Europeans: EU, EEA and Swiss
Certificado de registro UE Torrevieja: the green certificate for Europeans
A European who lives in Torrevieja beyond three months files form EX-18 and is given the certificado de registro, a green paper showing the NIE, the foreigner’s identity number; policia.es lists this at the comisaría on Calle Arquitecto Larramendi. The rule covers the EU, the EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and Switzerland.
Request helpThree months, then registration
A long holiday needs no paperwork. A move does. Once your life is here, for a job, for retirement or to be with family, the law expects you to register. If you have never had a NIE, one is assigned with the certificate; if you already hold one from a purchase, requested on form EX-15, that same number is printed on it.
The evidence depends on how you live
- Employed: your contract, or a letter from the employer confirming the post
- Self-employed: your registration as an autónomo, the Spanish term for a self-employed worker
- Retired: the pension statement, with health cover such as the S1 form from the country paying the pension, or a private policy
- Living on savings: bank papers showing sufficient means for the household, plus public or private health cover
- Studying: proof of enrolment and of health cover, and your own signed declaration that you have enough to live on
- Joining a European already living here: papers proving the family tie, and that relative’s own registration
Into the folder
- The EX-18, filled in and signed
- A passport or national ID card that is still valid, and a photocopy of it
- The 790-012, paid, with its stamp or receipt
- The evidence that fits your case, as listed above
- A padrón certificate from your town hall; officers may want it
Which office receives you
On policia.es, the Comisaría de Torrevieja (the national police station) on Calle Arquitecto Larramendi 3 lists residence for EU citizens, under the Spanish heading régimen comunitario. The station in Orihuela, Calle El Sol 34, lists it too, and in Alicante the Brigada on Calle Ebanistería 6 lists certificates for EU citizens.
Online, the EU certificate is booked as its own trámite (procedure), distinct from the bare NIE. Pick that one, for the province of Alicante, and go to the address on your cita previa slip.
Living with the certificate
There is no photograph on it, which means it cannot stand in for an identity document: carry your passport or ID card as well. If you move, say from the town centre to Aguas Nuevas, let the police know so your record stays current.
Questions
My husband and I are both Danish. One certificate or two?
Two. Each person who lives here registers in their own name, with their own EX-18 and their own fee.
I am retired on a Swedish pension. Is the pension enough?
Not on its own: the officer looks at the pension statement and your health cover together. Public cover usually means the S1 form; failing that, a comprehensive private policy valid in Spain.
I got a NIE when I bought my flat. Will the certificate change it?
No. Your existing number is carried onto the certificate.
Can I register at the station on Calle Arquitecto Larramendi?
It is listed there: policia.es names EU residence at that station, so the booking may well offer it. Choose the EU certificate, with Alicante as the province, and follow the slip.
The pages these facts come from
- policia.es, Unidades de Extranjería: every police office of the province of Alicante and the foreigners’ procedures it lists
- Subdelegación del Gobierno en Alicante: its Oficina de Extranjería on Calle Ebanistería, and what goes to the police instead
- Booking an appointment with the administration (cita previa), on sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es
Read again, line by line, on .