Moving to Oviedo: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Oviedo, 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 Oviedo, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for OviedoSteps in Oviedo
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 Oviedo padrón (alta)
Ask to be added to Oviedo’s municipal register in person at the Statistics and Padrón section (Estadística y Padrón de habitantes) on C/ Rosal.
Get an Oviedo padrón certificate or volante
Oviedo issues both a certificado de empadronamiento and a volante de empadronamiento; each has its own procedure page on the council’s electronic office.
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…
Set up Oviedo’s official apps
Oviedo’s urban buses are run by TUA, which has its own phone app for iPhone and Android.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Oviedo
In Oviedo, the rubbish fee is collected on the same unified bill as water and sewerage, and the property tax (IBI) is a separate yearly bill from the council.
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 Oviedo (Aqualia)
Water in Oviedo is run by Aqualia (FCC Aqualia Oviedo UTE), which the council’s water page lists as the municipal water service.
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
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.
Leisure
Join Oviedo municipal sports (abono and pools)
The council runs pools, sports halls and an Abono Deporte pass covering classes, indoor pools, summer pools and gym access.
Join the Oviedo municipal libraries
Oviedo has 11 municipal libraries; membership is requested via an online form on the council site.
Pets
Register your dog in Asturias
Every dog in Asturias must meet the veterinary and identification rules for dogs.
Good to know in Oviedo
- Aparca-Oviedo rotation parking card
- Consumer office (OMIC) in Oviedo
- Contact Oviedo council: main phone, registry and cita previa
- Dispose of bulky items and use the Oviedo punto limpio
- Get between Oviedo and Asturias Airport (OVD)
- Get the council’s adequate-housing report (for family reunification)
- Get the council’s social-integration report (for arraigo social)
- Grocery shopping in Oviedo
- Immigration service of the Oviedo council
- Municipal nursery schools (0-3) in Oviedo
- Oviedo festivals and annual events
- Social services entry point in Oviedo
- Sort rubbish and recycling in Oviedo
- Take long-distance and intercity buses from Oviedo
- Use Oviedo’s urban buses (TUA)
- Use Renfe trains from Oviedo
Also: Asturias · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes