Moving to L'Hospitalet de Llobregat: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 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 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for L'Hospitalet de LlobregatSteps in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
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…
Book municipal reports for arraigo social or family reunification
The Ajuntament issues municipal reports on social roots/integration and housing adequacy used in residence applications; book via cita previa.
City hall
Register (or change address) on the L’Hospitalet padró
Register your address with the Ajuntament de L’Hospitalet (empadronament) in person at the Oficina d’Atenció Ciutadana.
Register at your town hall (padrón)
The padrón is your town council’s register of the people who live in the municipality.
Get a padrón certificate (certificat d’empadronament)
Request a certificate (certificat) or volante of residence/convivència/historic residence: immediately online with a digital ID or in the Carpeta ciutadana, in person without cita previa at an OAC, by phone for a…
Set up L’Hospitalet de Llobregat’s official apps
L’Hospitalet’s council lists its own apps: Connecta L’H for services and information, L’H Ben Fet!
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
AMBici metropolitan e-bike share
AMBici, the metropolitan electric bike share, runs in 15 towns around Barcelona; it reached L’Hospitalet in May 2024 with 32 stations and more than 352 e-bikes.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat
In L’Hospitalet, water is part of the metropolitan (AMB) water service, and the council started its own household rubbish fee in 2025-2026, charged to the property owner.
Pay your household bills in Spain
Most household bills in Spain are paid by direct debit from a Spanish bank account.
Request bulky-item (furniture) collection
Free-of-charge status not stated; households can request pickup of old furniture and household items online, by phone or at the OAC.
Social support
Get free information at the council’s Nova ciutadania service
L’Hospitalet’s council lists a Nova ciutadania (new citizens) section under its social services.
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.
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, cat or ferret
Pets must be registered in the municipal register; microchip registered with AIAC or ANICOM required.
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.
Community
Get a public library card
Free card, issued immediately at any library branch; does not expire.
Good to know in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
- Consumer office (OMIC) and complaint forms
- Contact municipal social services (SIOT)
- Get around L’Hospitalet by public transport: integrated fares and the T-16 card
- Grocery shopping in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat
- Household rubbish and recycling
- Municipal markets
- Municipal nurseries (escoles bressol, 0-3)
- Resident parking badge for the green zone
- Use citizen-service offices, the 010 line and cita previa
- Use the municipal waste facility (deixalleria / 'vertedero municipal')
Also: Cataluña · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes