Town hall registration
WHAT IS THE PADRÓN?
The Padron is officially called the Empadronamiento and refers to the process of registering with your community’s padrón (city roll), also called the Padrón Municipal de Habitantes. The municipal padrón is the official record of all the people who live in a particular community and is the official way to verify or accredit your stay in Spain. By law, everyone who resides in Spain should be registered in the community where they live.
In practice, the empadronmiento is your key to becoming a member of your Spanish community and you can apply as an individual or as a family. Whether you are here in Spain legally or not, you should consider registering with your local padrón, as it provides innumerable benefits if you intend to live in Spain for any extended period of time.
WHAT BENEFITS DO YOU RECIEVE FROM GETTING EMPADRONADO?
First, getting empadronado means that you’re considered an official resident of your community. Consider this your first step to integration into Spanish life. Second, the empadronamiento is the way that your stay or residence in Spain is verified or accredited – a necessity for a variety of administrative procedures.
For example, you will generally need a volante or certificado de empadronamiento to do the following things in your Spanish community:
- Enroll your children in local schools.
- Get married.
- Apply for a local health card (el carnét para la asistencia sanitaria).
- Vote.
- Apply for certain visas.
- Apply for residency by way of a general amnesty.
* IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NON-EU CITIZENS IN SPAIN:
For those who don’t have their papers in order, you have nothing to fear from registering. The information you provide is considered confidential. In fact, it’s in the city’s best interest to have an accurate count of the number of people within their jurisdiction and you can rest assured that they will NOT use this list to go after illegal immigrants or those who overstay their visas.
WHAT BENEFITS DOES THE CITY RECEIVE WHEN YOU'RE EMPADRONADO?
Based on the number of inhabitants, a city or town receives money from the government to provide services to those who live within its juridiction, which means that if you’re registered or empadronado, then the city receives money to provide services on your behalf, regardless of your legal status. It’s therefore in the city’s best interest (and yours really, for optimum service levels) to have an accurate count of who is really living in the community and using (or potentially using) the public services in question. It is for this reason that registration with the padrón is confidential.
WHERE TO GET EMPADRONADO IN SPAIN
Getting empadronado is largely a question of filling out a form and gathering together the required documents. Considering the staggering amount of bureaucracy required for certain other official procedures.
GETTING REGISTERED
Being registered is a two step process and has no complications whatsoever. Children, in order to study in Spain, must be “empadronado”, registered at the local town hall.
To become registered all you have to do is go to your local town hall and ask to empadronarse, fill out the form with your name, place of birth, parents’ names, your age, address, marital status and studies then hand in the form along with a copy of your passport (the original must be presented). You may also need a copy of a utility bill in your own name, either gas, electricity or water; a telephone bill is not usually acceptable.
By registering with the town hall, a more accurate estimate of the local population is given which is reflected in the services that the government funds in each area. It is a good idea to keep this document in a special folder, as you will need to present the original on occasion.
LIST OF TOWN HALLS & ALCALDÍAS (SUB OFFICES)
alhaurín de la torre
tel_ 952 417 150
www.alhaurin.com
alhaurín el grande
tel_ 952 490 000
www.alhaurinelgrande.net
álora
tel_ 952 496 100
www.alora.es
benahavís
tel_ 952 855 025
benalmádena
tel_ 952 579 800
www.benalmadena.es
cancelada
an Estepona alcaldía
tel_ 952 883 785
www.estepona.es
cártama
tel_ 952 422 195
www.cartama.es
casares
tel_ 952 894 125
www.casares.es
coín
tel_ 952 453 020
www.coin.es
elviria
a Marbella alcaldía
tel_ 952 838 410
www.marbella.es
estepona
tel_ 952 801 100
www.estepona.es
frigiliana
tel_ 952 533 002
www.frigiliana.org
fuengirola
tel_ 952 589 300
www.fuengirola.org
istán
tel_ 952 869 603
www.istan.es
la cala de mijas
a Mijas alcaldía
tel_ 952 493 208
www.mijas.es
málaga
tel_ 952 135 000
www.ayto-malaga.es
marbella
tel_ 952 761 100
www.marbella.es
manilva
tel_ 952 890 065
www.manilva.es
mijas pueblo
tel_ 952 485 900
www.mijas.es
mijas las lagunas
a Mijas alcaldía
tel_ 952 473 125
www.mijas.es
monda
tel_ 952 457 069
www.monda.es
ojén
tel_ 952 881 003
www.villadeojen.com
pizarra
tel_ 952 483 015
www.pizarra.es
rincón de la victoria
tel_ 952 402 300
www.rincondelavictoria.es
sabinillas
a Manilva alcaldía
tel_ 952 890 029
www.manilva.es
san pedro de alcántara
a Marbella alcaldía
tel_ 952 789 300
www.marbella.es
sotogrande
The community is under the jurisdiction of San Roque
tel_ 956 780 106
www.sanroque.es
torre del mar
a Vélez-Málaga alcaldía
tel_ 952 540 404
www.ayto-velezmalaga.es
torremolinos
tel_ 952 379 400
www.torremolinos.es
vélez-málaga
tel_ 952 559 100
www.ayto-velezmalaga.es
UK CONSULATES & EMBASSIES
The British Embassy has overall responsibility for the representation and promotion of the UK in Spain. Consult the embassy for legal procedures, travel advice, visas, passports and consular information.
Madrid (embassy)
C/Fernando el Santo 16
(mon-fri – 09:00-17:00)
tel_ 917 008 200
www.ukinspain.com
MÁLAGA (consulate general)
Paseo de Recoletos 7-9
(open 08:30-13:30 and visa applications accepted from 09:00 to 12:00)
tel_ 915 249 700
Many forms are downloadable on the website: www.ukinspain.com
(Passport renewals take between 10-21 days, the cost is 185€ for a 10 year adult passport and 118€ for a 5 year children passport)
MÁLAGA (consulate)
C/ Mauricio Moro Pareto 2 2. Edif. Eurocom, Bloque Sur
(mon-fri – 08:30-13:30)
tel_ 952 352 300
