chrisjolly

I just renewed my padron after 12 years! where does the three months come from? It takes two minutes to tell the Town hall that you are no longer living there so tell them or email them as we can do.

Mitzyboy

Read the posts properly, then you will know where the three months come from.

Saxy

It's called covering all possibilities.
If you leave Spain without deregistering your residency at a police station (that's where you do it), come back on holiday, get nicked by the police for something (guilty or not). They will still have you registered as a Spanish resident and may not take kindly to your not having followed the correct procedures, we all know how understanding they are don't we! It is a possibility and certainly wouldn't help your case. Better to be safe and do the job properly.
Also there is the problem of registering with the NHS. You now need to provide proof that you are no longer a Spanish resident. Five weeks ago I had to do it. Luckily I had all of the correct paperwork from the Spanish police!

snikpoh

Not necessarily true! It's actually the extranjaria offices which may or may not physically be in the police station.

Around here they are certainly NOT in the police station.

HBG

It all sounds so simple, deregister with the police office where you registered, cancel the padron and social security (medical cards); then comes the really big one, Hacienda. Again, it's just one form, but you need an officially translated document from the UK tax office to prove you're paying your tax in the UK.

And if you were a Spanish tax resident in December, 2012, you may need a Spanish tax lawyer, if you can find one who understands all of the above and the possible consequences.

Perhaps, dishonourable as it sounds, it's a case of slinking out of the back door. It might be easier to deal with the problems one at a time, as (if) they arise.

Mitzyboy

Alternatively, I might walk out of the house and get knocked down by a bus!!!!! I'm going back to Spain in February and I shall worry about being arrested by the Police ... well ... not at all actually!

There is no problem with registering with the NHS whatsoever and that is just scaremongering. You walk into a doctor, present them with proof of identity or your NI number or a utility bill or anything showing your address. they register you. End of story.

For tax de registeration ... no, we didn't need to prove to the hacienda that we were tax payers in the UK, we simply got the gestor to do the document and lodge and it was accepted.

Everything has been incredibly simple.
And not deregistering padron and residencia haven't even come into the equation, although I may pop down to the town hall when I am back there. I wouldn't make a special journey to Spain like the OP though.

Saxy

When you have been a guest in another country, showing disregard for their systems, that are trying to keep control of things, ranks pretty low in my book!

Things might have been easy like that when you registered with a doctor, but things have changed, the NHS is now more aware of fraud.

lutonlad

Maybe I'm missing the point. Where does fraud come into it?
The procedure outlined by Mitzyboy for NHS registration seems pretty standard to me.

jackytoo

Fraud Is this the silly season or what

Mitzyboy

Now you're pushing it, more or less accusing me of fraud. There IS no fraud involved, and for your information we have only been back in the UK a relatively short time so my feedback is current

Neither am I showing disregard for Spains systems, in fact I was probably more legal than most in our area having done absolutely everything to fit in with the laws of the land. Thats why I took proper legal advice after I left, and thats why I have done what I have done. To suggest there is fraud involved is ludicrous. Im using the UK health system, I'm no longer using the Spanish health system, and never will.

Neptuno

What would happen if, in the last few days in Spain, you deregistered your residency, gave in your medical card, and then had the misfortune to need health care, due to an accident, sudden illness etc. You would be in limbo-not covered by either Spanish or UK health arrangements, and subject to a large invoice.
May be unlikely, but could happen.
Could deregistering be done by post or Email?
Could someone do it on your behalf? solicitor?

Fred James

I think that the last thing you should give back is your health card for the reasons you describe.

If the Spanish system is anything like the UK you could probably use it in Spain for many years after you have left!

HBG

I'm not sure how much it matters but to deregister your residencia you need to personally attend the relevant office with all your documents, and plenty of copies and the kindly funcionario will check and stamp everything before filling out the deregistration form, which has a section for you to give your reasons, in Spanish, for wishing to leave such a friendly country. If you find it a struggle, 'familia' is most used.

Two or three weeks later you will be asked to attend the office to collect your 'leaving' certificate.

This is the procedure for the south of the Alicante province.

A lot of people don't bother.

jimenato

I suspect that one of the reasons this thread is somewhat confusing is that different autonomous communities, provinces, offices, desks, times of day etc. have different rules,

Oksie

Thanks everyone.

It doesn't seem to be as staightforward as I thought.

Do I need an appointment to deregister from Padron (I made it anyway, in a different one to where I was registered though cos there were no appointments)?

With Social Security - where do I go to deregister - my medical centre or INSS?

Thanks