TOWN HALL REGISTRATION
WHAT IS THE PADRÓN? The Padron is officially called the Empadronamiento and refers to the process of registering with your community’s padrón (city roll), also called the Padrón Municipal de Habitantes. The municipal padrón is the official record of all the people who live in a particular community and is the official way to verify or accredit your stay in Spain. By law, everyone who resides in Spain should be registered in the community where they live
In practice, the empadronmiento is your key to becoming a member of your Spanish community and you can apply as an individual or as a family. Whether you are here in Spain legally or not, you should consider registering with your local padrón, as it provides innumerable benefits if you intend to live in Spain for any extended period of time.
WHAT BENEFITS DO YOU RECIEVE FROM GETTING EMPADRONADO?
First, getting empadronado means that you’re considered an official resident of your community. Consider this your first step to integration into Spanish life. Second, the empadronamiento is the way that your stay or residence in Spain is verified or accredited – a necessity for a variety of administrative procedures.
For example, you will generally need a volante or certificado de empadronamiento to do the following things in your Spanish community:
Enroll your children in local schools.
Get married.
Apply for a local health card (el carnét para la asistencia sanitaria).
Vote.
Apply for certain visas.
Apply for residency by way of a general amnesty.
* IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NON-EU CITIZENS IN SPAIN:
For those who don’t have their papers in order, you have nothing to fear from registering. The information you provide is considered confidential. In fact, it’s in the city’s best interest to have an accurate count of the number of people within their jurisdiction and you can rest assured that they will NOT use this list to go after illegal immigrants or those who overstay their visas.
WHAT BENEFITS DOES THE CITY RECEIVE WHEN YOU’RE EMPADRONADO?
Based on the number of inhabitants, a city or town receives money from the government to provide services to those who live within its juridiction, which means that if you’re registered or empadronado, then the city receives money to provide services on your behalf, regardless of your legal status. It’s therefore in the city’s best interest (and yours really, for optimum service levels) to have an accurate count of who is really living in the community and using (or potentially using) the public services in question. It is for this reason that registration with the padrón is confidential.
WHERE TO GET EMPADRONADO IN SPAIN
Getting empadronado is largely a question of filling out a form and gathering together the required documents. Considering the staggering amount of bureaucracy required for certain other official procedures.
GETTING REGISTERED
Being registered is a two step process and has no complications whatsoever. Children, in order to study in Spain, must be “empadronado”, registered at the local town hall.
To become registered all you have to do is go to your local town hall and ask to empadronarse, fill out the form with your name, place of birth, parents’ names, your age, address, marital status and studies then hand in the form along with a copy of your passport (the original must be presented). You may also need a copy of a utility bill in your own name, either gas, electricity or water; a telephone bill is not usually acceptable.
By registering with the town hall, a more accurate estimate of the local population is given which is reflected in the services that the government funds in each area. It is a good idea to keep this document in a special folder, as you will need to present the original on occasion.
UK CONSULATES & EMBASSIES
The British Embassy has overall responsibility for the representation and promotion of the UK in Spain. Consult the embassy for legal procedures, travel advice, visas, passports and consular information.
Madrid (embassy)
C/Fernando el Santo 16
(mon-fri – 09:00-17:00)
tel_ 917 008 200
www.gov.uk/government/world/spain
Many forms are downloadable on the website: www.gov.uk/government/world/spain
(Passport renewals take between 10-21 days, the cost is 185€ for a 10 year adult passport and 118€ for a 5 year children passport)