renewing a s.i.p. card

my spanish sip card (sanitaria tarjeta) is now due for

renewal.

i have an appointment for next month to renwew it at the local

health centre

apart from taking my existing card does anyone know what other

documentatioin i need to take with me

Passport, residency card, padron

I have had my Spanish health card for about 25 years.  When do I need to  renew it ? 

Campo,

              Sorry to be pedantic but EU citizens do not have Residencia Cards, they are issued only to those who have come from outside the EU.  EU citizens have the EU Citizens Registration Certificate / green paper.

Johnzx- does your card not have an expiry date, usually 4 years.

I know signing on the foreigners register isn't the same as residencia, but everybody calls it that, and it is known as that!

 Yes, you are being pedantic! ( again)

hi camposol

thanks for reply.

by residency card do you mean the green A4 piece of paper

also has it to be an up to date padron, as the one we have is

dated the same as our sip card. (july 2010)

thanks again

Yes, some have the green piece of paper, some have a half laminated card, pushed out though the middle of the sheet.

our padron had to be less than 2 years old, but it varies.why not renew it, just to be safe.u

Johnzx- does your card not have an expiry date, usually 4 years.

Campo. I am sure you realise if it had  I would not have asked the question and it would have expire 21 years ago !

I know signing on the foreigners register isn't the same as Residencia, but everybody calls it that, and it is known as that!

If Residencia cards did not still exist (my wife has one) then I would accept that calling something a ‘Residencia’ may not lead to confusion, but they are not the same. so using the wrong terminology can be confusing.  A new Residencia must be renewed after 5 years, and after that every 10 years.  An EU Citizen Registration Cert has no expiry date (rather like my medical card).

So,as your card has no expiry date, it will last forever- why ask when to renew it?

 Whenever I speak to someone they will talk about residencia, meaning the EU registration cert. it doesn't cause any confusion to me so I don 't comment on it.

If they have to show to an official body, then it's obvious what it is, no problem !

thanks camposol

will get new padron before appointment

SIP cards may have to be renewed as some don't have the magnetic strip which links them to their tax records (so they can check on the cap for payment). Padrons have to be within the last 3 months.

And I agree with camposol (this is getting to be a habit). We KNOW the green card shows you are on the EU register BUT everyone I have dealt with calls it the residencia. Solicitor, bank, the guy issuing the padron, the car dealer when we bought the car, the lady when we got our SIP card - all asked for "residencia". Not once have I been asked for my Certificate of a foreigner registered as a citizen of the European Union. Not once.

hi camposol

sorry to ask another question.but

which documents do i need to take to

get a  new padron as i cannot remember what

we took to get our padron in 2010.

Bob I do not see why one would want to insist on calling something by the wrong name when they know what it is called.  What's the point ?   

Especially as Residencias, exactly as they were, still exist for some people, and it does, on occasions,  lead to confusion at the police station when people come to get their paperwork.

Some people get sent to Malaga for Residencia applications as the police in the office have misunderstood that they need EU Reg.  The police assume if one asks for something specific that is what they want.  This is a particular risk for someone, say who is an EU national but is of Asian appearance, through parentage.   When they come back to the ‘local’ office they are annoyed at having been sent needlessly all the way to Malaga, the office for non EU Residencia applications.  Had they asked for EU Registration there would have been no confusion.

Where I live, you have to take the old padron, passport and your EU citizen registration certificate( that green bit of paper/card)

hi camposol

thanks for info

will go get a new padron next week

hope i do not have a problem with the green paper

as it has the address on where we lived when we first

moved to spain in alicante province but i now live

in murcia province

hi johnzx

i have sent you  a private message.

hi everyone,

just an update.

we got our new padron a few weeks ago as per advice from camposol.

THANK YOU CAMPASOL.

also went to renew our s.i.p. cards(health cards) today and took our padron,

passport and green paper with our old spanish address on , never had any problems

and got new a4 sheet of paper to cover us for our health until the plastic card comes through

the post. 

as to the person who said we had to go to the police and change our address to our

present one on the green paper it is a load of rubbish. we asked advice from someone who

deals with the police on a regular basis here where we live and he said the green paper is for life and the address does not have to be changed.

so no mor advice from you johnzx please.

Dear Formentera,

Glad to hear that you were able to renew the SIP card. I would disagree however that it is not necessary to 'renew' the residency cert with your current address particularly when you have moved from Alicante Province to Murcia and the different health authorities.. Even though the incorrect document was accepted on this occasion, it is not current and therefore the only proof of where you are living owuld be from the empadronamiento (padron). It would be better to have all the paperwork or at least the padron and residentcy cert with the same information. Yes you would have to pay again the Fee of € 11,50 euros but at least it would be corrrect/current. Othewise for whatever need you may have to show the residency card, you will always have to explain that the address is not correct, which in a way invalidates the document. Yes its a pain and inconvenience but imho, its better to avoid any problems in the future.

hi argarcia,

am sending you a private message.