Barcelona, step by step
Your first 90 days in Barcelona
The procedures a newcomer goes through, in the order they usually come. Each page cites the official source behind every fact, and says plainly when your case needs a person.
32 of 32 guides
Register your address in Barcelona
Alta en el Padrón municipal de habitantes
Register the Barcelona address where you usually live so the city records your residence and you can prove it for later local procedures.
Get your NIE
Asignación de NIE a instancia de interesado
Get the foreigner identification number Spain uses to identify you in administrative, economic and professional dealings.
Set up your Spanish digital identity
Registro en Cl@ve / Certificado electrónico de ciudadano FNMT
Set up Cl@ve or an FNMT certificate so you can identify yourself and complete supported Spanish government procedures online.
Book the government appointment you need
Cita previa de extranjería / cita previa del organismo competente
Book the official appointment required by the correct authority for an in-person government procedure.
Register as an EU/EEA/Swiss resident in Spain
Certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión
Register your residence in Spain if you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen staying for more than three months.
Get residence as a non-EU family member of an EU citizen
Tarjeta de residencia de familiar de ciudadano de la Unión
Get the EU-family residence card if you are a qualifying non-EU family member accompanying or joining an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen.
Stay in Spain for qualifying studies
Autorización de estancia de larga duración por estudios
Get or maintain a long-duration study stay for qualifying education in Spain, with the work rights and financial rules that apply to your study category.
Apply for non-lucrative residence
Autorización inicial de residencia temporal no lucrativa
Live in Spain without carrying out work or professional activity by proving the required financial means, health cover and other conditions.
Bring qualifying family to Spain under general family reunification
Autorización de residencia temporal por reagrupación familiar
Reunify qualifying family members with a non-EU resident sponsor under Spain’s general family-reunification rules.
Get a work permit through a Spanish employer (initial employed-work authorization)
Autorización inicial de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta ajena
Get an employer-sponsored initial residence and employed-work authorization under the general immigration regime.
Get a self-employed work permit (initial self-employed work authorization)
Autorización inicial de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta propia
Get permission to live in Spain and carry out a viable self-employed activity under the general immigration regime.
Assess and apply for the correct arraigo route
Autorizaciones de residencia temporal por circunstancias excepcionales — arraigo
Use the current arraigo category that matches your facts; the categories now have different presence, family, work and training tests.
Use a Ley 14/2013 mobility route
Autorizaciones Ley 14/2013 — teletrabajo internacional, profesional altamente cualificado o emprendimiento
Apply through UGE-CE for the specific Ley 14/2013 route that matches remote work, a highly qualified role or an innovative business project.
Get your TIE card
Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero
Get the physical foreigner identity card that documents an already granted qualifying residence or stay status.
Get your Social Security number
Afiliación y asignación de Número de la Seguridad Social
Get the personal Social Security number used for employment and other relationships with Spain’s Social Security system.
Get your CatSalut health card
Targeta sanitària individual (TSI)
Get the Catalan public-health identification card after CatSalut has the coverage and identity data needed to assign your CIP.
Register as self-employed for tax and Social Security
Alta censal y alta en trabajo autónomo
Register a lawful self-employed activity with AEAT and TGSS before starting work, using the current tax census and RETA processes.
Exchange an eligible foreign driving licence
Canje de permiso de conducción extranjero
Exchange a qualifying foreign driving licence for a Spanish licence under the DGT rules that apply to the issuing country and licence category.
Recognize a foreign university qualification
Homologación o declaración de equivalencia de títulos universitarios extranjeros
Choose homologación or equivalencia based on whether you need recognition for a regulated profession or academic level/field in Spain.
Enroll a child in a Barcelona school
Preinscripció i matrícula escolar / escolarització fora de termini
Apply for a public or concerted school place in Barcelona using the current school-year pre-enrolment or out-of-period admission process.
Open a Spanish bank account or understand basic-account rights
Cuenta de pago básica / apertura de cuenta bancaria
Open a bank account under the bank’s KYC rules or use the regulated basic-payment-account framework if you qualify.
Renew your temporary residence authorization
Renovación de autorización de residencia temporal
Renew the same temporary residence category within its legal filing window so the existing authorization continues while the renewal is decided.
Modify your immigration authorization
Modificación de autorización de estancia o residencia
Move from one immigration status to another only where the current rules provide a specific modification path for your exact starting and target authorization.
Apply for long-term residence
Autorización de residencia de larga duración nacional / larga duración-UE
Apply for national or EU long-term residence after the qualifying legal-residence period, using the continuity and absence rules for the exact status you want.
Apply for Spanish nationality by residence
Nacionalidad española por residencia
Apply for Spanish nationality after the Civil Code residence period that applies to you and after meeting the conduct, integration and procedural requirements.
Get a criminal record certificate
Certificado de Antecedentes Penales
Obtain the Spanish or foreign criminal-record certificate required by a specific immigration, nationality or other procedure.
Get residence as a family member of a Spanish citizen
Autorización de residencia temporal de familiares de personas con nacionalidad española
Use the dedicated EX-24 route if you are a qualifying family member of a Spanish citizen and the EU free-movement EX-19 regime does not apply instead.
Get authorization to leave and return while documents are pending
Autorización de regreso
Get EX-13 when you qualify to leave Spain and return through a Spanish border while a renewal/extension or TIE-duplicate situation is pending.
Stay after graduation to look for work or start a business
Autorización de residencia para búsqueda de empleo o inicio de proyecto empresarial
Remain in Spain for up to 24 months after qualifying higher education to look for suitable work or prepare a business project, without work rights from this permit itself.
Get formal recognition of public healthcare entitlement
Reconocimiento del derecho a la asistencia sanitaria
Have INSS or ISM recognize or confirm publicly funded healthcare entitlement when it is not already registered automatically, before obtaining the regional health card.
Register or update your fiscal address and personal tax-census data
Modelo 030 — Censo de obligados tributarios / cambio de domicilio y datos personales
Use Modelo 030 to register or update personal tax-census information such as fiscal address when you are not using the business/professional Modelo 036 route.
Get residence for a foreign child born in Spain
Autorización de residencia temporal del menor extranjero acompañado nacido en España
Apply for the dedicated EX-25 residence authorization for a qualifying foreign minor born in Spain to a parent with a qualifying residence authorization.
“Lawyer for complex cases” marks procedures where some situations need an immigration lawyer. Each guide lists those situations, so you can tell whether yours is one of them.