Hi everyone. havent ever posted a new topic in a forum before, but here goes. After spending all afternoon filtering through some very interesting topics and posts, I?ve been unable to find the answer to my question, which is this….....
Can anybody tell me what the fee for the renewal of my residencia is but most of all WHERE does one pay it, I know it has to be paid into a bank account prior to handing over all the neccesary documents (they wont accept cash, or at least they didnt in previous years) I have all my papers including certificado de empadronamiento, If there is any one out there who has the official list of documents, does it mention the payment?
Thank you in advance 😊
p.s Keep on posting its a great site and helping many
this cant be paid at the office it has to be paid into a bank account ( hence a second visit ) the page isnt helpul enough by supplying that number so I?ll just have to do two trips. never mind.
Hi
You seem to be a couple of steps ahead of me on the renewal of residencias learning curve, so sorry I cant help directly. I decided to go it alone when I was told I would have to fork out 300 euros for the two of us by a paperwork agency. As we havent been shy about sorting out other Spanish documents (driving licence/ buying a car etc) ourselves, with our limited use of the language, we thought ‘how much more difficult can it be’. I have filled out the first set of forms and taken them in.
I found your situation useful for when it comes to paying the fee. Do you have any other advice? ie what happens at the second stage when they call you back?
I have to be honest and tell you that this is my 4th renewel of my residencia, I?ve been here for 20 years now (where does time go?) Its always the same hassle and quite a headache, but hard, no. You just have to make sure you get the papers together and then off to the office.
By the way you handed in your papers but did you have to make any payment for the handling? I think it is 6.57? and if you did where did you make this payment? Last time, I had to leave the office , go to the bank and pay the fee using the bank account number they had given me , then back to the office with the proof of payment slip…very frustrating and time consuming (thats my only complaint!!)
Once you have succsefully handed in your papers bang , bang goes the official stamp and your fingerprint is taken (this is usually the process, unless they?ve gone modern LOL) You DONT get called back, they tell you it takes about three months (or whatever they said to you) and you go back, get in the queue and wait for your turn, you hand over your reciet paper and they give you your card. To save you making a useless trip, you can check the status of your card at http://www.map.es/servicios/servicios_on_line/extranjeria/estado_solicitudes
either type in your residency number or reciet number ( I havent tried it yet because I havent even started the process, so I cant check mine, just waiting for a rainy day and nothing better to do 😝 )
As for using a “Gestor” been there and done it, it didnt save me any time, all they do is get the paper work for you which isnt difficult, you still have to go yourself because of the fingerprint,
In my experience the actual office where you are renewing residencia or say car tax NEVER takes any cash (I assume for security reasons) they give you a paper which you take to a bank and pay the money into the bank (they know what to do!) and they stamp your paper which is then a receipt and you can collect the new card as you will have proof of payment.
Always take EVERYTHING when you are on these ?missions? but from memory you need old card, padron plus photocopy, passport, new photos. Cost about 15 euros.
I have have a Residencia Permanente which I am just renewing. When I handed them all the documents and photo copies for the renewal they gave me 2 forms. One to fill in with my personal data and return to them with 2 photo copies. And the second form was for me to give to the bank to make the payment of 5.48 ?. The bank stamped the original copy which I have to hand in when I pick up my new card in about 2 months time. You can check to see when it is ready at http://www.map.es
sorry that I didnt respond to the posts, I had to return to the UK urgently.
Thank you for the information. It was very useful to use the link to view the status of my residencia (thank you very much for that, I was amazed when it worked, and happily it says ‘favourable’. Now I am wondering what to do next. I didnt receive a document to take to my bank or any postal notification and am wondering if a mornings queing and waiting is on the agenda just to deal with that?
That was a very useful point. Resedencia`s are no longer essential and certain agencies are making money out of our fears of not having the correct documents. However I can think of several cases where having a Resedencia has been extremely useful:
If you buy or sell property then taxes are reduced.
Our local tourist sites are virtually free if you can produce the resedencia. This saves between 6-15 euros a trip.
I dont like carrying a passport around with me everywhere, the resedencia is useful if stopped by police when driving.
Ditto when asked for ID when using a credit card.
We also get cheaper ferry travel within the Canary’s if we produce the resedencia.
When travelling within Spain we only use our resedencia in place of a passport for hotels etc.
