Moving to Nerja: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Nerja, Andalucía, grouped by topic, each with the official page that confirms it. Your own order depends on your passport and visa: build your plan in the guide to get it.
Figures: INE: Official padrón population figures by municipality (table 29005) · INE: Annual population census: population by nationality (table 66323) · Tax Agency: Housing declared in income tax 2024: rent and yield for municipalities over 20,000 people (new contracts)
Your plan for Nerja, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for NerjaSteps in Nerja
ID & numbers
Obtain a NIE (foreigner identification number)
The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is the personal, unique number that identifies a foreigner in all Spanish administrative, tax, work and social dealings; if you do not already have one, you request it from…
Residency
Obtain the TIE residence card
The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) is the plastic card that proves a non-EU foreigner’s legal residence in Spain; you must apply for it in person at the police documentation unit within one month of arriving…
Register as an EU citizen resident in Spain
EU/EEA/Swiss citizens who stay in Spain more than three months apply in person at the foreigners' office or police station for the 'certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión', a paper certificate that shows their…
Book a cita previa for extranjería / police appointments
Immigration and foreigner-ID procedures handled by the National Police or the foreigners' office (NIE, TIE fingerprints, EU registration and others) require an advance appointment booked through the state’s online 'Cita…
City hall
Register at your town hall (padrón)
The padrón is your town council’s register of the people who live in the municipality.
Register on Nerja’s padrón (empadronamiento)
Registering your address on the municipal padrón at Ayuntamiento de Nerja’s Área de Padrón y Estadística, required to prove residence in the town.
Health
Book a GP appointment (cita previa) in Andalucía
Primary care appointments are booked via ClicSalud+, the Salud Responde app, by phone, or at the health center.
Get your vaccines in Spain
Spain’s public health system offers a national vaccination calendar for every age, plus a yearly flu and COVID-19 campaign each autumn.
Change your health center or GP in Andalucía
You can choose or change your family doctor or pediatrician online via ClicSalud+ or in person at the center you want.
Get vaccinated in Andalucía (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How the Servicio Andaluz de Salud opens the 2026-2027 flu and COVID-19 campaign by group and how to book.
Digital ID
Get a Spanish mobile number (prepaid SIM or contract)
You can get a Spanish mobile number with a prepaid SIM or a monthly contract; by law operators must record the buyer’s identity from a DNI, passport or residence card, so a foreign passport is a valid document for…
Get home internet (fiber contract, permanence and your rights)
Home internet in Spain is normally a fiber (or cable) contract with a telecom operator, often bundled with mobile lines, which may include a minimum-commitment (permanencia) clause; users have defined rights on…
Obtain an FNMT digital certificate
The FNMT 'certificado de ciudadano' is a free electronic certificate that lets you sign and log in to Spanish public services; you request it online, prove your identity in person at an accreditation office (or by paid…
Register for Cl@ve (electronic ID for government services)
Cl@ve is the Spanish state’s shared login system for online government services (Agencia Tributaria, Social Security, DGT, many others); foreigners with a NIE can register online with an invitation letter or electronic…
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Nerja
In Nerja, water is supplied by Aguas de Narixa, the town’s water company run with Aqualia.
Pay your household bills in Spain
Most household bills in Spain are paid by direct debit from a Spanish bank account.
Set up your water supply in Nerja (Aguas de Narixa)
Water in Nerja is run by Aguas de Narixa, the town’s mixed public-private water company named in the council’s water ordinance.
Emergencies
Report a crime (denuncia)
You report a crime (make a denuncia) at a Policía Nacional station or a Guardia Civil post, or start some reports online and then sign them at the station.
Education
Enroll a child in school in Andalucía (escolarización)
School admission for ages 3-18 in public and publicly funded schools is applied for through the Secretaría Virtual during a fixed window each spring; 0-3 nursery has its own calendar.
Family
Register a birth in Spain
Every birth in Spain must be registered in the Registro Civil.
Money
Open a Spanish bank account
A Spanish (euro, IBAN) bank account is what you need for rent, direct-debited utilities, salary, Bizum and everyday card payments; any legal resident of the EU also has a legal right to a low-fee 'cuenta de pago básica'…
Keep up US obligations while living abroad (taxes, FBAR, voting, benefits)
US citizens must generally keep filing US tax returns and report foreign accounts from abroad, can vote absentee through FVAP, and can usually keep receiving US Social Security payments overseas.
Pay government immigration fees (Modelo 790 tasas)
State immigration fees are paid with the self-assessment form Modelo 790: código 012 for police documents such as the NIE, TIE and EU certificate, and código 052 for residence-authorization procedures; you generate the…
Set up Bizum for instant mobile payments
Bizum is Spain’s bank-run mobile payment system that links your phone number to your Spanish bank account so you can send, request and receive money in seconds, pay in some shops and online, and donate, all through your…
Legal
Get a criminal record certificate from every country you lived in
Adults applying for a long-stay visa usually need a criminal record certificate from each country they lived in during the last five years, with a Hague Apostille and a sworn Spanish translation.
Pets
Dog microchip and RAIA registry in Andalucía
Dogs, cats and ferrets must be identified by microchip implanted by a vet, who registers it in the Andalusian companion animal registry (RAIA).
Good to know in Nerja
- Bus service to and within Nerja
- Cueva de Nerja (Nerja Caves)
- Departamento de Extranjeros (foreign residents department)
- Dog and pet registration in Nerja
- Grocery shopping in Nerja
- Municipal sports facilities (Consejo Municipal de Deportes de Nerja)
- Nerja beaches and Balcón de Europa
- Nerja citizen services office (OMAC) and general enquiries
- Nerja fiestas and cultural calendar
- Nerja public library (Biblioteca Pública Municipal «Salvador Rueda»)
- OMIC: municipal consumer information office
- Parking and regulated zones in Nerja
- Rubbish, recycling and Punto Limpio
- Social services entry point (Centro de Servicios Sociales Comunitarios de Nerja)
- Tarjeta Andalucía 65 for foreign resident pensioners
Also: Andalucía · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes