This article about Spanish residency card renewal is only for EU and UK citizens.
If you are a non-EU citizen married to an EU citizen then click on Spanish residency for non-EU citizens
- Are you from the USA? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from the USA
- Are you from Canada? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from Canada
- Are you from South Africa? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from South Africa
- Are you from Australia? Please read my 2022 guide all about moving to Spain from Australia
If you’re from a non-EU country and would like to apply for your permanent Spanish residency card click here as you first need to get a visa.
Are you ready to become a citizen of Spain? Please read my article Spanish citizenship
Otherwise, please read on ?
Before we start… Yours Free
Spain 101 is a free ebook full of unique tips that will save you thousands of Euros when moving to / living in Spain.
Would you like to get it now?
Please click / tap on the image below:
Note: Article updated on 02 September 2022
Imagine the following two scenarios where your Spanish residency card is located inside your wallet.
Scenario 1
You are drinking coffee in a sunny Spanish morning… white coffee, for instance.
The beach in front of you.
The breeze.
The sun reflecting into the water.
Your partner next to you, grabbing your hand.
You are having a nice conversation.
Out of the blue, a man asks in broken English pointing to the left if you have seen his brown dog.
He looks really worried.
He says he has lost it.
You both get involved immediately. You love animals. You know dogs are family.
You look to the left, even stand up, and try to focus your sight to the end of the promenade, hoping to see the brown dog.
From the right, another person appears and steals your wallet from the table while you’re trying to help the distractor.
Your Spanish residency card is gone.
(Another Spanish residency card gone and forgotten)
Scenario 2
It’s your birthday and you have invited some friends over.
You have been working on your garden.
Your Spanish property looks beautiful.
Everything is ready for the event.
Oops, you forgot to buy the favourite cake for the Smiths.
Only 30 minutes left for people to come.
You get in the car and drive to the nearest Spanish supermarket.
Lucky day, just a few people in the queue to pay.
You get in the car thinking about the table, the cutlery, glasses… but you don’t realise that your wallet has fallen right before you shut the door.
It looks like a Hollywood movie, a take from the air. Your car driving away while the camera gets closer and closer to your wallet.
A father and his son pass by next but they don’t see your wallet. The son asks his dad: “why the sky is orange in the evening?”.
Your wallet vanishes like smoke.
(A perfect scenario to lose the Spanish residency card, in Long Island, NY)
What happened here?
Only one thing: no more Spanish residency card.
The previous scenarios are just two little stories I have created for this article but based on common situations that many of my clients have gone through.
Some of them got their Spanish residency card stolen because it was inside their wallet or purse.
Some others simply lost their residency cards in countless and unbelievable situations which we all can go through at any time.
Therefore, it’s time for a Spanish residency card renewal or duplicate.
You are almost 100% sure it will be a simple process. After all, you already went through the application stage, the paperwork, the bank statements, healthcare.
Why should you go through all over again?
Spanish residency card renewal: the bad news
Sorry, it’s not as simple as that.
I have seen it so many times since 2010.
Many people just turn up to the police (without an interpreter) and ask for a duplicate.
Worst case scenario: the police don’t speak English and ask them to book an appointment.
They go back several months after with the police report they made, the application form they got from the internet and their passport.
Nothing is done that day.
Why?
Because they are missing everything else.
Some of these people will get very upset and will express all the anger on Facebook criticising the Spanish government, the Spanish police, and even the Spanish people for not speaking English in Spain.
But, let’s not take things personally.
(By the way, the featured image of this article is the Aqueduct of Segovia)
Please, take David’s opinion as a possibility
I respect you both.
I support you both.
You, my dear reader, client and/or potential client.
And the other part: the Spanish authorities.
Let me explain this with an example.
Let’s say that you apply for your Spanish residency card on 31/05/2019.
Either the stolen or lost wallet happen on 31/08/2019.
It’s been three months only in between.
But how do the Spanish police know that you still have enough money to support yourself in Spain as well as healthcare?
The Spanish police don’t have access to your bank accounts.
Or to the social security if you got everything properly registered there.
Or to your private health insurance, if you got your Spanish residency this path.
It’s nothing personal.
It’s not the Spanish red tape.
It’s not because Spain wants to make things difficult.
It’s just a way to make sure that the two main requirements to be a legal resident (financial means and healthcare) are still in place.
What should you do?
Well, in case you got a stolen or lost wallet, the first step is to make a police report at the Spanish National Police or Guardia Civil.
Are you from the United Kingdom? Don’t forget the deadline of the transition period.
It’s one of the documents you will need for the Spanish residency card renewal.
The rest of the documents will depend on two variables:
- The police station where you will apply
- The group you belong to (pensioner, own resources, working, business)
I know, ideally, it should be a standard procedure done the same way all over the country, but, this is Spain: 17 regions plus Ceuta and Melilla. We just have to stick to the rules of the relevant office.
Yours Free
Spain 101 is a free ebook full of unique tips that will save you thousands of Euros when moving to / living in Spain.
Would you like to get it now?
Please click / tap on the image below:
Coverage areas
Alicante Province
Costa Blanca: These are my usual in-person coverage areas in Costa Blanca Spain, Altea, Calpe, Orihuela Costa, Benissa, Guadalest, Guardamar, Javea, Moraira, Alicante, La Marina, Denia, Villajoyosa, Pilar de la Horadada, Benidorm, El Campello, Santa Pola, and, of course, Torrevieja; as well as other towns near Alicante.
Inland Alicante province: Orihuela, Elche, Pinoso, Almoradi, Alcoy, Orba, Rojales, Biar, Crevillente, Los Montesinos, San Miguel de Salinas, Benijofar, Algorfa.
Murcia Province
Costa Cálida: including Costa Calida Spain: San Pedro del Pinatar, Los Alcazares, Santiago de la Rivera, Mar Menor , San Javier, Mazarron, Aguilas.
Cities and towns in Murcia province:
Cartagena, Yecla, Sucina, Totana, Alhama, Molina de Segura, Fortuna, Murcia city.
Other areas in Spain
I have collaborators almost everywhere all over Spain, so no worries, I can assist you anywhere you are in Spain, in cities such as: Zaragoza, Vitoria, Bilbao, Albacete, Almería, Logroño, Avila, Badajoz, Caceres, Majorca, Zamora, Barcelona, Burgos, Oviedo, Cadiz, Santander, Castellon, Pontevedra, Ciudad Real, Cordoba, Cuenca, Gerona, Granada, Guadalajara, San Sebastian, Huelva, Huesca, Jaen, Navarra, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gijon, Leon, Lleida, Lugo, Madrid, Malaga, Orense, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Sevilla, Soria, Tarragona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Teruel, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid.