When you are asked for your NIE you can show them your Residencia card which has your NIE number on it. In the case of a Spanish national they would ask for their NIF which is almost identical to the Residencia. Your Residencia card is extremely handy to have because it being so small you can always have it with you to identify yourself at the bank, Post Office, Police etc.. Also with that card you can travel throughout most EU countries without a passport ... although not to the UK.
Regardless of what the law may be, Spanish authority is used to everyone having a identity card on them, and so if you intend to live here permanently without having a Residence card, and do not wish to be held up at some stage, than you had better always carry your passport with you to officially identify yourself. Telling some police official somewhere that you were told in Alicante that you did not need one will not carry much weight if he thinks otherwise.
Getting a Residencia is not difficult and very inexpensive if you do it yourself .... it only takes time.
I was not questioning the information given you. But as someone who has lived 43 years in Spain I was only trying to point out that if someone intends to live here permanently than it can be very useful to have a Residencia card .... whether he or she legally needs one or not has nothing to do with it. It does not matter what type of Residencia card you have, because like the Spanish NIF, it is a identity card which shows your NIE number. Something which your passport, which is a foreign document, does not.
British people are not used to identity cards, but every Spaniard carries one and uses it all the time everywhere, because it is a recognized legal document everywhere. To give an example you can open a bank account with it, which you cannot do with a photo copy of your passport. And so it is very handy to always have this small credit sized legal document with you, because the whole Spanish system recognizes it and runs on it. Anyone who does not have one falls into another category, which sometimes may mean a delay because the person does not know how to handle it, or they may ask you to come back with your original passport or proof of your NIE.
The coastal tourist areas are also quite different from the rest of Spain and in many small pueblos they have probably never even met anyone who does not have a identity card, and a much folded bit of paper showing a photo of a passport is not quite the same.
And for those living near Portugal and France who have a card they can drive there any time without bothering about their passport. I myself do not even have a passport.
Another thing worth remembering is that in Spain as in most Latin countries the law is not 100% black and white like in Britain. There is usually a grey area which leaves it open to different interpretations to suit different people at different times. I have seen this time and time again. Remember Spaniards are individualists! I myself like this flexibility, which has been very useful at times!
Whether to have or not to have a residencia card is a personal matter and a bit like taking out insurance. Some will not bother, others will but never need it, and the rest will be glad they had it.
There has been some very useful information in the last couple of posts. I think it does depend upon personal preferences and in some cases the place where you find yourself living. In Lanzarote, where I have been living we could not get away with photocopies of documents to prove our identity. .. so it is a case of either carrying a passport (which is not always useful ) or producing the resedencia. The latter only proving expensive if you have to pay some agency or other to do the work for you. Thank you so much for the enlightening information in different parts of Spain.
Good thread…Just one point on minarets statement that having a residencia card can reduce your capital gains tax on the sale of your property….Beware…Just having a residencia card is not enough, to avoid having the 5% capital gains tax retention you must also now provide a “certificado de residencia fiscal” from hacienda , which basically proves you have been paying your taxes as a resident for the required period of time…and are therefore considered by hacienda to be fiscally resident.
People who apply for a residencia card just prior to the sale of their property (hoping to avoid the capital gains) will not get a certificate of fiscal residence from hacienda, and will have to pay the capital gains.
I have been truly fascinated (and slighlty scared) by the amount of information that you all know with regards to Residencias and NIE’s. As a lady who’s family is just about to upsticks and embark on a life in the Spanish sunshine, all this information is greatly received. I would, however, like to ask you learned lot one thing… Do I need to get Residencias and NIE’s for all the family, kids included? I have just printed out NIE forms for myself and my husband, but if our two kids need one I’ll have to print out a couple more. We are flying over to finalise arrangements in January. Can we do our queuing up then when we don’t have the kids with us, or do we have to wait until we are in proper residence and can I get our NIE numbers from the Spanish Consulate in Manchester before we come over in January???? All these questions… it’s a minefield isn’t it?!
Any help regarding these matters will be much appreciated.
Woo! Woo! I have just had the letter from the Dpt of Foriegners with a form to take to Banco Caja to pay the 6.57 euros. Another stage done. Next we have to queue in the office again (to have our fingerprints done I assume). Is that it do you think? I cant believe it was all so easy! Really the only taxing thing, has being the long wait in the queue and not quite knowing what was going to happen. How can these paperwork agencies justify their charges?
Thinking of the last post, I assume children dont need Resedencias ? As I dont have dependent children I cant really comment.
That’s a critical point Dun Marching! Thank you for reminding us to look at our financial affairs.
