carlydm

Hi guys, I've recently decided that I'm moving to Malaga, hopefully by March. I was wondering what I required to become a resident in the country? I keep looking online but everything gets a bit OTT and I get bogged under by resident permit this and visa that. Any tips or ideas of which move to make next? Thanks!

jdr

If you are an EU citizen then all you need is a passport until you have been in Spain for 3 months, then the fun starts.

carlydm

I live in England. I'm hoping to be there for as long as possible, anywhere has to be better then this country! at least I know I can go there without worrying to much first, what about bank accounts etc? x

jay01

Although you may live in the UK the thing is, do you hold a UK or European passport, if that is the case then you should have no problem moving to Spain as your passport is enough. You can be here technically without becoming resident or being on the local council records and many expats do just that but if you want to intergrate, work or stay long term it is better to. When you move into a home sign onto the local padron, this allows the local town to claim an allowance so the more people who are on the padron the better off the town is to pay for things like empting of bins, repair local roads, etc. This is done on a local level and does not involve any other agencies.

To become resident you would need to visit the central police station (Malaga) and fill out the forms (take a dictionary or a friend that reads Spanish as the forms are in Spanish), you will need to get pay a fee at the local bank (about 10e) and then take all the relevant info back to the station to get your residencia. take as much information as you have ie passport, rental agreement, padron and photo copies (a must)

If applying for a social security number you will need to find out where the local office is and it is pretty much the same info as above and your residencia but again take photocopies as well, You can have a social security number without having a job, just puts you on the system.

Not sure how it works if you are from outside the UK or European area but goodluck on what ever you do.

lynnxa

you live in England - but are you an EU citizen? - it makes a HUGE difference!

jdr

Oh yes, that`s probably why the visas were mentioned.

Rosemary

Hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let us know if you need any further help.

Rosemary and Graham

jojojojojo

England has a lot of faults but it is a lot easier to live and work there than in Spain. Yes, its sunny and its warmer (in the summer anyway), but everything else can be very difficult and stressful. So come over for a fact finding visit before burning your bridges!

Jo xxx

lovingthesun

After yet another day of wet, miserable, grey weather in the middle of May - do NOT come over solely for the the weather

(I was in UK for the whole of April and had non-stop sunshine, while over here OH had no-stop rain - be warned)

jojojojojo

.......I was freezing in bed last night (I refuse to use my hot water bottle in May!), I finally got to sleep only to be woken by the mother of all storms at around 3am

Jo xxx

steviedeluxe

Hoping you can send some rain to London and south-east England. We're in very serious danger of a major drought. They've already set up a desalination plant that can supplya large chunk of East London, but the rest of us need water too.

Glorious sunshine here this morning in London.

lovingthesun

So that's what it was - I did wonder when the dog burrowed under the duvet shaking with fright

Crazy isn't it? Another grey, miserable day here with my damp washing draped on airers around the house - not what we came here for

steviedeluxe

The problem is that the authorities in the UK are unused to going long periods without significant rain. I believe Yorkshire had severe problems a couple of years back. I really fear as to what may happen in London if the taps run dry - there are just too many people living here to be sustained by standpipes.

lovingthesun

We were in a drought situation here a few years ago and it was very worrying - our local lake is a reservoir and the level was incredibly low. The last couple of winters though have been unusually long and wet and the authorities are having to let excess water out of the reservoirs as they are in danger of overflowing!

We are fortunate in living by a natural spring that flows all year round so we are never without fresh water - it tastes amazingly good too