Empadronamiento

This information was checked with the authorities in one of the Padron offices and printed in a newspaper where I write a monthly column.

Thanks for the clarification Myra.  We were always under the impression that you should register for the padron even if you were not actually living here.

So from what you are saying you should only register on the padron if this is where you want to be paying your taxes?  You should not register if you are only using your property for holiday purposes.

Is that right?

Justin

Justin. Correct.

My understanding is that you can register as a part-time resident. The town hall  get allocated their share of government funds depending on the number of residents and part-time residents so if you're not registered your local town is missing out.

What's part-time resident? I thought you are either a resident, or you are not.

There is no such thing as a part time resident. Maybe what is meant is that you can choose to live equal length of time here and your country or origin but you must decide where you are considerd resident. By the way due to the change in law which I have talked about on various threads. You can no longer register on the Padron without being taking out your resident first. Mistakes have been made by some town hall census offices.

Hola Myra - having read the posts on this, it's clear that we shouldn't be on the padron. We did register as we were told this helps the town hall etc, etc. But we're not residents.

Can we ask to be taken off? How will the Town Hall react? :-(

Many thanks

Alteapair

Hello Alteapair. You are not alone in this. I would need more information before I advise you. If you do not wish to post details of your situation on the blog. We take discuss this by private message.

Myra

I am non resident but own a property on Costa Calida and am purchasing a car to use when in Spain. I have been told by the dealer that he needs a Certificado Empadronamiento from me, are you saying thats as non resident I cannot get one?

If not what papers can be used to purchase a car?

 Hello Hugh-man. You are in luck. Due to the upcoming municipal elections 2011 the town halls are tripping over themselves to get everyone on the padron. As they are changing the rules to suit , may I suggest you take advantage of this and get yourself on the census. You may be asked if you are intending to live here for over six months. The answer is yes. Change your status later if you wish. I will post some details here.

 Are you acquainted with the facts associated with registering on the census?

There is a drive to encourage the European community­ to register on the census (padron) Residents and those who habitually live in Spain should enlist to augment your town hall reserves and reap the benefits available.  Holiday home owners and those who still are domiciled in their country of origin should check the accuracy of information given and be aware of the implications if advised to enroll. These may well alter your residence and tax status. Take note that you cannot be registered in two countries at the same time. The advice being given by many relevant authorities are conflicting and the local town hall often has in the past adhered to different rules and changed the regulation which has caused a lot of confusion.  The driving of non Spanish registered vehicles is not an option as once registered you are verifying your resident status.  Stating that the census database is private is not sufficient when you need to use this document for taking advantage of the many offers. Please seek advice and consider your exact status both here and in your home country before undertaking this important decision.

I put my UK car on Spanish plates and did not bother going on the padron but I did it all myself.

Just got info from a neighbour, who tried to register for padron in San Miguel de Salinas (Alicante province). Everything went well until they said they could not receive the document after 2 weeks as they would be home in England.

They were informed they could not get Padron unless they were living here permanently.

 I am trying to buy a car as a non resident and have beeen told by Citroen and by my (useless)  solicitor that I needed to be on the padron. (the solicitor wanted to charge 90 euros + iva to do this for me).

I decided to try and do it myself, and went to El Ejido town hall with my passport, NIE, escritura and electric bill.

I was served by a very friendly English speaking man who told me that I CANNOT be on the padron as a non resident.

He said I needed the escritura, passport and NIE to buy a car. He even wrote a letter for me to give to Citroen explaining this, and stamped it with the official town hall stamp.

I hope this information will be of help to other people, and save some time and money.

Correct - you do not need to be on the padron to register a car.

The problem is citroen may not be familiar with non-resident procedures and likewise your solicitor when it comes to the padron.

But as far as I know your solicitor cannot register you on the padron and you must do that in person for the very obvious reason if you claim to be resident here then you must be living here so why can't you attend in person. So unless he knew someone behind the counter he would likely have been kicked out and then have to ask you to accompany him and then you really wonder what you are paying him for.

we have had a car for nearly two years bought it through a garage and we have never registered on any padron. we just showed our passports nie numbers and paperwork showing our home address. we only spend around three months a year in spain.

Not much to add of value, just my own short experience - I'm living in Spain since Dec 2010 with a view to relocating permanently if I can make my business work well enough here but have elected to divide my time so that I can stay in the British tax system for now because the cost of being autonomo (self employed) here is so high compared to the UK. 

I found it very difficult to find out anything definite for my situation in advance of coming here, the HMRC sites are all about people owning property, private income or employed and virtually nothing for an individual who is self employed. I requested a form to prove I was still in the English system and they did not send it, another form was turned down as they said I did not meet the criteria as I could not establish a definite period for working here (ie a contract) despite explaining exactly what I do.

So I'm here half the year for now and have done nothing, no NIE, no empadronado, nada! I will fill in my tax return as usual in England and declare my entire income for the year etc and continue to pay NI class 2 and class 4. Not sure what Spain gets for letting me live here - ah, but they don't really know I do, do they?? All things considered I think I am using the best option given that it seems impossible to understand the rules here or in England unless you are firmly committed to one or the other, and even then the rules in Spain seem to change including locally so where would you go for one definitive set of rules and proper advice I wonder..........

I bought a car from a main Ford dealer last year. They wanted something to say I was a resident, but I am not resident in Spain. They were a bit of a pain insisiting I must be a resident. My solicitor spoke to numerous government departments to clarify and concluded it wasn't  a legal requirement. In  the end the garage accepted house deeds, NIE, passport and a stamped letter from the Town Hall. The Town Hall were a lot easier than Ford to deal with!