On the evening of May 15th Raquel Perez of Perez Legal Group kindly made an informative presentation on the Spanish Padrón. Hosted by the Ayuntamiento de Benahavis, the talk was well attended with upwards of 40 Benahavis residents present.
The main issues that were highlighted by the Q&A session after the informative presentation were the difference between the three Rs: Residencia, Registro and Registración.
The main confusion for expats in Spain seems to begin here.
Residencia – for individuals living in Spain for more than six months per annum and the implications for their tax return.
However, the talk mainly centred mainly on the other Rs:
Registro – The register of foreigners at the National Police station. This is usually referred to as your NIE number. A NIE number should be obtained if you are here for a period longer than three months per annum.
Once this is completed you can apply for:
Registration on the Padrón at your local Town Hall. Thisis an obligation if you are living here for longer than three months. The information is data protected and not shared with the tax authorities, and allows Town Halls to obtain funding for municipal projects.
After about an hour of the Perez Legal Group presentation, followed by a discussion, the audience was invited for a glass of wine and tapas courtesy of the Benahavis Town Hall, where further questions were fielded concerning Benahavis issues by Peter Letters and Ake Olofsson of the Benahavis Town Hall.