RESIDENCIA - The truth...............

..........no sorry, i dont know it, i would like to know it.

Bumped into an old friend of mine today who is having trouble with his. He has been told he has to renew it, having already renewed once in 2008 having obtained it in 2005. He called into an agency today who deal with that sort of thing and they told him that once he had obtained it, that was that, he had it for life. I have been here since 2004, got it, and i've never been bothered since. After i left him i went for lunch and met up with 3 of my mates. Now it gets complicated. One of them said that he was told it needs renewing every four years. The second one was told that it needs renewing every 8 years and the last one said that it doesnt need renewing at all. And as i said, i have never renewed mine.

Anybody ??????????????????????

Many thanks,

The Doctor

The simple answer is that every area makes up it´s own rules, and they change them when they feel like it.  So what is true today might not be true tomorrow, and also what one member of staff says could well be different from their colleague. 

My certificate that says I am included on the Foreigners´ Register simply states that I have registered as a resident on the date given, and has no renewal date on it.  I do know however, that some areas are asking people to re-register on the Padron, as many foreigners register and then leave without telling the town hall, so their stats are out of date.  But then, that is nothing unusual, is it????

Fact.  Residencia was abolished in April 2007 for EU citizen (since then,  they have had to register).  If an EU national had a Residencia before April 2007 then it was valid until the expiry date, Once registered it never needs to be renewed.

Now if you really mean Residencia. Then that would be in relation to Non EU citizens.  That still exists and must be renewed initially after 5 years and then every 10 years.

This applies to the whole of Spain as it is a National Government matter. 

The Padron, is a local municipality matter and has no direct connection with Residencia or Registration. All permanent residents in a municipality must register.

A certificate of empadronamiento is valid for three months from the date of issue.  Some (or maybe all town halls) require Non EU Residents and EU citizens registered as permanent residents, to renew the padon every 5 years,   EU citizens, who have registered, (albeit that they only visit Spain) must re-register every two years.

Thanks johnzx. Very helpful but also slightly confusing. I am English born and bred, therefore an EU citizen, and got my residencia in 2004 and have never been troubled since. As i said earlier, my friend got his in 2005 and renewed it in 2008  ( obviously after April 2007 ). Does the renewal count as registering ? If so, why does he have to renew it again ? He is also English born and bred.

Dr Who,                  You should have registered on the EU Citizen’s Register when your 2004 Residencia expired (2009).   So you need to do it ASAP, but it is more difficult now that in would have been if you had done in when you should have. (need to prove sufficient income, medical cover etc.).

Your friend could not have renewed his Residencia, as I said it had been abolished, so he actually registered on the EU Citizen’s Register.  Many people think it is the same thing.

Thanks johnzx,

I will get on to mine straight away.

Do i take it then that he is actually ok ? He "renewed" his at the Policia Local in August 2008 and therefore is registered and possibly doesnt need to renew it. That said, he had a reminder from the Policia Local in July this year telling him he needed to renew it. But as an EU citizen, this would seem not to be the case.

Any thoughts ?

Thanks again.

Dr Who,  All paperwork regarding EU Citizens registrations and residencies is carried out by the National Police. 

The Policia Local are not involved. (They are in effect not ‘real police’  as they deal with matters on behalf of the town hall by whom they are locally employed, enforcing By-Laws. Although they have power of arrest they have to take  prisoners to the National Police or Guardia (which ever police that area) to be processed.

Any EU Citizen registrations made after April 2007 are everlasting (or until such time that the law might be changed to make it otherwise).  There must be some confusion regarding,    'The local police ... told him renewal was need.'  It might have been the town hall (the local police's employers) telling him to renew his Padron Registration, which for permanent residents  is a requirement, by some town halls,  every 5 years..

Thanks Elaine, very helpful.

Just spoke to him and it wasnt the Policia Local office he was at , it was the place in La Linea where you go to apply for residencia, N.I.E etc etc. He was there in 2008 so he is now assuming he is ok because he has been there and registered after 2007. As for me, i have been there this morning and got a pile of forms to fill in. I have to say that they are not very helpful in there, they seem to want to make things as difficult as possible. Maybe its because of all the trouble at the border everyday although for the life of me i cant see why. If Gibraltar was in Spanish hands, they would be more or less out of a job and so would many hundreds, if not thousands, of others. And the knock on effect that it would have on many other businesses would be disasterous. The queue of people going backwards and forwards there is staggering. I had to park about half a mile away because there are literally thousands of cars parked up. Even the amount of money the local council make from car parking fees everyday must be a tidy sum. The Spanish government seem to be very shortsighted.

Kathyslad,

Hi, just rang him and thats exactly what he's got, dated August 1st 2008.

Thanks.