Actualized Documents
 

Hi,

We have been living in Barcelona since August 2014. We're a family of four, and have been trying to sort out our residency since we moved, but it's been a constant battle since every person we speak to at the local town hall has asked for a different document or told us a different story. Most recently, we were told we didn't even need to apply for residency (!).

I believe we now have everything we need. We have our marriage certificate and our childrens birth certificates translated by a local translator. However, we've now been told we need these "actualized":

"
For your wife you will need:

marriage certificate that is:
- actualized - less than 3 month old
- apostilled - if it is from NON-EU country
- international or sworn translated to Spanish by registered translator (listed here: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/...ListadoTIJ.pdf)

For your children you will need:

birth certificate that is:
-actualized - less than 12 month old
- apostilled - if it is from NON-EU country
- international or sworn translated to Spanish by registered translator (listed here: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/...ListadoTIJ.pdf)
"

I have asked what actualized means, and how to go about it, but have never received a reply. I can't find anything on the internet to suggest what to do. Would anybody be aware of what this means?

Thanks,
Graeme.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

If you are all EU citizens and wish to sign on the official Register of EU Foreigners, all you need is your passport and proof of income and sufficient financial resources. Also, it has nothing to do with the town hall, it is the police that administers the system - unless of course they have different rules in Catalunya! However, they are in the EU so EU residency rules apply there.

Are you all EU citizens?

Re: Actualized Documents
 

We are all EU citizens.

We originally thought the application process was at the town hall, but we've been told it's the immigration office.

We've been told we need the following:

"To apply for the NIE Card you need to prove one of the following in the immigration office:
- have a job for a Spanish employer (or a firm job offer)
- be self-employed (autonomo) in Spain
- be a student and have European health card or private health insurance
- have enough funds to maintain yourself and have private health insurance from Spain
- join a family member already living in Spain
"

I am autonomo here, so that's covered, but we've been told we need our documents actualized as written above. We've been told multiple times we need our Marriage and Birth certificates translated (which we have done), but this is the first time anyones mentioned anything about Actualizing them.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

Did that advice come from the town hall or the police?

I have never heard of anyone being asked for this information - I certainly wasn't asked.

Sadly, this sort of mess happens frequently in Spain when one dis-functionario in one office decides to set the rules himself.

The documentation requirements are clearly written on the back of the application form.

The applicable law is here https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.ph...OE-A-2012-9218

Article 3 details exactly what is required.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

No, this is from a company I contacted that help with applications. I contacted them after spending so long going back and forth ourselves, but I can't get a straight answer out of them on what the Actualized documentation means, which is why I'm posting here.

This is the company:

NIE BARCELONA - Get your NIE in Barcelona

If this is not normal, I'll see if I can find a different company to help.

Thanks,
Graeme.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

They are probably just covering all possibilities and no doubt charging you for the privilege! Making it more complicated than it is, is a good excuse for their high fees.

Why not just do it yourself - it took me about 10 minutes and a second trip to give them the payment confirmation.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

Exactly

It took me 10 mins at the local police station in Barcelona to get my NIE, and then half an hour at the town hall to get the apadronamiento

Re: Actualized Documents
 

.... and when did you sign on the list of foreigners?? :p

Re: Actualized Documents
 

Ideally, we want to do it ourselves, but we have no idea where to go. We asked in the town hall, and they told us we didn't need to apply for residency, so that was a dead end. We were told to go to the police station, but have also been told the system has changed and you need to make an appointment online somewhere.

The thing we are missing, is our NIE numbers on a card and our Tarjetta Sanitaria. We have the paper versions, we applied for these in the Spanish embassy in the UK. We have our Empadronament papers.

We went to the local medical centre to get our Tarjetta Sanitaria sorted out, and they told us that we needed the NIE as a card to get these. When we were in the town hall last month, they told us we didn't need the card, and the papers would do fine. So basically, we're just being given the run around, and I'm not even sure what we're meant to be applying for anymore!

Re: Actualized Documents
 

It's the National Police that administers all this stuff.

I think you need to go to the third place on this list

Página oficial de la DGP-Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras

It's this bit that you are looking for.

Certificados de Registro a ciudadanos de la Unión

Re: Actualized Documents
 

Thank you, yeah, we're going to try our luck down at the police station. We probably should have done this all along.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

It would be a good idea to make a Cita Previa (appointment online) and fill in the form EX18 which can be done online and printed off before you go. Then be prepared to be sent out to a specific bank close by to pay €10+ then get back before 14.00 to complete the process. You may have to wait a few days to get the paper.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

Did they say "actualizado"? That's Spanish for "updated". Or if they really said "actualized" in English, they were probably thinking "actualizado" and translated into English incorrectly.

I guess they just wanted the most current version of the documents.

- Eric S.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

That sounds about right since some officials demand that the NIE certificate is dated less than 3 months old.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

A good illustration of the perils of translation. "False friends" abound in all European languages. Rely on a competent translator and not someone who picked up a bit of English at school.
(A "false friend" in language learning is a word that looks similar to a word in another languagee but means something different.)
I recommend a reading of the story of the Tower of Babel.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

I well remember early on hearing a man saying he was "embarazado" when he meant he was embarrased (he tended to stick an 'o' on the end of an English word and think it was Spanish). He got some very funny looks and I have never forgotten it.

Re: Actualized Documents
 

Now you tell me I thought the added O was the secret magic to being fluent accompanied by raising ones voice of course!