Guide to the TIE - Empadronamiento

Empadronamiento, or, the census, is both a requirement for the TIE and a very important process for establishing residency in Spain. In this video, we'll go over what it means to become padrón and how to do it--both gathering the required documentation, and making the appointment.
I'm making a series of videos as guides for new Auxiliares de Conversación (English Language and Culture Assistants). Although my experience and respective advice mostly applies to those coming in through the Spanish Ministry of Education's North American Language and Culture Assistants program, and even more specifically, those candidates from the United States, it can also be used as a foundation for those who do not match my particular situation, whether in a different program, from another country, or placed in some other region.
I'm not a complete expert, but I do like helping out! Let me know if you have any questions about the process down below.
Big disclaimer: I am not a lawyer so cannot give legal advice. If your residency or immigration situation in Spain is more complicated, or, you simply want a bit more guidance through this process, I highly recommend reaching out to legal representation--they can provide expertise and help you navigate the residency and immigration process (including empadronamiento).
More videos in this series (coming soon)
TIE: What is TIE? and Getting an appointment • Guide to the TIE - Wha...
TIE: How to complete the EX-17 application • Guide to the TIE - How...
TIE: Creating and Paying for Tax Model 790 Code 012
• Guide to the TIE - Cre...
TIE: Final steps: • Guide to the TIE - Fin...
CDNS: • How to: CDNS Backgroun...
Resources for New Auxiliars Playlist: • Resources for New Auxi...
Links:
Download the Hoja Padronal (Madrid): sede.madrid.es...
Make the Padrón appointment (Madrid): gestionturnos....
More resources:
Information and Instructions from the Ayuntamiento de Madrid (in Spanish): sede.madrid.es...
City Life Madrid's amazing database (usually updated annually): www.citylifema...
Abaco Advisers' article, "Understanding the padrón, empadronamiento, and residencia": blog.abacoadvi...
Ballcells Group's article, "Empadronamiento in Spain: How to Register your Address as a Resident": balcellsgroup....
Spainguru's article: spainguru.es/2...
Spainguru's video: • Certificado de Empadro...
Resources for New Auxiliars Google drive drive.google.c...
Did this help you out? Let me know on instagram or twitter @nampahceitac, or send me a lil tip!
venmo: venmo.com/cech...
paypal: paypal.me/cech...

[@ldrddm114]

This is amazing, thank you so much for taking your time to do this for us

[@Narutokyuubihokage02]

thank you so much

[@wademaingot1734]

Hi Catie, will be moving to Madrid next month and just came across your great video. Thanks for sharing ... it's just what I needed. Well done!!

[@ferchichihend1804]

THANK U FOR SHARING!! much needed!

[@CatieChapman]

Np! Hope it helps :')

[@stocksmarts_]

Great video!

[@CatieChapman]

Have more questions? Come to our live chat over zoom! Sundays from 4-6pm CEST in September and October for personalized support. RSVP here: m.facebook.com/events/821624599768514/?event_time_id=821624613101846

[@jessicaseetharaman3840]

hi again, I will be living in a student accommodation however i still have not received the specific room, floor etc, can I just padron the residence as a whole or do I need to be specific and provide the room number ?

[@CatieChapman]

@@jessicaseetharaman3840 presuming this is a plan, and you haven't yet arrived-you can't register as a padron until you enter the country. The appointment is in person, so until you've actually made it there, and gone to the appointment at the office (all of which you'll likely do after you've made it to your student accommodation and gotten these details sorted) you don't have to worry about it. In any case the street address should work! But if you wanted to have a specific address on file as to how they could reach you, providing a specific room number is always a good idea

[@scout9352]

Hello! Thank you for the great video. I have a question regarding the Autorizacion de Empadronamiento and Declaracion de Residencia. We only need to fill those up if we don't have a copy of our contract right? If we have a contract do we still need to fill it up?

[@CatieChapman]

Ok responding again bc i finally re-read this lol! Yes, you'll need one or the other in addition to the contract. If you have a written contract signed by your landlord, sometimes that fulfills that signature, though.

[@pabl0191]

Hey, thanks, this helped a lot. I have one more question tho, just to be sure. Do I need to fill out either the "authorizacion de empadronamiento" or "declaracion de residencia" even if I have a signed contrato de aliquiler? Or is it possible to leave these blank then?

[@CatieChapman]

You need one or the other in addition to the contract!

