A 'green certificate' is the colloquial (commonly-used) term for a certain type of residence document. It is only held by citizens of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), or Switzerland. Family members, spouses, or legally-registered cohabiting partners of these citizens also hold a 'green certificate' as proof of residence.
The official name for this document is a European Union Residents' Certificate of Registration (Certificado de Registro de Residentes de la Unión Europea). It is sometimes abbreviated to 'CUE'.
A 'green certificate', or CUE, is mandatory for all EU or EEA citizens living in Spain for more than three months. Photo: Picasa
For ease of reading, the citizens described above will henceforth be described as 'Europeans'. However, please note that this definition does not cover citizens of countries in Europe that are not part of the EU or EEA, except Switzerland.
Spanish residency: What is a 'green certificate' for?
A green residency certificate, or CUE, is for Europeans moving to Spain. Europeans can stay in Spain for up to three months without becoming resident. If you plan to stay longer, or permanently, you must register with the foreigners' office (Oficina de Extranjería). When doing so, you will be given a CUE, or 'green certificate'. This is either A4-sized or credit-card sized. It is paper, not plastic, and is pale green in colour.
Can a green residency certificate be used as ID in Spain?
Your CUE or 'green certificate' is not valid as identification (ID), as it does not have a photograph on it. It is merely evidence that you are a resident. You will, however, need to show it for numerous official transactions in Spain. If so, you will usually need to show your passport or national ID card from your country of origin at the same time.
Do you need a NIE to get a green residence certificate in Spain?
You do not need to obtain a NIE (Foreigners' National Identity Number) first. The process of getting your 'green certificate' includes assigning you a NIE number. However, you may already have a NIE if you applied for this earlier for other reasons. This might be because you bought a holiday home in Spain, or opened a bank account, but did not plan to live there. If this is the case, you will not get a different NIE number, as these are the same for life.
Europeans eligible for legal residence in Spain
To be legally resident in Spain, Europeans must fulfil one or more of the following criteria:
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