There are many advantages of registering on the padrón in your place of usual residence, allowing you to:

• Issue or renew your certificate of registration as a citizen of the EU (for citizens of EU countries)
• Issue or renew your TIE (for citizens of non-EU countries)
• Renew your Spanish driving licence.
• Vote in municipal elections (including British citizens).
• Receive certain welfare benefits. Please note that anyone applying for benefits due to being in a dependency situation must prove that they have been registered on the padrón for at least 5 years, of which 2 must immediately precede the date of application.

In the past, some of our clients have had to apply to enter care homes, the cost of which has only been funded by the Andalusian government if they could prove they had been registered on the padrón in Spain for 5 years. Without government funding, these care homes can cost up to 2,000 euros a month. Therefore, if you live in Spain permanently and if you are of senior age, it is always a good idea to sign onto the padrón municipal.

• Access municipal services and user discounts for such services.
• Enter into a common-law marriage.
• Apply for a school place.
• Register a vehicle.
• Apply for a public health card.
• Ensure residency and work permits are valid and up-to-date.
• Comply with procedures required by judicial bodies, military organisations or foreign authorities.
• Receive discounts on taxes such as the IBI (in some towns), IRPF (income tax) and capital gains tax.

Regarding capital gains tax, there are discounts available in the towns in our area when, following the death of a person, their spouse or relatives by direct line of ascent and descent inherits the property in which they lived with the deceased person.

If those individuals are not registered on the padrón at that property, they are not eligible for the discount.

The above discounts available in the towns in our area are:

1. 90% in Conil (article 14 of the tax regulation)
2. 50% in Vejer (article 7 of the tax regulation)
3. 95% in Tarifa (article 14 of the tax regulation)
4. Up to 95% in Barbate, Zahara de los Atunes, Caños de Meca and Zahora (article 7 of the document that amends the tax regulation)
5. 85% in Chiclana (article 9 of the tax regulation)

DRAWBACKS:

There are hardly any disadvantages to signing on to the padrón. The most important one is that the tax office might deduce that the individual is a permanent resident in the town where they are registered, and is therefore a tax resident in Spain and under the obligation of paying taxes here instead of their country of origin.

In theory, and by law, the tax address and padrón do not necessarily have to match, although it is logical that they do so.

This is embodied in a Supreme Court Ruling from 9 October 2001, which states that “the padrón de habitantes (population register) and tax register of tax addresses are separate administrative registers and not automatically interlinked, which means that a change of a person’s address in the padrón does not imply a concurrent and parallel change of tax address, nor does it substitute the express declaration of change of tax address”.

Therefore, you could argue that you live permanently in a town even though you are a tax resident elsewhere. However, any battle with the tax office is a difficult and frustrating experience and so if you are not going to live in a town permanently or want to avoid being considered a tax resident in Spain, it is best not to sign on to the padrón.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:

The documents required to register on the padrón are regulated under the Ruling of 29 April 2020, of the Deputy Ministry, which published the Ruling of 17 February 2020, of the Presidency of the National Statistics Institute and the General Directorate for Local and Regional Cooperation, dictating technical instructions to municipal councils regarding the annual revision of the padrón.

To sum up, the following documents should suffice:

Proof of identity:

1. Citizens of EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland:

Certificate of Registration as a Citizen of the EU, which includes your Foreigner Identity Number (NIE), together with your identity document or passport issued by the authorities in your country.

In the case of minors, their birth certificate must also be shown. If they were born outside of Spain, the birth certificate must be legalised in the country of origin with the Hague Apostille stamp (countries that are members of the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents) or by the Spanish consulates in the country of origin (countries that are not members of the above convention).

• Citizens of non-EU countries:

Foreigner Identity Card (TIE) issued by the Spanish authorities, which includes your Foreigner Identity Number (NIE), or passport issued by the authorities in your country and your Foreigner Identity Number (NIE).

In the case of minors, their birth certificate must also be shown. If they were born outside of Spain, the birth certificate must be legalised in the country of origin with the Hague Apostille stamp (countries that are members of the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents) or by the Spanish consulates in the country of origin (countries that are not members of the above convention).

You are advised to take the original and a photocopy of each document.

Proof that you live at the address: