According to an English newspaper published in Spain (ROUND TOWN NEWS) following pressure from the EU the Spanish authorities will from March 28th 2007 abolish the residence card for EU citizens and it will be replaced by certificate issued by the same offices. So at this stage it appears that you will still have to make an application for the certificate but you will not end up with a very convenient to carry card which is an easy proof of ID and NIE number when you are using credit cards and 100s of other things like opening bank accounts etc. Progress ?? Vamos a ver (we will see)

Hi
I also saw this same piece in the Sur in English and would very much like to find out where this certificate can be applied for. I’m sure the article mentioned foreigner’s offices as well as National police stations. My resedencia card expired some time ago and I desparately need to replace it. Am I right in thinking that the card is no longer available? will the certificate be my only option and how long will it be valid for?
Any help on this will be welcome.
Emma

Hi everybody,
Reading this thread i feel deep joy, I also have an expired residency card, I went to denia one rainy morning, saw the crowd (thought that freebies were being handed out!!) and that a guard was allowing them to enter the building one by one, and decided to carry on using my expired card (perhaps the date might go unnoticed!!!) so this news about a certificate pleases me. Could be much less hassle if I could obtain it at my local police station or does it have to be in Denia police station where the “officina de extranjeros” is? If that is the case then I probably wont go for it either, I?ll just renew my passport and use that instead. Any more info would be of great help, thankyou in advance.

On my present understanding the certificate cannot be obtained in Denia but in course it should be available.

Within the Alicante province you would need to travel to Alicante and I again understand that the fee is around 6.-?.

From a practical perspective until the system is fully operational and rolled out to all corresponding police stations it is likely that there will some degree of confusion and / or delay. To this extent I would advise anyone considering applying for one in Alicante to ensure that they are clear on all paperwork required and the actual procedure. More generally, as the replacement is only a certificate it will not carry to holders photograph and hence will not be of benefit when paying for goods by credit card. Many clients have told me that this is the most useful facet of their present card and for this reason one might arguably say that they should consider the real necessity of applying for a replacement certificate.

Glyn Moran LL.B. (Hons)
Partner
CB Legal & Fiscal Consultants
J?vea / Benijofar / Los Alcazares
Associated: Girona / London
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