Updates and additional sources of information

The section on first-time registration on the Padron, below, has been updated to clarify the type of documents that have to be presented, given the imminent demise of the plastic photo-Residencia. There's now a new section, below - with a red headline - on how to avoid being 'purged' from the Censo Electoral.

Readers might also find the following of use:-

The Diputacion de Alicante's multi-lingual help page for EU nationals resident in the Province.

Their helpful guide to the Padron, the Censo Electoral and procedures for voting in Municipal elections. This is also available for download in .pdf. (Links are for the English-language versions, but downloads are available also in other major European languages; follow the links from the home page.)

Spanish legislation on the requirement for EU nationals to register with the National Police if staying in Spain for more than 90 days.

Why Bother? Here's why ...

In the 2007 local elections, as many as 80% of the eligible EU nationals living in Alicante Province did not vote because they were NOT on the municipal Padron and thus not on the ELECTORAL ROLL, the Censo Electoral. You need to be on BOTH to vote.

Who should register?

EU nationals who spend all or much of their time in Spain should register on both the Padrón and the Censo Electoral.

Many wrongly assume that the Padrón is a means of vigilance by the state. In reality it is simply a way for the Town Hall to count those that live in their area, with no investigation as to a person’s official status or financial affairs. The information you provide is confidential and covered by data protection laws.

But the population data created by annual statistical returns from Town Halls to the National Government in Madrid is used as the base for the distribution of central government tax revenues (eg IVA, income tax etc) to Autonomous Regions and from those regions back to Town Halls. In crude terms, the more people registered on a municipality’s padrón, the more money the Town Hall gets from Madrid.

What are the benefits to YOU?

· You comply with legal requirements.

· Better public services; Central Government pays the local council around €170 per person on the Padrón each year

· Access to benefits and social care; people on the Padrón aged 65 and over can get free municipal bus passes and other benefits.

· A reduction in taxes; registration on the Padrón could mean reductions in Property Tax, certain community charges and inheritance tax.

· Voting rights for an easier life; you need your Padrón certificate to carry out various administrative tasks, such as registering for healthcare, registering your car with Spanish number plates or enrolling children in school.

Remember: NO VOTE, NO VOICE.

ARE YOU ALREADY ON THE PADRÓN?

If “yes”, you are still NOT automatically registered as a voter. To vote, you must also be listed on the Censo Electoral (the Electoral Roll). Your right to vote in Local (or Euro) elections is enshrined in Spanish and European law and your vote will influence the type and style of your local government.

Now is the time to check with your town hall that your pardon details are up-to-date and complete, and that you have been correctly listed on the Censo.

I’M NOT ON THE PADRÓN – HOW DO I REGISTER?

You can register on both the Padrón and Censo Electoral AT THE SAME TIME. You will need to take, to the Office of Statistics Oficina de Empadronamineto in your Town Hall the following documents:

Old-style plastic photo Residencia (if still in date)
OR
Passport PLUS new-style Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Union

plus

your last Rates (I.B.I.) receipt

OR

Water / Electric bill in your name

OR

your Escritura

OR

rental contract.

It ALWAYS makes sense to take the original documents, plus a photocopy of each when you deal with officialdom.

Need help?

Town Hall officials will help. Instructions in English, German and French are on the back of the Padrón form.

Important Update – Action Needed

Spain's National Statistics Institute have instructed that the Censo Electoral must be brought up to date, and purged of obsolete or dormant entries.

This particularly effects EU nationals resident in Spain. Spanish nationals who move from, say, Madrid to Marbella, are automatically signed off one Padrón (and the associated Censo Electoral) when they sign on to the Padrón in their new municipality. EU nationals who move from, say, Orihuela to Oldham do not benefit from this automaticity, and, more often than not, do not think of signing off a Padrón when they return to the UK.

To try to make the Censo Electoral a more accurate list of voters, letters are being sent to EU nationals on the Censo Electoral who did not vote in the last municipal elections and who have not subsequently made a declaration of intention to vote in future elections. People who receive such a letter are given the option of making a 'declaration of intent to vote' in person or by post, or on the internet using information given in the letter sent to them, or using a pre-existing 'digital certificate' for access to Spanish government internet portals.

Of course, the vagaries of the postal service on the Costas mean that many letters will not arrive, and equally that completed declaration forms will not get to the intended destination. (and the writer of this note has never been able to get a BRITISH government 'digital certificate' to work!).

But all is not lost. You can download a declaration of intention to vote form from here or here. Print out two copies, complete them and take them to the Town Hall where you are, or intend to be, signed up to the Padrón and the Censo Electoral. Take along a recent 'Certificado de Empadronamiento' if you have one, and/or the documents detailed above. Get the Town Hall official to sign and stamp the second copy in case you need to confirm that you have taken the trouble to comply with this new requirement.