Practical guides for expats in Spain: documents, procedures, tips, and more.
How to get your NIE in Spain: documents, cita previa, the application fee, common mistakes. Includes the route for Ukrainians under temporary protection.
EU registration certificate (EX-18), standalone NIE (EX-15) or TIE: which one you need, how to apply in Spain or at a consulate, the 790-012 fee.
How to register at the padrón in Spain: documents, online appointments, no rental contract, timelines. Valencia procedure and tips for Ukrainians.
How to get the FNMT digital certificate and register for Cl@ve in Spain: documents, cita previa, AutoFirma and common mistakes.
Booking the NIE/TIE cita on the official portal is free. What paid «we find a cita» services really are, when slots appear, what to do when there are none.
The 30 June 2026 window has closed and was never for Ukrainians on temporary protection. TIE to 4 March 2027, EU protection to 2028, residence via DA 19ª.
What a new applicant proves: the Ukrainian exit stamp and the 90-day limit, exemption document, Reserv+, who is not checked, where to call. Per the sources.
Ukrainians on temporary protection: TIE to 4 March 2027, EU protection to 2028, moving to residence under DA 19ª and SEM 2/2026: work, arraigo, family.
Child born outside Spain to temporary-protection parents: art. 160 Reglamento under SEM 2/2026, apostille, fees, NIE, TIE and the route for regular residents.
After the 22 June 2026 instruction, Ukrainians on temporary protection can switch to regular residence. 4 profiles: documents, timelines, sources.
What a traductor jurado must translate, who may translate, how Ukrainian documents get an apostille and why they are rejected. From primary sources.
Window 16 April–30 June 2026 is CLOSED. Ukrainians on temporary protection are EXCLUDED — who qualified (arraigo extraordinario), what to do instead.
How to open a bank account in Spain as a newcomer: banks, documents, online banking, fees. Tips for Ukrainians with temporary protection.
Step-by-step guide to renting in Valencia and Spain: where to look, documents, contract, deposit, expat neighbourhoods, tenant rights and common mistakes.
Must the landlord install air conditioning, how to fit one yourself, landlord and comunidad consent, noise, gas, bono social, the 27 °C myth — per the BOE.
AEMET colours, ES-Alert, 112, what to do at home and in the car, Consorcio de Seguros payout, state aid, lost TIE and licence, work — with primary sources.
Confinamiento or evacuation, 112 and ES-Alert, smoke and FFP2, urbanización rules, why Consorcio does not pay for fire, insurance, state aid — primary sources.
AEMET colours and zone thresholds, work under an orange/red aviso, DGT chains and winter tyres, road levels, Protección Civil advice — from primary sources.
Burning cuttings, barbecues and paelleros, the forest strip in Valencia, Andalucía, Madrid and Catalonia: ban dates, permits, fines — from official sources.
Get the tarjeta sanitaria (health card) in Spain and a centro de salud. Ukrainians under temporary protection need only the resguardo: no padrón, no NIE.
Enrolling a child in a Spanish school in 2026: free education for any status, school types, documents, empadronamiento, language support and mid-year enrolment.
For Ukrainians and Russian speakers: homologación, equivalencia and convalidación explained. Doctors and temporary-protection holders have a separate track.
How to exchange a Ukrainian driving licence for a Spanish one in 2026: no-exam exchange under the 2010 agreement, documents, DGT fees and cita previa.
Spain's Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) in 2026: the 200%-of-SMI income requirement (€2,442/month gross), documents, application process, 24% tax regime and timelines.
Moving to Spain on a work contract without temporary protection: who applies, Catálogo and SNE, deadlines, visa, Seguridad Social alta, TIE, Tarjeta azul-UE.
Who is eligible (temporary protection, NIE/TIE), modelo 036, RETA registration, 2026 cuota, tarifa plana, IVA/IRPF, Verifactu — with primary sources.
What to file and when in year one: modelo 036, quarterly 130 and 303, annual 390 and Renta, RETA cuota, invoices, books. AEAT 2026 dates and a May alta example.
Employer duties under an AEMET orange/red aviso, 17–27 °C in the office, the right to stop, heat stroke at work, up to 4 days of paid leave — per the BOE.
How to bring a dog or cat to Spain from Ukraine: documents, rabies vaccination, transport, registration in Valencia, veterinary clinics. Step by step.
Will Spain grant protection if you lived in Poland or the EU, your protection ended, you returned to Ukraine, or left before 24 February 2022. Per EU acts.
How a newly arrived Ukrainian applies: where (CREADE / police), documents, whether you need empadronamiento, decision timeframe, accommodation if no money.
Vetted expat services in Valencia: lawyers, sworn translators, gestorías and real estate agents serving clients in Russian and Ukrainian — how to choose.
How to find a lawyer in Torrevieja and Costa Blanca: what they handle, what to check before hiring, and vetted multilingual firms from our directory.
What SIP/tarjeta sanitaria covers for dental care: extractions and infections, free; fillings, root canals, implants, not — same rule for everyone.
Is a Ukrainian on temporary protection a Spanish tax resident? Art. 9 LIRPF criteria, the Ukrainian certificate, remote work and the tax return.
How long you can drive on Ukrainian or Polish plates in Spain: 213 days under temporary protection, 30 for everyone else, IEDMT tax and re-registration steps.
Baby born in Spain to temporary-protection parents: nationality, Registro Civil, residence under art. 159 (Hoja 41), Ukrainian passport, apostille, SIP, aid.