Bureaucratic bungling beggars belief!

More bureaucratic hassle for foreigners in Spain

A new bureaucratic hurdle for the ‘foreigners’ erected by the Spanish Administration, which emanated from INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística). The registration in the “Padron Municipal” (list of habitants) must now be renewed every second year. If one does not re-register as the bureaucrats demand one will automatically be kicked out of the list and lose the benefits of being on the Padron: losing discounts on local taxes, voting rights etc.

A visit to the town hall does not sound too bad but the problem lies in the requirement to present at the registration a document from the National Police station confirming your NIE (Foreigners Identification Number). It must be a recent document, any bureaucrat may refuse one which he/she considers too old. More queues for you. One must also take their ‘Original ID.’ For many citizens, who do not have a valid Residence Card (not the paper certificate) or a National ID card, the only valid ID is their original passport, not a copy!

In addition to the many foreigners now actively selling their dwellings and leaving Spain, this new measure will certainly lead to other foreigners being forced out of the Padron because they do not know about the new rule, while others will refuse to be herded around and stand in the long queues.

Others may think: This is only for the citizens from outside the EU or EEC, certainly not for European citizens, but it applies to all non-Spanish European citizens.

It should be noted that whilst this ‘new instruction’ from Instituto Nacional de Estadística has applied to some parts of Spain for the past eighteen months, however some Municipalities, such as Mijas, have not heard of it. Mijas is currently investigating the situation.