NadiaN

Hi everyone, I'm new to posting here, but I have been lurking for a few years now.

I was wondering if anyone had experience in getting their residency certificate in the city of Valencia. Specifically, where to go to apply for one. I did a search on the forum and it seems that this question was asked in January of this year, and the answer was Calle de Gremis 6, 46014. But when I look at the site of the Ministerio del Interior (http://www.mir.es/MIR/Directorio/Ser...dad_Valeciana/ ), it says that the office for EU citizens is at C/ Bailén, 9, 46007.

So I was wondering if the poster who requested the information in January ever did go to the office at Calle de Gremis 6, and was that the correct address?

Also, if anyone has obtained their residency certificate in Valencia recently, did you have to make an appointment or did you just show up at the office? I tried calling all the Valencia offices listed on the page I linked to, but at one number no one picked up, the other seemed to be disconnected, and at the third one the person who picked up the phone just said "you need to call the office of <mumble>" and hung up before I could ask them to repeat themselves. They're really not making it easy to comply with the law...

Thanks in advance for your help.

Nadia

lynnxa

this is the most up to date list I have

it gives phone numbers too - so you could phone first

http://www.mir.es/MIR/Directorio/Ser...dad_Valeciana/

paintermujer

Hi there.I think that was us.

We couldnt work out exactly which address was right so we hired a gestor this time.

Cant remember the street name for def but it is a smallish street at the right hand side of the main train station by the bullring. If your taking a car you park in the train station car park.

If you google the street name you have and its there, Bobs your uncle.

Not sure if you need and appt tho.Just go in and ask I guess.

Good luck.

NadiaN

Thank you lynnaxa. That is the list that I found, as well, but I did not have much luck calling the numbers of the 3 offices listed there.

NadiaN

Thank you, this is really helpful. The office by the train station seems to be the one at C/ Bailén 9. That was the one I assumed I would have to go to, because it says it is for EU citizens. Then I got confused when I searched the forum, because the address they gave you when you asked was a different one.

I'm going to drop by there tomorrow and hopefully get the whole residency certificate taken care of so I can focus on more pleasant things, like dentist's visits and taking my cats to the vet.

NadiaN

Well, we went to get our certificados de residencia last Thursday and it all went quite painlessly, apart from having to wait in line for ever and ever... Here is a short summary of the process. I hope this might be helpful to people who need to do this in the future. It really isn't that difficult to do without a gestor, so long as you know enough Spanish to fill out the application and get your padron. The application form is called Ex_16, and there is a pdf of it online, here: http://www.mir.es/SGACAVT/modelos/ex...anje/ex_16.pdf . There's also lots of information (in English) out there on how to fill it out - you just have to google for it.

The office we went to is the one at Calle Bailén, 9, 46007, Valencia. It was quite easy to find - just putting the address in Google Maps gives you the general location of the street (to the right side of the train station), although Google Maps doesn't show the correct position of the office on the map - you have to walk much further down the street than is shown on the map. Still, the office is very easy to recognize by the massive line of people waiting outside.

We got there at a quarter to 9 am, and the line outside was quite long already. The office opened at 9, and they started letting people into the courtyard and giving everyone a number. Then we waited inside the courtyard for a while, and they would let a few people inside when seats became available in the waiting area. Inside, there was an office with 2 desks processing people's applications, and a digital display on the wall showing which number was next.

If you already have a residency certificate and are just updating the address, then the process if very quick and simple - you give them your application, a copy of your ID card or passport, your old residency certificate and a padron certificate, they update the address and print out your new certificate right there. No need to pay the processing fee again.

If you are applying for a residency certificate for the first time, then when you present your application, padron and copy of ID document, they give you a form called "modelo 790" which you have to take to a bank and use it to pay the processing fee (10 euros). The bank stamps your "modelo 790", confirming that you've paid the fee. Then you have to come back and get in line again, hand in the "modelo 790" and they'll print out your new certificate.

