The following information is from THE ONE STOP PROBLEM SHOP in Tenerife.
This should apply on mainland Spain:
What type of "residencia" residence document should I have?
Here are the basic requirements for adult EU citizens in Tenerife Spain:
1) White NIE certificate valid for up to 3 months - then superceded by either 2 or 3 depending on your status · copy and original of application form Ex15 and Modelo 790 for a 9,28 euro payment in the bank, copy and original of your passport when you attend the National Police Station /Extranjeria. Certificate issued on the day. If you already have an NIE number this stays with you for life and you can then jump to point 2 or 3 depending on your circumstances.
2) Green Certificate of registro -from November 2011 this is in a credit card sized format but still made of paper, for indefinite or fixed length stays of over 3 months · 1 copy of application form Ex18, Modelo 790 for a 10,20 euro payment, 1 passport type photo, (if at Las Américas - not required in Puerto de la Cruz) photocopy and original of Passport and copy of an in date Empadronamiento when you attend the National Police station/Extranjeria· issued on the spot.
3) Certificate of NON residence for Spanish Bank - stays in TOTAL of under 6 months in any one year · Original & copy of application form Ex15, Modelo 790 for a 10,20 euro payment, photocopy and original of Passport when you attend the National Police station/Extranjeria· Issued 3 to 4 working days later. Most Banks will see to this on your behalf if you have a non-residents bank account with them, but they do make a charge for the service.
So lets look at these and other different types of document in more detail:
Firstly
EU citizen’s registration Certificate
This was issued as a green coloured A4 watermarked paper but from November 2011 this is in a credit card sized format but still made of paper….. For people living in the south, its issued at the National Police Station in Las Americas
Obtaining a green certificate is an immigration requirement for anyone who stays here in Tenerife for periods of longer than 3 months at a time, it will show your NIE which is a foreigners identity number, but if you don’t already have an NIE number you must apply for one first see above and you should already be on your local authority's Padron.
You should also go back to the National Police Station and revoke this certificate if you return to the UK for good.
In other words the European powers-that-be have decided that 3 months holiday at a time is long enough for anyone!
Incidentally if you don’t go back and you stay here in Tenerife for 5 years continuously and intend to stay for an indefinite period after
that, then you should obtain the permanent resident’s version - which is still a green paper but has a slightly different wording on it.
UPDATE as of 29 November 2011
The format of the European Citizens Certificate of Residence in Spain has changed again with effect from (in Tenerife) 29 November 2011.
The certificate is now being issued in credit card size although still printed on green paper.
Certificates issued in the A4 format (see below) are still valid.
On to number 2
The 2nd type of residency document is a
Certificate of Spanish FISCAL residency. This shouldn't be confused with the immigration requirements dealt with above.
You can get a Spanish Fiscal residency certificate from the Spanish Tax office called the “Hacienda” and this is basically a confirmation that you paid your income taxes, on earned or unearned income in Spain, in a particular year, or are registering to do so from now on.
Taxation is a very complicated subject, but as a rule of thumb if you spend 183 days or more in Spanish territory during any one calendar year .. a Spanish Tax year runs from January to December by the way…. Then you will be fiscally resident in Spain.
Now lets talk about number 3
Residency document Number 3 will be completely phased out by April 2012 but for the moment there may still be some of you with an in-date small plastic Residencia cardwith your photograph on, if there are, you probably already know that when this expires you will be required by law to get a green coloured card sized certificate to replace it.
The fourth document is an NIE certificate – this is a white A4 paper which is now issued only to Non residents to show that they have an NIE number,
The NIE number stays with you for life, but these days the white coloured certificate itself is only valid for 3 months from the date of issue, I know this was different for some people under previous regulations but that’s what happens for new applications now.
The 5th type of document is for Non Residents who have a bank account here in Spain and they need a Spanish Certificate of NON Residency,
This is also a white A4 document and also carries your NIE number it can be issued by the Police Station in Las Américas if you want to go there and apply for it yourself, but more usually the bank where you have your Non resident’s account applies for it on your behalf (for which privilege they charge you by the way) This certificate is usually renewed every 2 years.
On to document number 6.. this is used by both Non fiscal residents and fiscal residents alike if they have a permanent base here in Tenerife. That can be owned or rented long term.
This is called a certificate of Empadronamiento: The certificate which is valid for 6 months, proves that you have been registered on the Municpal census (Padron) as living at your current address in Spain.
You should advise the Town Hall of any changes of address, but in any case if you have not had any dealings at all with your town hall during a five year period you are required by law to re-register.You would use this certificate to prove your address for things like a car purchase for example.
And finally number 7 which is a new requirement for 2011
If you are Non Fiscally Resident – remember that means you don’t pay your income taxes here, but do own property here in Tenerife and you also let that property out to long or short term tenants, from January this year you will be required to obtain a UK bi-lingual certificate proving fiscal residency in the UK.
This is a dual language document and is issued by your local UK tax office and is valid for 1 year.
THIS IS ONLY IF YOU LET YOUR SPANISH PROPERTY OUT FOR GAIN If you do not get rental income in Spain you continue to do Non-Resident’s deemed annual income tax returns…