Dealing with procedures and bureaucracy in Spain

Keep the originals of important documents in one folder: passport, foreigner card TIE, registration certificate (padrón), rental and work contracts, birth and marriage certificates, insurance documents, payslips, tax and social security letters.

• Sort them by topic, scan them and keep a safe digital copy.
• Many administrations ask for an original and a copy, so always bring both.
• Do not hand over originals unless necessary, and keep a receipt.
• Update your registration and do not let your documents expire.
• And name digital files with clear dates and names.
• And it is worth keeping copies of your registered applications (registro) since they are the proof of submission in time.

Most administrations do not receive without a prior appointment (cita previa) booked via their website, app or phone.

• Follow new slots in the morning, and always check that the site is official and ends in .gob.es or a known .es, since sites have appeared selling appointments.
• Each procedure has an official form (modelo) downloaded from the site and filled in before the visit, and fees are usually paid with the payment form (modelo 790 and others) via the bank or electronically before the appointment, and you bring the receipt.
• Read the instructions well to avoid refusal.
• And if you do not understand ask the government service 060 or the information office in your town hall.
• And do not pay intermediaries who sell the appointment or promise to complete the procedure.

Spanish bodies request foreign documents legalised by apostille (the Hague Convention) or consular legalisation if the state is not a signatory, and translation by a sworn translator (traductor jurado) approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if not in Spanish.

• These procedures take time and cost, so start early and take several legalised copies.
• Ask the body about the accepted form before starting, and check that your names are written in the same Latin letters on every document, since difference causes refusal.
• And some documents have a validity period, so criminal record certificates are often not accepted if three months have passed.
• For Spanish documents request digital certificates from the competent ministry instead of attending.

When you submit an application you get a receipt (justificante) stating the date and the reply period.

• If the period expires without reply administrative silence (silencio administrativo) applies: in some procedures it counts as approval (silencio positivo) and in others as refusal (negativo), so check your procedure's rule.
• You are notified of the decision often via electronic notification (notificación electrónica) in the Carpeta Ciudadana or by registered post, and the appeal period starts from reading or from ten days after the notice arrives, so check your electronic mailbox regularly.
• To appeal submit a recurso de alzada or reposición within often one month, then to the administrative court within two months.
• Attach your reasons and evidence.
• And ask for legal advice before the deadline expires, since it is not extended.

Do not give your Cl@ve, NIE number or card details to anyone who calls or writes claiming to be from the police, tax, social security or bank, since these are common phishing messages requesting payment of a fine or update of data.

• Do not click links in suspicious messages and enter through the official site yourself.
• Data protection laws (RGPD) protect your data and you have the right to see and correct it. For free help go to social services in your town hall, organisations such as Cruz Roja, Cáritas, ACCEM, CEAR and Médicos del Mundo, unions such as CCOO and UGT, migrant advice offices, and the bar association (Servicio de Orientación Jurídica).
• And citizen information offices (060) help you with electronic services.

What is silencio administrativo?