Hillybilly

Well done you for your perseverance! But doesn't it p*** you off when you have to explain to professionals/officials how to do their own job....

jdr

Bloody nightmare !
They do love their paperwork, and like you say just jobs for the boys. ;-))

erisaman

I take my hat off to you. Yes, I have laughed, but with you, not at you - and why? Because I was (repeat WAS) considering purchasing in the UK and then going the import route, but as a non-resident I just wouldn't have the time in Spain to go through all you've gone through.

I'm pleased to see the change of attitude as the postings progressed - you've now got support for your efforts and there are many of us who will have learned from those efforts.

Thank you and good luck.

scampicat

Congratulations and Happy New Number Plates!

Our Seat Alhambra (made in Spain and NOT a Landrover) took eight months to matriculate....and it WAS done via a gestor!

However, the 500 euros it cost us was peanuts compared to buying a Spanish-registered Alhambra. (Can't say that for all the stress though....)

We both got there in the end!

Mercedes

I shipped my Toyota RAV RHD back to UK, sold it when I was over there and then brought a lhd Toyota RAV with Belgium plates on and had it transferred when I came back. Passed it onto a garage that did importing and exporting whilst I was in the UK for 2 weeks and Voila it was waiting for me when I got back. I go for a simple life....

keithwalters

Wanna know what else you can do with your digital signature? Pay money to the Hacienda online - you could have skipped that trip to the bank/gestor episode.

Bear it in mind for the future - anytime you need to pay money to the Hacienda for anything - stay at home and do it from there.

tim hortons man

My wife and I are in the process of trying to get our digital signature as well. What a nightmare, she had a Spanish co-worker spend over an hour on the phone trying to figure out how to make it work. If the Spanish have problems what's an expats to do!!!

tim hortons man

Got another question how does one authorise the key code with the certificate.

thanks

Fred James

I am in the process of getting a digital signature.

In theory it's pretty simple - you just put in your NIE online and that generates a numerical code which you print out.

You take this to any of many offices that can verify it, in my case the town hall can do it.

They check that you are who you say you are (passport, residency card etc) and key the code into their system. This now verifies centrally that you are OK. You go home, enter the same code on your PC and it downloads a digital certificate onto your PC which can be used with your browser when you access sites which require it.

It resides on your PC which must be the same one that generated the code. Effectively it gives your PC the signature not you. You cannot use it on another PC.

The only problem I had was that it would not accept my NIE. I queried this with them and it requires you to change the security settings in your browser and they provided detailed instructions as to how to do this.

Tomorrow I will go to the town hall and see what happens - I will keep you posted.

tim hortons man

Wow thanks!

That makes much more sense. As an aside when we did our taxes this year (first time) it actually rejected it and I had to drive to Hacienda in order for them to "turn on" something, they took my NIE keyed in a few things and volia it worked.

EsuriJohn

Fed was it you that said it is easier to do all this via your online bank account. I do want to get set up so that I can do all my state taxes online and have just re-read Steve post and your new post and I am sure I would get lost trying to set up the digital signiture. However Solbank seem to have a facility built into their online bank to pay state taxes but I have not explored it yet. Is that the sort of thing you were refering to?

Fred James

Yes, that's right. One of the online banking options is to submit your tax return. You just tell it where the data file from the PADRE program is located on your computer and it sends it to Hacienda and debits your account. You don't need the digital signature because you have already gone through the bank's security procedures.

The digital signature is accepted on a huge number of sites where you might want to enter data etc. As an example, the health system allows you to make doctors appointments online using your health card number and NIE but if you wanted to change your doctor or even your address details, you would need the digital signature.

It's an integral part of your browser. As you are probably aware, whenever you access some sites the browser checks for a valid certificate and warns you if it is dodgy or non existent. The personal digital certificate works in reverse - the site accesses your PC to see if you are dodgy or not!

Fred James

Re the digital certificate.

I went to the Ayuntamiento this morning with my residencia card and the code number that I had produced in the first part of the process.

It was handled by the Padron department who just checked my tarjeta and entered the code into his PC. He printed out an official form and that was it.

Went home, went to the FNMT site again and keyed in the code again. It immediately downloaded the digital certificate into Internet Explorer.

I then tried signing onto the Junta de Andalucia (salud) site. I opted to sign in using my certificate. It then displayed a list of certificates from my PC (there were two, one for each of us). I selected my certificate and it then allowed access to my personal data. After I had entered some new details it asked again for my certificate before processing the change.

Overall, from applying for the certificate to actually using it, was a very simple process (just for a change!)

tim hortons man

Update: the nightmare continues. We went to the mayors office and got our pardons and activated the keycode and activated the digital signature.

BUT and this is a big but when the Wife went to download and fill out the Modela 576 for import tax she ran into a huge problem. None of her Spanish co-workers could figure out how to fill the form out. Tried calling and well it's Friday and who works on a Friday!

I got a panicked call in the middle of a class asking if I could rush to the hacienda and figure out what was wrong. Ended the class early (client quite upset note to self grovel on Monday important client) called a good friend to help with Spanish we both beat feet it and actually managed to find someone to help us.

The form is an import duty based on emissions that the car produces and the numbers are not available online. That you have to find someone who has them Once all that is filled in you print it off and go to the bank and pay (in my case) 550€ they issue a code which you enter at the top and submit the form.

Oh yes, another problem, they also require that the technical inspection FIRST, but how can I do that, the cars impounded and they won’t release it until the fee is paid and I can’t pay the fee without the inspection!!! :curse::curse:

Monday morning I head off to the bank and try to pay the bill, if successful I will take it to customs and hopefully they will release the car.

Good god I’m starting to understand why the Spanish simply ignore the law!

Rotor

Dead right, too many people still think they are living under UK law, ie a car with no tax or mot cant be insured, totally wrong in Spain ,it can and many are, they may be breaking other laws but their insurance can be valid,IBEX is underwritten by Lloyds,they pay out for accidents and are recognised by Spanish authorities,

Rgds

Rotor