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Personal Documents
In order to take up residence in Spain you need to obtain
certain documents which are required by law. We can arrange
everything you need and, unlike some of our rivals, we will
do the work for you and not just send you here there and
everywhere to do it yourself. On the odd occasion when your
presence is required, for fingerprints or a notarised signature,
we will be on hand to interpret and smooth the way.
NIE Number
Before you can do anything in Spain, buy a house or a car,
open a bank account or enter into any kind of contract,
for a telephone for instance, you need an NIE number (Número
de Identificación de Extranjeros). This is not a
special tag to single out the foreigners but simply the
equivalent of the Spanish citizen's NIF number (Número
de Identificación Fiscal) which everyone has.
Although obtaining one should be a relatively simple matter
it can be a bit daunting marching into the police station
and filling in forms when you speak no Spanish at all. We
can do all the work for you leaving you just to sign on
the dotted line.
Residence Permit
According to the latest law which came into force in 2005,
EEC citizens living in Spain no longer require a residence
permit. However, if you do not have one, you are required
to carry your passport around with you at all times. For
this reason alone it is worth obtaining the small credit
card sized residence permit.
Another good reason to have a residence permit is that
there are often times when you need to prove that you are
a resident in Spain, to avoid the withholding of certain
taxes for instance, and this can be difficult to do without
one.
Medical Care
In order to obtain free medical care it is necessary to
register with the social security office and then sign on
at the local 'Centro de Salud' to be allocated a doctor.
We have done this many times on behalf of our clients and
can save you an awful lot of queueing, form filling and
frustration.
Driving Licence
Although EU driving licences have made life a lot easier
in recent years, sooner or later you will need to apply
for a Spanish driving licence. We would be happy to check
the legal status of your present licence and advise you
when you need to change and, when the time comes, we can
do all the work for you.
Road Taxes and Car Documents and ITV
As in any European country road taxes have to be paid and
we can set up a worry free system for you to ensure that
these are paid on time to the right people. Also we would
be happy to check that your ownership papers are all in
good order, that you do indeed own the car and, more importantly,
that you no longer own the car you just sold. You don't
want to be receiving someone else's parking tickets.
Older cars are required to have a certificate of roadworthiness
similar to the MOT in Britain. Unlike the MOT however, you
cannot just take the car to the local garage. You need to
go to the government test centre, we can accompany you and
smooth the way through this procedure.
Taxes
Tax liability is a complicated business in any country
and no less complicated here in Spain. Our specialist team
can ensure that you are aware of all your liabilities and
offer advice on how to minimise them. In Spain, unlike the
UK, everyone makes a tax declaration once a year. As with
all dealings with the 'tax man' this needs to be dealt with
carefully and by experts in the field. With careful financial
planning we can usually save our clients considerably more
than our fees in avoided taxes.
Local Taxes
Although local taxes are not high they still need to be
paid. We can register you at the town hall and set up a
simple system of direct debits to take care of all the different
urban or rural taxes for which you are liable and make sure
that you are not paying too much.
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