the necessary documentation, it only takes a few minutes.

Jan