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| La Mata in November - could be worse |
I has been a month since we arrived at La Mata, and it has been very pleasant. We got a long-term let (three months initially) in a smart modern pad, right on the beach for £16 a night and we began to look into some kind of Residency Permit with the aim of not having to spend six months a year in the UK - can't even imaging which six - two blocks of three, three months apart - we would choose.
In the event, the 'simple' process turned out to be a bureaucratic nightmare - fortunately Sherri's old college friend Gill, who has lived down here for years, recommended a friendly solicitor and she had move things along quite nicely.
We currently have managed to gather/get:
- a rental contract, (to show we are resident) - plus letters from the Russian owners to prove they exist
- an S1 form from the NHS (to get reciprocal health cover)
- an NIE (equivalent of NI number) - had to do this in Alicante
- a digital certificate from the town Hall (so we can do things on line)
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| We have an address/postbox |
Still to do
- once we get the Padron - we have apply for the TIE (Residency) which apparently involves two more trips to Alicante and one to the police station to get finger-printed.
- convert the S1 into heath cover, requires a visit to the medical centre, and some other place - not looked into it yet. If we get that the UK/NHS will issue us with a new EHIC card to cover the rest of Europe - very useful.
- and finally (?) possibly change our driving licences.
So - getting Residency isn't particularly easy or straightforward, and there is no reason why it should be I guess. Without a good understanding of the system and the ability to speak Spanish - I'm guessing the whole process would prove to be near impossible. We are actually learning Spanish - via Duolingo and that has been quite an enjoyable experience
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