green residency certificate?

Hi,

I'm very confused about what documents I should have as a full-time resident in Spain. Up until now I thought I had all the correct documents as after three months in Spain I went to the oficina de extranjería here in Murcia and explained that I would be living and working in Spain permanently and therefore requested all the relevant documents. All they gave me was the white NIE document with which I have been able to obtain my bank account, seguridad social number, certificate of empadronimiento, tarjeta sanitaria etc.

However, I can see on the forum that people are talking about a green certificate? I asked a collegue at work and he doesn't have this/know what it is either? I know things can be different in different regions but they certainly never mentioned anything about this at the oficina de extranjería in Murcia. To further confuse things, I went to Trafico to try and change my license and they told me I would need a ´permanent/full residency certificate´which they said was not obligatory and that if I decided to obtain one in the future I would be able to go back and change the license. This may seem like a very silly question but I genuinely have never heard of this certificate! I obviously want to make sure I do everything right but I'm a little confused!

Thanks.

Char, Trafico is not the place to ask advice on the legal requirements for living in Spain.

The laws on living in Spain are determined by Central  Government not regionally.

As I said in my reply to you in your other thread, in your circumstances you MUST be registered on the EU Citizens’ Register. The cert you get is on green coloured paper.  It is now credit card size, previously it was A4 size. 

I suggest you go to the Documentation office where you applied for your NIE originally and ask them.   That way you will not be confused.

Char you only have the NIE paper which is white and yes you are correct you need this one to obtain all you have mentioned ie bank acc and ss number and tax stuff. The GREEN one is your residency which you need for your driving license and under spanish law this should be changed if you live here for more than 183 days, or if you live here full time. This is a central government requirement not a regional law, as you well know here if the police can make money out of you then they will a friend of mine was fined 500e for not having changed his license and then had to do it which cost more money so be warned. Oh also your bank acc should say you are a resident or you will be paying more money to the bank than you should just a thought check that one.

I'm surprised you weren't told about registering on the EU register and that your work colleague didn't know about it, either. Also surprised that you are on the padron and have a health card without one. This is a EU requirement and, for example, EU citizens living in UK have to sign on this register there as well.

Have a look at this official website for residency. It is all explained there.

 The GREEN one is your residency which you need for your driving license and under spanish law this should be changed if you live here for more than 183 days, or if you live here full time.

It's not necessary to change your licence if you live here full time or more than 183 days. If its a photocard licence you can use it until it expires, when, if you are here more than 185 days a year, you can only renew it in Spain, not the UK. If it's a paper only  copy, then you must exchange it within 2 years.

This is a EU requirement and, for example, EU citizens living in UK have to sign on this register there as well.

It is allowed under the Eu Directive on freedom of movement to require EU citizens to register if they are here more than 90 days, BUT it is not a requirement in the UK (yet)