Moving to Santander: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Santander, Cantabria, 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 Santander, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for SantanderSteps in Santander
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 Santander padrón (empadronamiento)
The padrón is Santander town hall’s register of residents.
Get a padrón certificate or volante in Santander
The padrón certificate (certificado de empadronamiento) can be requested online with Cl@ve or a digital certificate, by emailing estadistica@santander.es with your ID, or in person at the Padrón office.
Get Santander’s city card (Tarjeta Ciudadana)
The Tarjeta Ciudadana is a single card for people registered in Santander.
Set up Santander’s official apps
Santander’s council has one city app, Santander Ciudad, for municipal services, incidents and your citizen card.
Health
Book a GP appointment in Cantabria (cita previa, MiSalud@SCS)
SCS offers online appointment booking and the MiSalud@SCS portal.
Find or change your health center and GP in Cantabria
Cantabria’s SCS publishes a health-center finder; the sources seen do not describe how to change your assigned center or doctor.
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 Cantabria (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How the SCS 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
Bike share (TUeBICI) in Santander
Electric bike sharing TUeBICI has 26 stations and uses the nextbike app (tourism site).
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Santander
In Santander, water is supplied by Aqualia, the company that holds the council’s water concession.
Pay your household bills in Spain
Most household bills in Spain are paid by direct debit from a Spanish bank account.
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 Cantabria (admission process)
Cantabria runs a regional admission procedure (ordinary and extraordinary) for publicly funded schools at Infantil, Primaria, ESO and Bachillerato.
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
Get a Santander public library card
The Red Municipal de Bibliotecas de Santander issues a free loan card valid across Cantabria’s public reading system, on presentation of a form and ID copy.
Pets
Register your dog: microchip and the Cantabria RACI registry
Dogs, cats and ferrets in Cantabria must be identified by an authorized veterinarian and entered in the RACI regional registry.
Good to know in Santander
- Childcare grants (becas de guardería) for nurseries in Santander
- Consumer complaints: OMIC Santander
- Contact Santander Social Services (entry point)
- Dog rules and potentially dangerous dog license in Santander
- Free Spanish courses and CCSE preparation (OICOS)
- Free and discounted TUS bus cards for Santander residents
- Grocery shopping in Santander
- Immigrant integration contact at Santander social services
- Municipal markets in Santander
- Park on-street in Santander (OLA regulated zone)
- Ride the TUS city buses in Santander
- Rubbish, recycling, bulky items and puntos limpios in Santander
- Santander festivals and annual events
- Taxis in Santander
- Use Santander citizen-service channels and appointments
- Use Santander municipal sports facilities (IMD)
Also: Cantabria · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes