Spanish relocation terms, explained
You never need to learn Spanish bureaucracy to use Move Spain, we translate it into normal questions. This page is here for the moments you want to know what a term on an official document actually means.
Your identity in Spain
The numbers and certificates that identify you to Spanish authorities.
- NIE
- Your Spanish identification number for foreigners. You need it for almost everything official in Spain: a rental contract, a bank account, a job, a car. It is a number on a certificate, not a residence permit.
- TIE
- The physical foreigner identity card. It is for non-EU citizens. EU citizens get a certificate with their NIE instead of a card.
- Certificado de Registro
- The green certificate that shows an EU citizen is registered as a resident in Spain. It contains your NIE number.
- EU citizenship
- Whether your passport is from an EU or EEA country. EU citizens follow a much shorter route in Spain, which is the route Move Spain handles.
Where you live
Registering your address, and the offices that handle it.
- Town Hall registration (Empadronamiento)
- Registering your address at the Town Hall of the place you live. Spain uses it to prove where you actually live, and you need it for schools, health care and many other local services.
- Padrón certificate
- The proof of your Town Hall registration. The Town Hall prints it after you register, and other offices ask for a recent copy.
- Ayuntamiento
- The Spanish word for the Town Hall of your municipality. It handles your address registration.
- Municipality
- The town or city your Spanish address belongs to. It decides which Town Hall you register at and which local rules apply, so it changes your documents.
Official forms and offices
The paperwork we prepare for you, and who receives it.
- EX-15
- The official Spanish application form for a NIE number. We fill it in for you from the answers you already gave us, and you only check and sign it.
- EX-18
- The official form EU citizens use to register as a resident in Spain. We prepare it for you when your route needs it.
- Modelo 790
- The Spanish government payment slip for the NIE fee. You pay this small fee to the government, not to us, and we prepare the slip so you can pay it at a bank.
- Oficina de Extranjería
- The government office for foreigners' paperwork. Together with the national police it issues NIE numbers and residence documents.
You do not have to work this out alone
Tell us about your move and we translate your situation into the procedures that actually apply to you, with the official terms explained where they appear.