Latest Posts

Well it’s hard to believe, but I’ve been in Spain nearly ten months now. My original non-lucrative residency is valid until August 30th, 2019, but the rules stipulate that a person can start the renewal process up to 60 days in advance, which means I can start the renewal process on July 1, 2019. The renewal process is significantly less involved than the first application – you don’t need any criminal record checks for example, and the fees are basically administrative in nature. So I’m mostly looking at this as a formality. Compared to the original visa though (which was […]

In a previous article we showed how to obtain your digital certificate here in Spain. One of the benefits of having it is it will allow you to do some services here in Spain that would normally involve having to take a trip somewhere and stand in a queue for an hour or more, or make an online appointment and eventually show up somewhere. One such service is the empadronamiento – registering with the town hall. You will need to do your first empadronamiento in person once arriving in Spain, that’s basically so they can check your documentation and your […]

I’m currently in the process of applying for a non-lucrative visa to come live in Spain for a year. While there are many different visa options you can apply for to enter Spain – such as a work visa or a student visa – the non-lucrative visa is great for people who want to enjoy Spain without being a student or working locally. The name, “non-lucrative”, basically refers to the fact that you can’t earn any money with it. Unfortunately what that means is a bit confusing (as are many other things about Spanish visas in general, but we’ll get […]

One of the aspects of living in Spain that always surprises me is just how up to date Spain is in terms of technology. For example, banking in Spain is way more advanced than in Canada – with just a few clicks I can send money to any other person in the EU using their IBAN number. Credit cards can easily be added to Apple or Android pay (unlike in North America where some banks are still holding out, trying to release their own competing services), and payments can even be split up over multiple months (not that this is […]

Approximately two weeks ago I hit my six month milestone here in Spain, and as such, thought it would be a really great time to update everyone on my Spanish adventure. Living In Valencia In case you missed it, last year I applied for (and was granted) residency to live in Spain for a year. My original plan was to travel around Spain and potentially visit various different parts of the country over the course of my stay here. Unfortunately as soon as I arrived I quickly realized that one of the requirements of my residency required me to actual […]

I’m currently in Jávea, Spain, which is actually where I was in May of 2018 when I first came up with the idea of moving to Spain. Jávea is a cute idillic location right on the Mediterranean with a population of around 27,000 people. The closest train station to Jávea is actually in a little town about 15 minutes away called Denia. That means Jávea is a bit isolated, which in many ways is a positive since it’s still a bit of a secret. Denia is actually one of the locations you can catch a ferry to Ibiza, so there […]

After managing to complete your appointment to get your TIE residency card, the next step is to simply wait the 30 days until you are allowed to pick it up. I actually was going to be busy that day, so I went down around day 28 to the police station. I was originally told to just show up, without an appointment, so that’s what I did. When I arrived there were several large line-ups, one on each side. I was told picking up your TIE card is really quick, so I assumed neither one was for me. But once I […]

If you’ve found this page, chances are you’re a Canadian, looking out the window at the snow or the endless months of winter dreariness and wishing you were somewhere else. I know, because that’s exactly what I was doing approximately a year ago when I came up with the idea of moving to Spain from Canada. And here I am now, a year later, living in the beautiful coastal city of Valencia and eating paella with new my Spanish friends. You can read about some of my reasons for moving to Spain here. So what does it take to move […]

If you have managed to get yourself a non-lucrative visa (or other long-term visa), one of the first things you will likely notice is that the visa is only valid for approximately three months. When you applied, you did so with the belief that it would be valid for a year, so what’s with this three month nonsense? Don’t worry, that’s just part of the process. Upon arriving in Spain, you basically have a month to make an appointment to convert your temporary non-lucrative visa into a one-year residency. To do so, you need to register at the appropriate place, […]

The Empadronamiento, often called “el pardon”, is the process of registering yourself with the town hall in whatever city you decide to live in. This used to be a simple formality – basically you would go down, tell them the address you are living at, without proof, and they would register you. It seems now that the process is much more involved, possibly due to people taking advantage of it previously. So why would you want to get your padrón? Well, if you want to become a resident of Spain, or to receive your TIE card after arriving, you are […]