[@pabl0191]

@@CatieChapman thank you for the quick answer :)

[@suleymaneneskurt]

Hi, I will be in Spain for just 2.5 months and I want to get a Tie do I still need to be Empadronomiento

[@CatieChapman]

@@suleymaneneskurt you are not eligible for the TIE. It is only granted to visa holders, and furthermore, those staying longer than 90 days in Spain. You will not need to empadronarse.

[@suleymaneneskurt]

@@CatieChapman Thanks a lot for answering so quickly. I must say I didn`t expect an answer. I am an Erasmus intern here, the place I am working now told me that a need a Nie number for them to save me to social security stuff. And here I am.

[@CatieChapman]

@@suleymaneneskurt Ah-for EU residents it might be different. I'd recommend reaching out to your embassy with any questions.

[@kartysingam9408]

Thank you for you videos. Regarding the rental contract for the "certificado de empadronamiento," I have a question. I will be staying with my friend, and she is not asking for rent. However, I will be responsible for paying utilities only. Since we don't have a formal contract, how can I provide proof of my residence or properly fill out the necessary forms given my situation?

[@CatieChapman]

She'll sign the form if she's already empadronada at that address. If she isn't, you'll have to get the landlord to sign the form saying you have permission to stay.

[@kartysingam9408]

@@CatieChapman thank you Catie! 🤗

[@simaysimsek8771]

First of all, hello, I came to Spain from Turkey for Erasmus. My period is over 6 months and my visa period in my passport is exactly 90 days. I have my NIE number in my passport. I would like to ask you this. I need to apply for TIE and the earliest appointment I could find is two months later. However, it says that the application must be made within 30 days after arriving in Spain. What should I do, in this case, I will apply 2 months later? And a friend of mine, who came like me before, only brought only the rental agreement instead of the empadronamiento among the required documents when applying for TIE and their application was accepted. Do we necessarily need to issue this document (empadronamiento) to obtain the TIE? When we change our residence here, does our residence in our own country disappear?

[@CatieChapman]

Regarding residency updates: You would have to coordinate with your home country to update your residence-they do not automatically correspond! Once you have your residency document in Spain, you might be able to provide it to your home country's representative body (like an embassy) to update important things like voting registration or address of contact.

[@CatieChapman]

Regarding needing the padron document at the appointment: for first years, its not technically required. ✨HOWEVER✨ it largely depends on the funcionario, or, officer, you deal with at your appointment-some will not accept a TIE application without one. So, its best practice to register if you can!

[@CatieChapman]

And regarding timing: The 30 days is recommended, but not required. Many people are unable to find appointments and procure the documents they need in that short timeline, so if you feel overwhelmed, no worries! The main thing to remember is that you will need the TIE once your visa expires, and the process does take a while, so the sooner you seek it, the better. You cannot apply to the TIE on an expired visa. It still should be valid during your initial toma de huellas appointment. Take the earliest appointment you can!

[@simaysimsek8771]

@@CatieChapman I will definitely need to specify my new residence, so I am doing this. I would like to ask this. Normally, I live in my own house in Turkey. When I apply here, my residence in Turkey will not be lost , right? When I leave Spain, I will cancel my residence here again, just like you did.

[@simaysimsek8771]

@@CatieChapman Yes, I keep checking, but it reopened yesterday and I made an appointment for April 15th at the earliest, and my visa in my passport will expire on April 25th.

[@amyhowell2630]

After you moved out of your house/left Madrid, did you apply for la baja de empadronamiento to say you are no longer living at the property?

[@CatieChapman]

Yes. I made an appointment at the same oficina de atención al ciudadanos I initially registered at, but ended up walking in at an earlier time and was seen. To bajar is much easier than to apply; I was asked why I was changing status and I said I was moving back to my country of origin, the United States. But, you can also change it if you change apartments in the same region (and you should in a timely manner too! As it can have an effect your landlord and their ability to rent) or if you’re changing regions.

[@amyhowell2630]

Amazing, thank you for your reply!@@CatieChapman

[@serraustaoglu7063]

Hello, Im Living with 9 housemates but I cannot write N de personal inscritas en esta hoja because system just allows to write max 3. I dont understand?

[@CatieChapman]

Hey! You'll just attach more forms to the first one. So you could do 3 per page, 3 pages. I'm not sure how you'll manage to all show up to the Aoc at the same time though- if you were going to be going to the office at separate times (as nine separate schedules are hard to coordinate) it might just be better to fill out the forms separately. There's no pressure to do it all at once, but in some cases it's more convenient.

