Moving to Tarragona: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Tarragona, 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 Tarragona, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for TarragonaSteps in Tarragona
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 Tarragona padrón (empadronament)
Register your home address in the Tarragona municipal register (padró d’habitants) in person at an OMAC office; it is free and processed on the spot.
Get a padrón certificate or volante
Request an individual registration volante (free, issued on the spot at the OMAC) or a paid certificate (processed in up to 5 working days).
Set up Tarragona’s official apps
Tarragona’s council lists its own apps, including Epp!
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…
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Spain
Most household bills in Spain are paid by direct debit from a Spanish bank account.
Pay your household bills in Tarragona
In Tarragona, water comes from EMATSA, the municipal mixed water company.
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.
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…
Leisure
Join the municipal sports and pools (PMET abonament)
The Patronat Municipal d’Esports (PMET) runs six municipal sports complexes; you pay a monthly, quarterly or annual quota for pool, fitness or both.
Get a public library card (Biblioteca Pública de Tarragona)
The Biblioteca Pública de Tarragona (Generalitat) issues a free card on the spot that works in all libraries of the Catalan public reading system.
Pets
Register your dog in the municipal census
Dogs must be microchipped and registered in person at an OMAC within 30 days of acquiring them; DNA profile follows.
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 Tarragona
- Consumer complaints (OMIC)
- Contact municipal social services (IMSST)
- Grocery shopping in Tarragona
- Municipal markets
- Municipal nurseries 0-3 (llars d’infants municipals)
- Newcomer reception and immigration support (UTIC)
- Regulated parking (blue, green and orange zones) and resident rates
- Ride the EMT city buses and get a resident fare card
- Rubbish, bulky items and the recycling center (deixalleria)
- Santa Tecla and the city festivals
- Taxis in Tarragona
- Use the OMAC citizen-service offices 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