Coco,

Your two last two posts are much appreciated. Glad that things are working out for you.

Shawn

As Shaun said, really appreciated.

And now I am even more confused, as here they are no longer issuing residence cards. Extranjeros here now are only being issued with a certificate. Do you think that as you applied back in January, that that is why you are getting a card?

no cards?! then what national ID card do legal residents get?

Sorry binkx. Just realised, I think the info I have been given is for EU members. Maybe US citizens are still being given cards?

Madsue, I´ve got the same info. Its ¨certificado¨ now instead of ¨tarjeta de residencia¨ for EU nationals.
Personally, I´ve got only NIE and I refuse to apply for anything unless the line shrinks to 10 people. Unless somebody threatens me with deportation, I guess...

hey Coco.

for the record, as an eu citizen, you do not need the actual residency card. your passport will suffice for identifying yourself and getting official things done.

i know people do not want to carry around their passports so here is a good tip, carry an expired one instead. my residency card expired over a year ago and due to the horror stories of lines and such (your 9+ hour wait for example ), i simply have not been motivated to go get a new one.

try this. take an old expired u.k. passport and cut the back page off. also cut off the useless info around your picture and personal info, now it will even fit in yer wallet

let's hope the rumor about the office near puerta de toledo is more than just a rumor.

saludos,
jer...

BTW, I use my Polish ID for all official business here and I haven´t had any problems.
I understand that in UK you don´t have ID cards, so maybe you could just use your driver´s license.

my new york drivers license has always done it for me.

saludos,
jer...

For what it's worth, I have just been through the odyssey of renewing my residency card.

It is true that they are no longer issuing residency cards for EU citizens. Everyone else must have one.

The average wait is 5 hours. Whether you are presenting paperwork for the first time or picking up your renewed card. I presented my paperwork back in March and it was exactly 5 hours from the time I got in the back of the line (7:15 am) to the time I stepped out of the office (12:15pm).

I got a letter in the mail a couple of weeks ago telling me to appear in person at the General Pardiñas office to pick up my card on July 9th. I figured that since I had a scheduled date and was only going to pick up the card it wouldn't take so long. WRONG!!!

It took me exactly 5 hours from the time I got in line (7:30am) to the time I stepped out of the office (12:30pm). Interesting, isn't it? And that is will being called out of line and moved to the front because I had the letter. The police officer at the door told me that the first people in line normally begin lining up at 4:00 am. Either way you look at it, you will have a 5-hour wait in line!!

All I can say is get the forms ahead of time (you can download most of them from the internet), make sure you have copies of everything including ALL the pages of your passport (if a copy of your passport is required), and make any payments needed to be made ahead of time. Bring a good book, your MP3 player loaded with tunes and a little stool to sit on.

Good luck everyone!

Becky,

I love the way that you just keep it real in your post. I can almost hear you saying this in person.

Thanks,

Shawn

Oh boy, this should be fun.... I'm going to try to have a lawyer renew my residency for me this summer. I've always done it myself in the past, but five hours in the July sun could do me in... I'll report back on how it goes and how much it costs. I've always found that August is the best time to go (in terms of waiting-in-line-time--assuming you can survive it without heat stroke).

I should add here that if you are renewing your residency, that can be done online.

I couldn't renew mine online because I misjudged the amount of time it would take to get all the paperwork together and my residency expired in the process. You cannot renew online if your residency has expired.

I started gathering the paperwork about 10 days before my card was due to expire (empadronamiento, certificado de matrimonio en vigor). I figured it was a question of walking into the appropriate office, waiting (hours) in line, and then getting the documentation issued. SILLY ME. WHAT WAS I THINKING??

It was a question of walking into the appropriate office (across town from each other), waiting a couple of hours in line at each place, being told to return in 5 days (empadronamiento)/2 weeks (marriage certificate), returning in said time, waiting a couple of hours in line again at each place, then being issued the documentation.

Moral of the story: when estimating time needed for gathering documentation, add an extra month just for good measure.

mariposita, you should be able to renew online if you get all your documentation together before your card expires.

Good luck everyone!

What do you suppose happens if you try to renew your residency and your passport with Visa was stolen some time ago and you have a new passport with nothing in it?

::fear::

Hey Juliette
Nice to see you
what's going on with you and Roland in humid Barcelona?
Hugs
Nava

P.s
I'm soo envy with you all, at least you've something to renew....

Becky,

I know plenty of people who start working on renewing their residency 2 months in advance. That's scary, but just as you have mentioned, it can be a hassle with waiting in line.

I will be starting my process in August and I hope that the lines aren't that bad.

Shawn