Moving to Girona: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Girona, Cataluña, 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 Girona, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for GironaSteps in Girona
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 Girona padró (empadronament)
Apply to the Ajuntament de Girona for your alta in the padró municipal d’habitants using the council’s padronal sheet; since late 2025 registration is no longer instant but resolved by a formal decision after the…
Get a padró volant or certificate
Registered residents can download an individual volant d’empadronament online; certificates, convivence/historic volants and minors' documents are requested through the registry.
Renew your padró every 2 years (non-EU without long-term residence)
Non-EU foreign residents without long-term residence must renew their Girona padró inscription every 2 years or it expires and is canceled.
Set up Girona’s official apps
Girona’s council has one official app, Girona App, with bus waiting times, Girocleta stations, news and incident reports.
Health
Book a GP appointment (CAP, La Meva Salut, 061)
Appointments with your CAP GP can be booked through the La Meva Salut platform or by contacting your CAP; 061 is the 24/7 health information line.
Find or change your health center (CAP) and GP
You are assigned to a CAP (primary care center) and a family doctor; you can change CAP in person at the new CAP, or change doctor within your CAP online in La Meva Salut.
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 Cataluña (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How the Catalan health department runs the 2026-2027 autumn flu and COVID-19 campaign 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…
Getting around
Use the Girocleta public bike share
Girocleta has 36 stations in Girona; annual members get the first 30 minutes of each trip free, with a day ticket also available.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Girona
In Girona, water is supplied by the public company Cicle de l’Aigua del Ter (CATSA), run by the councils of Girona, Salt and Sarrià de Ter.
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 Catalonia
Catalonia runs a yearly preinscription (online application) for P3, primary and ESO, with a separate ongoing system (matrícula viva) for arrivals during the school year.
Family
Register a birth in Spain
Every birth in Spain must be registered in the Registro Civil.
Apply for a nursery place (0-3) in Girona
Public nurseries (seven municipal escoles bressol and two llars d’infants) fill their places in the ordinary application period; outside it, families ask the Oficina Municipal d’Escolarització (OME) for a place in…
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 public library card in Girona
The free library card of the Catalan public reading system is issued at any library in Catalonia, including Girona’s five municipal libraries, and can also be requested online.
Join Girona’s municipal pools (abonament)
Annual membership of the municipal pools (Palau, Santa Eugènia-Can Gibert and the summer Devesa pool) is arranged at the pools with a form, ID and a first payment.
Pets
Register your dog (cens caní) in Girona
Dogs must be registered in Girona’s municipal animal register within three months of birth or acquisition, microchipped, with an annual fee.
Dog microchip and animal census (Barcelona rules)
Dogs, cats and ferrets must be microchipped by a vet; the data goes to the Catalan animal identification archive, and the owner registers the animal in the town’s census.
Good to know in Girona
- Consumer help from the OMIC
- Contact social services via Porta d’Entrada
- Dispose of bulky items and use the deixalleria
- Find newcomer support in Girona (no dedicated immigrant office found)
- Grocery shopping in Girona
- Ride Girona’s city buses (TMG/TEISA) and get a fare card
- Shop at Girona’s municipal market and weekly street markets
- Sort household rubbish and recycling in Girona
- Take a taxi in Girona (official 2026 fares)
- Understand regulated parking (zona verda and zona blava) in Girona
- Use the Ajuntament’s citizen-service offices (OAMR) and cita previa
Also: Cataluña · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes