Residency Logistics
Buying Golf Clubs
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A critical decision prior to moving to Madrid was whether or not to ship my golf clubs over. I checked ship sticks and the cost was $250. I concluded that buying used clubs would likely make more sense. Wrong again. After recovering from a forearm injury and having found a golf buddy, Steve here, I got serious about a search for clubs. Several weeks of checking local web sites for used golf clubs did not yield anything of interest so in a flash of brilliance I recalled that in the USA I could purchase used Taylormade clubs on a website, so I typed into google, "M2 Taylor made irons where do I purchase in Spain". Up popped www.taylormade.es a Spanish web site. Quickly I located a used set of M2 Taylormade graphite shaft irons for 400 Euros, a good price and shipping only $26.
A good deal!
About a week later the clubs arrived by FedEx, shipped from Raleigh, NC with a COD for an import tax of 120 euros. I guess I should have shipped my clubs. Any chance Trump will retaliate by barring Sergio's entry into the US for golf tournaments?
Beware of the Import Tax!!!
Driving and Emissions Regulations for Madrid 10/9/19
As I was leaving Canalcar with my Audi 3 my salesman advised that I had to take the car's title to the Post Office (Correos) and obtain an emissions sticker to display on the front windshield. In November 2018 Madrid adopted regulations restricting driving within the central city in order to reduce pollution. Vehicles older than ten years cannot be driven within the city's low emission zone. Vehicles with zero emissions principally electric and hybrid are not restricted and can travel anywhere within the city. Vehicles classified as "ECO" can enter and park in a SER area for a maximum of two hours. Vehicles classified as "C" or "B" are older allowed to enter to park in a public parking lot. My Audi is a C so I am prohibited from going into the central city unless I park in a public parking lot. Obtaining the sticker at the post office was easy. Show your car's title, pay five euros, and you're are on your way.
After six weeks of driving I have several observations of unique practices here. First in Spain pedestrians have the right of way as they approach a crosswalk and it is taken seriously by drivers and pedestrians alike. It was quite unnerving the first time I saw a pedestrian walk out into a crosswalk in front of an approaching vehicle without slowly or even glancing in the direction of the car. So in driving especially in the city you have to be hyper alert to the possibility of pedestrians walking out in front of you. The only exception is when the crosswalk is controlled by a walk/don't walk signal. I appreciate the elevated pedestrian right of way status here but it wouldn't hurt the Spaniards to at least keep an eye on approaching vehicles to make sure they stop.
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Related to pedestrian signal controlled crosswalks, Spain has a confusing traffic signal set up that is sure to induce the uninitiated to run a red light. As you approach an intersection there is a traffic signal to your right on the corner where you stop. Directly across the cross street on the far right corner of the intersection is another traffic signal facing you. It would be reasonable to assume that signal also controls you. It does not. It gives a green light to vehicles turning from other directions so it will be green when you still have the red. The first time I started forward when the far light turned green I almost got hammered by two cars traveling fast going through the intersection directly in front of me. Caution--look to the traffic signal on the near right corner!!! Also, there is no turn on red here!
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From city streets to the freeways, motorcyclists swarm as if there are no traffic lanes and no directions of travel. Its not unusual to turn a corner and have an oncoming motorcycle buzzing directly at you in your lane of travel On the freeways in stop and go traffic, the motorcycles create their own traffic lane which is within inches of your vehicle. So don't be distracted by that motorcycle that startles you as it races by, almost taking your side view mirror off. Unbelievably Spain does not prohibit bicycles from using the freeways so although it is not typical don't be surprised (as you are blasting along at 120 kilometers) when you pass a bicyclist.
Obtaining the Non-lucrative Visa (to move to Spain)
Meeting the requirements for residency in Spain is quite easy; however, compiling all of the necessary documents to support your visa application is time consuming and complicated. Unlike most Americans we have met here we did most of the work ourselves. Typically an American coming here for business will have a relocation company, hired by the company for which they work, to complete the visa application, locate housing and upon arrival guide you through the Spanish system.
Our journey started five months before moving here, when Julie and I began the process to obtain non-lucrative visas. To begin sorting through what was required, we went to the website for our Spanish consulate, which is located in Chicago. (See the attached pdf for a comprehensive listing of all that must be completed and the process you must follow.) As you will note, most of the supporting documentation has to be translated into Spanish by a translator certified by the Spanish government. We used a firm www.ibidemgroup.com to translate our documents. They had 24-hour turnaround and did excellent work. I was unclear from the Spanish government's website whether I needed original certifications or if an emailed pdf would suffice. Because of the expense of shipping originals via UPS or another service, I went with emailed pdfs, and that was acceptable to the Consulate.
There are multiple supporting documents that need to be gathered, filled out and organized for each family member. We had a separate folder for each one of us that we eventually took to the consulate. With this in mind, it is helpful to have your Spanish translator certify a batch of birth certificates and other documents for multiple family members at once, of course, and then separate the documents for each individual and make matching color copies of the certification for each. When we finally had our appointment with the Spanish consulate, to submit our application for the visa, we had separate copies of all these documents for each family member. Important to know that this consulate appointment must be within three months of your departure because it can take up to twelve weeks for the visa to be approved and sent to your residence.
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In addition to the documents needed for the application, per the consulate website, the following were also needed at the time of the appointment with the consulate:
1. A lease in effect, showing you have a contract for a place to live.
2. Private health and repatriation insurance (the required Repatriation insurance by the way is to pay to have your body shipped back to the States if you die here.)
At the suggest of my Spanish professor at UWM, I hired a relocation company and used Ana Martin, A.Martin@hasenkamp.com. Doing so simplified the process. Ana helped us open a bank account at Banco del Sabadell and through the bank we were able to buy our insurance. Ana also was terrific in helping us to find our townhouse. I flew to Madrid arriving the morning of April 30 and I had two days to find an apartment. Unfortunately, May 1st is a bank holiday in Spain so I only had one day. Ana arranged for me to see 10 rentals, five furnished and five unfurnished. Luckily one was the furnished townhouse in Aravaca where we have happily landed.
Our appointment at the Consulate was May 15 and we had all the documentation and requirements ready. Sara, Julie and I took the train down to Chicago in the morning and submitted all the documents. Weeks later we received our visas were on our way.
Things to Know Once Arriving in Spain
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Having successfully navigated the visa process at home, and based on the instructions provided by the Consulate, we thought our only remaining task would be to report in to the local police station within 30 days of arrival to apply for a residence card, which is required. The two documents needed for this are an original medical certificate and criminal background check. Well, It turned out to be a tad bit more complicated than advertised, as you will read below soon.
Sara and me at the Spanish Consulate in Chicago - she's resisting posing with her Dad.
Buying a Car
When we sold our SUVs before moving to Spain, our desire was to live here without a vehicle. Although the mass transit system is excellent we concluded that our life here would require a car. Why? Because transporting Sara to and from friends, activities and recreations would be impracticable. Also for me, trips to and from Centro Nacional de Golf require a car. So this need sent me on a journey into a bureaucratic maze that would take two weeks to navigate and untangle. It started simply enough with a trip to a used car dealer Canalcar www.canalcar.es
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Upon entering the showroom I was meet by Ivan (Eban). After a quick internet review of the inventory within my price range, about 10000 euros, it was off to look at cars. I quickly settled on a 2009 Audi A3, four-door sportback, petrol automatic. Many of the available cars were diesel and standard transmission. Although both Julie and I are standard transmission experienced, we prefer an automatic given the hilly terrain. After putting a 500 euro deposit down and signing a contract, the bureaucratic fun began.
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To reside in Spain you need a NIE number and within three months of arrival, a national identity card. For us when we picked up our visa from the consulate in Chicago it included a NIE number and a visa valid for 3 months. Ivan noted my NIE number but advised that he would need my national identification card. He also advised that he needed a Certificado de Empardonamiento and as I understood a document from the tax authority before he could transfer the title. And of course I would have to have insurance in effect when I picked the car up (I secured the insurance easily through a broker located where we shop, a mall called Cortes Ingles).
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So off we went to a large police station in the city where I thought I had made an appointment to get our identity cards. Wrong. After 3 and 1/2 hours of waiting at various desks we finally ended up at a help desk with an officer who spoke English. He explained that we would have to make appointments to be fingerprinted and he provided instructions in English of the items we would have to bring to that appointment. To obtain the national identity card might take two months. I told the officer that I was buying a car and needed the card to do so. He responded that my visa NIE was all that was required.
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The Empardonamiento Certificate is issued by the local municipality where you live. I went down to the local municpal office explained what I needed, was given a form to complete, and advised that it needed to be returned at an appointment, about a week later, with proof of where we were living ie our lease and our passports. That was fairly easy to accomplish.
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Figuring out what I needed from the Agencia Tributaria (tax agency) was more involved. After several trips and to the best of my spanish understanding, to register with the tax agency I needed my passport and a Certificate of NIE from the local police. That was the first time I was aware of that document. Within the European Union citizens are free to live in any country. For those that come to Spain they cannot transact any business until they register with the local police and obtain this document. So off to the police I went to obtain this document and the police insisted that I did not need it and that my NIE on my visa was all I needed.
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Back to Canalcar I went to report on the situation. Now working through an English speaking manager I was told that Spain transportation department would not permit transfer of the title to me unless I had the Certificate of NIE, which the police said I did not need, and I had to be registered with the tax agency. My assumption is that the police are correct I do not need the NIE certificate but the Transportation Agency was treating me as if I were from within the EU. So to resolve the catch 22 I hired a bilingual Spanish lady, Aurora, to go with me to the police station to explain the dilemma. After a heated conversation, the officer took pity on me, went into another room and returned with the certification which I took to the tax agency and registered. I picked the car up that night. Next stop getting our national identity cards.
Parking Tickets
On a wednesday evening in December Julie and I parked on the street near Sara's violin school, Progreso musico, and enjoyed a meal at our favorite restaurant, Cafe Mono, while Sara had a lesson with Profesor Gonzalez, Unfortunately, we forgot to pay for parking and upon our return to the car we had a notice of parking ticket. Here unlike in the US you pay for parking by paying at the appropriate kiosk, generally either for a blue or green designated area. You receive a parking voucher to display on your front dashboard.
Oddly, the notice of parking ticket does not advise you of the fine or how to pay it. Rather two to three months later you receive by certified mail the actual parking ticket with payment instructions. Our fine,15 euros, could not possibly cover the cost of the process. I guess the Spanish government has not figured out how to turn parking tickets into a money maker.