Paperwork

Finally we have finished with most of our paperwork to stay here in Spain for eight months. Rachael, Erin and I went to the comisaría de policia (police station) in Rota yesterday and then again today to get everything sorted out, and the following is what we found out. Keep in mind that comisarías are generally only open Monday-Friday from 9:30 am – 1:30 pm.

If you are Canadian or American:
You will need to get at least 2 Spanish passport-sized photos taken and bring them with you. You also need to fill out a form to get your NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) and another form to get permission to ‘study’ in Spain. Finally, you will need 2 photocopies (1 for each form) of your ENTIRE passport (this means every single page, even the ones that are completely blank). They will take your forms and photocopies, and then they should give you a copy of the permission form and tell you when you can come back to pick up your NIE certificate. The permission form may have to be sent to a bigger city (ours had to go to Cádiz) and they will ask for a phone number on the form where they can contact you when it’s finished.

If you are British or a member of the European Union:
You will also need to fill out the NIE form, but the other form is an application for residency. You will only need 1 photocopy of the main page of your passport (the one with your photo) and the two forms. You should receive your NIE certificate right away at the police station, and then you’re done!