The first time through the line was not too bad - we got there at 8:45am and were out by 9:50am. Unfortunately by the time we got back from the bank with our "modelo 790", the line had grown quite a bit, and we waited for over 2 hours until we managed to get in again. At around noon, after we had been waiting in line for over an hour, they started turning away anyone who wasn't there just to hand in their "modelo 790". That sped things up quite a bit - otherwise I'm not sure we would have managed to get in at all before they closed at 2pm. We were finally out of there by 1pm, utterly exhausted... I'm glad we won't have to repeat this experience any time soon...

And one last piece of advice - if you need to go get your residency certificate in Valencia city, wear comfortable shoes. I cannot stress this enough

Sue

This was such a great post, thanks so much for sharing. In fact it was so useful that I've added it to the article section:

http://britishexpats.com/articles/sp...ncia-valencia/

jdr

It`s not like that in all areas though Sue, the top brass in our police station got so fed up with all the foreigners queing up from 07.00 in the morning, that you now get an appointment and the forms given to you at the application, so you can pay the fee at the bank before you go to the appointment.
Although the appointment can be up to a month or so wait, the process is speeded up considerably at the appointment.
No doubt others will have different ways to us in their area.

AUGUSTOM

Great post , but what is the "Padron" that you mention?

Can I ask a couple question to clear out some information; We are moving to Valencia on the 11th of December and plan to stay there for a year. Should we/can we apply right away for the residency? Should we apply for the NIE separately, before applying for the residency card? How long does it take for the NIE to be issued when applying for the residency card?

Can we buy a car without a NIE? What about opening a Bank account? We already have rented a place, but need to set up gas, water, electricity and telephone? Can it be done without the NIE?

Thanks for the help.

jdr

You need an NIE so the taxman can keep a track on what you buy.
You can apply for residencia before you have been here for 3 months if you wish.
You will be given an NIE when you get your residencia.
You get a Padron from your local council office, they get an allowance of money for you to help pay for local services from the government.
You will need a padron to get your children into school if you have any, joining the health clinic, etc and you also get voting rights.
Gas is in bottles obtained from any garage, water and electrickery are usually provided by the landlord and you just pay the bill to them on top of your rent.
I just signed a new contract with Telefonica and needed resdencia, padron and bank details, last time my wife got it with Passport number and bank details, so they may be getting tighter with the contracts now.

AUGUSTOM

Thanks.

So when applying for the residency, does the NIE get issued right away? In other words I should apply for the residency as soon as I get to Valencia so I can have a phone line, internet and etc, correct?
Some people told me it could take months to get a NIE if that's true how should one go about without being able to have a internet, cable at home or bank account and a car?

NadiaN

When we did the residencias for my parents in October, they issued the NIE at the same time - they just wrote it on the application form for the residencia. They printed out the residency certificate right away (well, as soon as we brought back the form proving we had paid the fee). I think it it different in different places in Spain. Some places you have to make an appointment in advance, some places you can just show up at the police station and get it taken care of right away (well, after waiting in line for hours and hours and hours). In Valencia city, you don't need an appointment.

For a bank account, it depends on the bank. Some ask for NIE, in others you can open an account with just your passport. When I came to Valencia 4 years ago I opened a bank account with just my passport. I am not sure how things are these days, but you can go to a few different banks and ask if you can open an account with just your passport. Bear in mind that if you open an account with just your passport it will be a non-resident's account. Those accounts are charged an extra fee every 2 years or so for a "non-resident's certificate". At last, that's how it is in my bank. Other banks might do it differently. Of course if you're only going to be here for a year that might not matter to you.

I was also able to get internet, TV and phone from Ono without a NIE 4 years ago. Again, I am not sure if things have changed since then. Have you decided which company you'll use for your internet, etc? If so, you can just go to one of their offices and ask if they'll let you sign up with just your passport.

AUGUSTOM

Thanks Nadia,

I found o

I found out that Santander will open a non-resident account with just the Passport and then switch to resident as soon as the NIE is issued. Great relief.

We will get to Valencia on the 11 and plan to go through the process on the first week there so we will lwt everyone know how ours went. Thanks for all the help.

Best,

Augusto