I’ve just noticed that my Spanish Residencia ran out earlier this year, doe’s anyone know of anyone in the Fuengirola Area, Spanish speaking who can accompany us to apply for new ones?
We’ve had the new photo’s done but dont know where to buy stamps so haven’t been brave enough to try with my basic Spanish!!
Also doe’s anyone know how much we should pay someone to help arrange????
Thanks in advance
So – you have had your residencia (which lasts for 5 years I believe?) and yet you still only have “basic Spanish” – not even good enough to negotiate the incredibly simple procedure of renewing your residencia? How on earth did you acquire it in the first place? Pay someone?
Is that not embarrassingly and shamingly typical of so many expat Brits?! No wonder the Spanish don’t like us. Where and amongst whom have you been living for the past 5 years?
Would you be so tolerant of somebody who had lived in the UK for 5+ years and yet still couldn’t fill in a simple form in English? I hope so for your sake.
Well thank you for your kind words and helpfulness!!! Your reply’s are typical of why I don’t live in an “little ex pat bubble” I don’t mix with the ex pats because of the general sanctimonious and smug attitude towards others.
I asked a simple question on what is a General forum, isn’t that what this is for? and not to just abuse people!!
I’ve no doubt I could manage to re apply on my own but have heard that the lady who deals with the applications is difficult to say the least, and given that these places are daunting to start with, I thought it may prove easier to employ someone Spanish to accompany me, after all isn’t this all part and parcel of putting money back into society, by “paying” someone for their services!!!
As a final point, I didn’t apply for my original residencia on the mainland but on one of the Islands, people their where warm and friendly and treated me with respect for every single effort I made in Speaking Spanish, at no point was I treated with abuse for not being fluent, this is more a trait of EX Pats!!!
I am not naive enough to think that Spanish people do not think these things about the Brits but at least they have the decency not to abuse you to your face for it.
at least they have the decency not to abuse you to your face for it.
Abuse behind your back is so much easier to deal with isn’t it 😉
Perhaps I’m mad but I always thought it went along the lines of – move to a new country….learn the lingo? No? If not from common courtesy to your host nation then at least for your own personal safety and wellbeing. After 5 years surely you should be able to cope with something as straightforward as a residencia renewal, even if the lady behind the desk is “difficult”. She’s probably “difficult” because of all the foreigners she has to grant residencia to who can’t be bothered to learn Spanish. I’d be a bit “difficult” too under those circumstances.
If you don’t mix with expats then you must have been mixing with the Spanish and so you must by now have a good Spanish friend you could take with you to hold your hand and deal with the difficult, frightening Spanish lady.
Mundo Loco, if you’ve nothing helpful to say on the matter , then why keep wasting your time and mine by replying, perhaps you’d be better starting your own thread entitled abuse and insults !!!
Yes, of course! You’re right, I’m obviously mad and wrong to expect people to be able to speak more than “basic Spanish” after living here for 5 years. If it’s being abusive to point that out then so be it. Perhaps you could share with us your reasons for not being able to be bothered to become anything more than a basic Spanish speaker after all this time?
I do hope you are very happy in your English-speaking enclave and I also sincerely hope for the sake of your loved ones that you never have to deal in Spanish with a life-threatening situation such as a heart attack or a road traffic accident. How would you cope?
And heaven forbid you should ever encounter a real life “difficult” Spaniard who expects you to be able to communicate with them in their native tongue!
Obviously I’m in the minority on this topic so I shall crawl back under my Utopian stone and leave you to it but you make me ashamed to share a nationality with you because it’s people like you who give British expats a bad name, no matter how much money you think you can buy yourself in to Spanish life and hearts with. You haven’t bothered to become proficient in Spanish because it’s better for the economy to pay a Spaniard to act as a translator?! That’s a new one.
Rant over and out!
What is your problem??? Why don’t you climb down from morally bigoted high ground. You know nothing about me or my life style , I try my upmost to Speak the language to the local’s but equally chose to Speak English to my fellow countryman. I’m sorry you seem to think that anyone who speaks to other foreigners in the mother tongue or indeed help out your other country folk , should be deemed as some sort of common scum, In my little world it’s called friendliness and helpfulness, you obviously seemed lacking in either of these if you think you must live deep in the campo and never bother with another English sole ever again to be considered as civilised!!
The people I feel most sorry for are those in the UK who are working every hour god sends trying to save hard to achieve their dream of Moving abroad , to escape, unfriendly, self important people like you. The snobbery and eliteism of some so called Ex pats here is outragous.
Get a life and stop trying to tell me how to live mine in SOMEONE ELSE’S COUNTRY.
I’ve been looking into the question of how to renew a residency card – turns out my 5-year card expires next Tuesday, so it’s not a completely selfless act.
It’s a fairly straightforward procedure to renew your card (in as much as any Spanish bureaucratic procedure is ever straightforward). However before starting you should know that you are no longer required to have a residency card, so maybe think twice before renewing (is it worth the hassle?).
As I’m in the same boat as you I’ve had to ask myself the same question. I’ve decided to go through with the hassle of renewing (schlepping down to the police station to apply and then to pick up) as I don’t fancy carrying my passport around all the time – which is the alternative – and privacy issues aside, its very useful to have a residency card in Spain. One is always being asked to produce it, after all.
So if you want to renew you need to fill out this application form: http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/solicitud_residencia_ex16.pdf
Sign it, then take it and a photocopy plus:
-Previous card, original and photocopy
-Passport, original and photocopy
-And just to be on the safe side, take 3 colour passport photos
One thing I didn’t understand from your original post to this thread. You said “We’ve had the new photo’s done but don’t know where to buy stamps”. What do you mean by stamps?
Hi Mark,
Last time we did the residencia forms we had to go off to some little shop and buy timbre’s , I can’t remember now, what type of shop this was but the lady at the police station wouldn’t accept my paperwork without them, so I assume it’s the same here as it was there, in the Canary’s???? I’m now confused, it seemed such a hassle at the time.
Flynn
ps I was told by someone yesterday that there’s an 18 month wait!!!
There used to be a tax to pay – 990 Pesetas if I remember right. However in all the official instructions I have read for renewing a residency card nowhere does it mention any tax / timbre.
I find it difficult to believe that there is an 18-month wait. My original card was done in a couple of weeks. However everything is possible.
I’m not going to bother with the application to renew for a few more weeks. When I get round to it I’ll let you know if there are any surprises. Likewise please let me know if you meet with any bureaucratic surprises should you start before me.
Kind regards
Mark
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