[@serraustaoglu7063]

I’m the only one who needs TIE form other of my housemates are not appliying for empadro. So am I going to fill 3 forms amd write each form a 3 right? Also, the options are not opened in the questions where I need to choose an option, such as the 1st question calle or the questions with options where I need to choose 47. What path should I follow?

[@serraustaoglu7063]

Is it possible to print out the file and fill everything by hand?

[@CatieChapman]

@@serraustaoglu7063sorry to respond just now; but in case anyone else has the same question, yes, it's possible (and common practice) to print out and complete by hand.

[@tinietintinie]

Hi Catie! Would you know what number can be placed if I currently don't have a Spanish telephone number? My mobile number has more digits than the system is allowing me to use.

[@CatieChapman]

If you can't submit your country code and phone number, I wholeheartedly recommend getting a spanish SIM card. It can't be understated enough that you'll need a valid Spanish number while living in Spain-monthly fees are less than 20€ (the 10€/month ones are usually more than enough) EU #s should suffice, though. Depends where you're from!

[@ericguti6880]

One question? Do you know the best way to go about doing an EMPADRIONAMIENTO SIN DOMICILLIO? I arrive in Madrid in one month, and for the first 3 weeks im staying at one Airbnb, then another for the following 5 weeks. And they dont provide a rental contract that I can use to do a normal Empadronamiento. I'm going back to Australia in December for the xmas break and then when i get back in January I will finally have a normal rental property. I am so lost to be honest since I know how important the Empadronamiento is to get a TIE within 30 days. Thank you.

[@CatieChapman]

There's the issue-you can really only declare padron status once you have a proof of stay for over 6 months. For first time TIE applicants, sometimes there's a bit of grace when it comes to it. My first year I showed up without one, but my second year I needed it. At the same time, many people I know were turned away and told they absolutely needed it despite advice from our respective orgs that it wasnt a priority. It really depends on the funcionario you are dealt upon the day of the TIE appointment.

[@CatieChapman]

Additionally, just to make sure your timeline is adjusted-you wont receive the TIE in 30 days, but it is recommended for the sake of timeliness (so, by the time your student visa dates expire) that you've made an attempt at booking an appointment and collected documents in that first month. You should have, more or less, 90 days of validity on your student visa before you'll need to have another valid document in hand.

[@ericguti6880]

@@CatieChapman Thank you so much for taking your time to reply to me and for the video! Very helpful

[@dudaydizon7638]

Hi Catie, how can I ask for Padron if I own the apartment?

[@CatieChapman]

@@dudaydizon7638not sure! I would imagine if you’ve submitted documentation to purchase the dwelling and register as a resident that you may have already declared it. I would say to check with your real estate agent what you’ve submitted.

[@mazzaher6862]

How much time it takes after submitting application , i applied on 22 august and now is 10 october still nothing , my tie expired on 6 oct

[@CatieChapman]

In theory, the renewal is supposed to take 90 days. But, this is not been the case in the past few years. For example, I submitted my TIE renewal in June 2022, and only received approval in November 2022, which meant that my replacement TIE I received in March 2023. Recently, someone has informed me that Extranjeria has not processed renewals applications received since spring 2023. You will be waiting a long time. I cannot say how long, as unfortunately, that depends on extranjeria.

[@nashwasammy8064]

do i need a nie to apply for tie

[@CatieChapman]

Not necessarily! Sometimes, your visa comes without an NIE. In that case, you just provide your passport number throughout this process. At the very least, you will need a visa or some kind of status authorization to apply for the TIE.

[@nashwasammy8064]

heyy, do you know where to get the form for other provinces ie alicante

[@CatieChapman]

Its on the bottom of the instructions page here: www.alicante.es/es/tramites/altas-y-cambios-domicilio-padron-municipal-habitantes#:~:text=TR%C3%81MITE%20PRESENCIAL%20CON%20CITA%20PREVIA%3A&text=010%20%C3%B3%20900%20153%20862%20o%20a%20trav%C3%A9s%20de%20Internet%20en,el%20Padr%C3%B3n%20Municipal%20de%20Habitantes'.

[@CatieChapman]

Make sure to choose the "hoja de inscripcion o modificacion" document

[@jorelpaloma4186]

How to obtain NIE

[@CatieChapman]

Hey Jorel, this totally depends on your country of origin and whether or not you’re already in Spain or not. What’s your situation?

[@jorelpaloma4186]

@@CatieChapman i am here in belgium there have people told me to get a NIE. First if i used open acct. And buying property..

[@CatieChapman]

@@jorelpaloma4186 unfortunately I don’t know about situations outside of Spain, sorry