Moving to Salamanca: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Salamanca, Castilla y León, 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 Salamanca, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for SalamancaSteps in Salamanca
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 Salamanca padrón (alta de empadronamiento)
Register your address with the Ayuntamiento de Salamanca through its Servicio de Atención Ciudadana; the padrón is the municipal register of residents and is required of everyone who lives in Spain.
Get a padrón volante or certificate
Request a volante (simple proof) or certificado de empadronamiento from the Ayuntamiento de Salamanca, in person, with an electronic certificate, or via the council’s video-attention service for volantes.
Renew your padrón registration every two years (non-EU nationals)
Non-EU nationals without permanent residence in Spain must update (renew) their initial padrón registration every two years; Salamanca offers this in person at the Servicio de Atención Ciudadana.
Set up Salamanca’s official apps
The council’s Salamanca 010 app lets you report street problems and ask for appointments.
Health
Book a GP appointment (cita previa, Sacyl Conecta, phone)
Appointments with family doctor, nurse, midwife or blood draw can be booked via the Sacyl Conecta app, the cita previa website, or your health center’s phone line.
Find or change your health center and GP
Your assigned centro de salud follows your home address; Sacyl has a health-center finder and map.
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 Castilla y León (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How the regional health service (Sacyl) runs the 2026-2027 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
Use the Salenbici bike-share loan system
Salenbici lends bikes in Salamanca for up to 1 hour per loan to people over 14 with a mobile phone; sign-up requires a form, payment of a public price and ID copy.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Salamanca
In Salamanca, the council names Aqualia as the concessionaire that supplies water.
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 (admission and matrícula)
Admission to publicly funded schools (infant, primary, ESO, bachillerato) runs through one annual application listing up to seven centers in order of preference.
Family
Apply to a municipal nursery (escuela infantil 0-3)
Salamanca has four municipal escuelas infantiles for children aged 4 months to 3 years, for children registered on the city padrón; admissions follow a yearly calendar.
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 municipal library card
Salamanca’s municipal library network issues a single loan card valid in all municipal libraries; under-18s get a free reader card.
Pets
Dog microchip and regional animal registry
Dogs, cats and ferrets must be microchipped and registered in the regional companion-animal registry.
Good to know in Salamanca
- Big annual fiesta: San Juan de Sahagún (June)
- Consumer complaints: OMIC Salamanca
- Contact the Servicio de Atención Ciudadana (SAC) and book a cita previa
- Dispose of bulky items and use the punto limpio
- Dogs in Salamanca: census and municipal rules
- Grocery shopping in Salamanca
- Municipal Centro Integral de Atención a Personas Inmigrantes
- Reach social services through a CEAS
- Recycle and sort rubbish in Salamanca
- Regulated parking (ORA) and resident card
- Take a taxi in Salamanca (2026 fares)
- Use municipal swimming pools and sports facilities
- Use the Salamanca city buses (and reduced-fare cards)
Also: Castilla y León · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes