The Spanish residency card: the process for obtaining it
(May 2008)

The process for obtaining the Residency Card for Members of the European Union has been amended for practical purposes. Until now, EU citizens who live in Spain have not been obliged to obtain this card. On July 2, 2007, a Royal Decree obliged them to themselves with the Registro Central de Extranjeros [Central Register of Foreigners].

This implies a substantial change for these residents because not only does it provide them with an identity document but now also provides them with a certificate of their registration as a citizen of the European Union in Spain.

Those people that already have a card will not have to undertake this process until their card expires. New residents will have to request the Certificate of Registration in order to subsequently, and depending on each case in question (sometimes 2 years of continued residency, 3 or even 5), to obtain a certificate giving them the right to reside permanently.

This "Certificate of Registration as citizen of the EU" can be requested from National Police Station in the area where they live.

At the Police Station of Cartagena (Murcia) and Orihuela (Alicante), for example, they require your certificate of registration with the local council [padrón], the payment of a fee (approximately 8 euros), a photocopy of your passport and the completion of a form, as well as two passport-sized photographs (not requested at the Police Station of Orihuela). The person applying for the certificate must present themselves at the Police Station.