Moving to Gijón: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Gijón, Asturias, 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) · Ministry of Health: Catálogo Nacional de Hospitales 2025
Your plan for Gijón, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for GijónSteps in Gijón
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 the municipal padrón (empadronamiento)
The padrón is the town hall’s register of everyone who lives in the municipality; you ask to be added (alta) at a Gijón citizen-attention office with your ID and proof that you occupy the address.
Get a padrón certificate or volante in Gijón
After you are on Gijón’s padrón you can get proof of your registration as a certificado de empadronamiento (online, at a citizen kiosk or at a citizen office) or as a quick volante de empadronamiento from any cajero…
Get the Tarjeta Ciudadana, Gijón’s free city card (bus discounts, libraries, sports)
The Tarjeta Ciudadana is Gijón’s free multi-purpose municipal card: it identifies you to the council and works as an EMTUSA bus payment card, library and museum card, sports-facility and Gijón-Bici ID and login for the…
Set up Gijón’s official apps
Gijón’s council has an app for your citizen card, bus passes and municipal services, and a separate app for the city’s public e-bikes.
Health
Book a GP appointment (cita previa SESPA)
Once you have the SESPA health card and an assigned doctor, you request family-medicine, pediatric or nursing appointments online, by phone or in person.
Continue US prescriptions and bring medication into Spain
You can carry personal medication into Spain within limits, but ongoing treatment needs a Spanish prescriber and some drugs require AEMPS permission.
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.
Get vaccinated in Asturias (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How the regional health service (Sespa) runs the autumn flu and COVID-19 campaign and where 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…
Getting around
Get the CONECTA card for buses and trains across Asturias
CONECTA is the personal, pay-as-you-go transport card of the Consorcio de Transportes de Asturias (CTA) valid on urban and intercity buses and Renfe/Feve trains across Asturias, with per-trip fares by zone and a monthly…
Use Gijón bici, the public e-bike share
Gijón bici is the city’s public electric bike-sharing service (250 e-bikes, 47 stations, 06:00–24:00 daily), used via the Gijón bici app or by tapping your Tarjeta Ciudadana, with pay-per-use or €10 monthly / €40 annual…
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Gijón
In Gijón, water is supplied by the municipal company EMA, and the rubbish fee is added to the EMA water bill.
Pay your household bills in Spain
Most household bills in Spain are paid by direct debit from a Spanish bank account.
Set up gas and heating (natural gas, butane, safety inspections)
Homes in Gijón may use piped natural gas (network run by Nortegas, supply contracted with a retailer), bottled butane at a regulated maximum price, or electric heating; gas installations must be inspected every five…
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.
Report a crime (poner una denuncia) in Gijón, Oviedo or Avilés
In Gijón, Oviedo and Avilés crimes are reported to the Policía Nacional at its report offices (oficinas de denuncias); some minor offenses can be started online and must then be signed at a police station within 72…
Education
Enroll a child in school in Asturias
Children are admitted to publicly funded schools through a yearly Asturian admission process run by the Consejería de Educación; families who arrive outside the ordinary period apply directly through the nearest school.
Family
Apply for an escuela infantil (nursery, age 0-3) in Gijón
The Ayuntamiento runs an annual admission call for municipal escuelas infantiles for children under 3; applications are scored on a points system and for 2026-2027 the public prices were fully discounted.
Register a birth or family event as a foreigner in Gijón
Births, marriages and deaths in Gijón are recorded at the Registro Civil; American parents also report a child’s birth to the US Embassy to obtain a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA).
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
Register your dog in Asturias
Every dog in Asturias must meet the veterinary and identification rules for dogs.
Community
Join neighborhood associations and volunteering in Gijón
Gijón has neighborhood associations registered in the Registro de Asociaciones, supported by the city’s Servicio de Apoyo a Distritos.
Good to know in Gijón
- Buy and sell second-hand (Wallapop, the Sunday Rastro, ReusApp)
- Check housing aid you may qualify for in Gijón and Asturias
- Dispose of bulky items, electronics and hazardous waste (enseres and puntos limpios)
- Do your grocery shopping in Gijón
- Find Gijón’s cultural agenda and big annual events
- Find jobs beyond Trabajastur
- Find kids' activities and summer camps in Gijón
- Find parks and playgrounds in Gijón
- Find your Gijón social-services center (UTS)
- Get a library card for Gijón’s public libraries
- Get between Gijón and Asturias Airport (OVD)
- Gijón districts and parishes overview
- Know eating-out, tipping and sidreria norms in Gijon
- Know shop hours, Sunday opening and Gijón public holidays (2026-2027)
- Know the dog rules in Gijón (leads, beaches, Ley 7/2023)
- Learn Spanish and get official Spanish-language certificates
- Make a consumer complaint (OMIC Gijón, hoja de reclamaciones, consumer arbitration)
- Park in Gijón’s ORA regulated zones and get a resident card
- Pay for Gijón’s city buses (EMTUSA)
- Set up your water supply with EMA (alta or cambio de titularidad)
- Sort and put out household rubbish and recycling in Gijón
- Take a taxi in Gijón (official fares)
- Travel by ALSA intercity and long-distance bus
- Understand Gijón’s beaches: lifeguards, flags and rules
- Use Gijón Deporte municipal sports services
- Use Gijón municipal swimming pools
- Use Gijón’s citizen-service offices and the 010 phone line
- Use Renfe Cercanías and long-distance trains from Gijón
- Use the OMII (municipal immigrant information office)
- Why Gijón / Why Asturias: overview for people deciding
Also: Asturias · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes