Moving to Terrassa: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Terrassa, 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 Terrassa, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for TerrassaSteps in Terrassa
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 Terrassa padró (empadronament)
Register your address with the Ajuntament de Terrassa in the Padró Municipal d’Habitants.
Get your padró volant or certificate in Terrassa
The council issues the padró volant (proof you are registered) for free: online and instantly with a digital certificate or idCAT mòbil, or in person for people who cannot use a digital certificate.
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 a pediatrician (pediatra) for your child in the public health system
In the public health system a child is attended by a pediatrician at a health center.
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.
Register your S1 form for public healthcare as an EU pensioner
If you live in Spain on a pension paid by another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, that country’s insurance body can issue an S1 form.
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
Handle rubbish, bulky furniture and recycling centers in Terrassa
Furniture and bulky items are collected free by appointment through the council’s cleaning line, or you can take them to the municipal recycling centers (deixalleries); putting items out without an order number can be…
Set up gas and heating in Terrassa
In Catalonia piped natural gas and butane installations must be inspected every five years; the inspection is mandatory and skipping it can lead to a supply cut.
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.
Report a crime in Terrassa
In Terrassa a denuncia is filed with the Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police, at its station on Carretera de Matadepera, or at any Mossos station; in an emergency call 112.
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.
Consumer rights
Buy second-hand and know your consumer rights in Terrassa
Spain’s consumer law gives a legal guarantee on goods bought from a business (second-hand goods: an agreed period of no less than one year), not on private sales; the council’s consumer office (OMIC) advises on…
Pets
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.
Register your dog, cat or ferret in Terrassa
Owners living in Terrassa must register dogs, cats and ferrets in the municipal register within three months of birth, purchase or moving in; the animal needs a microchip first.
Community
Get a Terrassa library card
The library card is free and lasts indefinitely; ask for it at any library with your ID, or request it online and collect it within three months.
Join neighborhood associations and volunteer in Terrassa
The council keeps a public register of city associations (RMEAC) with a directory by field, including neighborhood associations by district, and a volunteer point (Punt del Voluntariat) with a table of volunteer…
Good to know in Terrassa
- Apply for a municipal nursery (0-3) in Terrassa
- Find Terrassa’s cultural agenda and main fiestas
- Find a job in Terrassa
- Housing aid you may qualify for in Terrassa and Catalonia
- Kids' summer programs run by Terrassa’s council
- Marriage and birth registration in Terrassa
- Park in Terrassa’s blue zone
- Reach Terrassa’s social services (first attention)
- Ride the Terrassa city buses and get a bus card
- Shop at Terrassa’s municipal markets
- Understand Terrassa’s seven districts
- Use Terrassa’s citizen service offices and the 010 line
- Use Terrassa’s municipal sports facilities and pools
- Use Terrassa’s welcome service for newcomers (Primera Acollida)
- Why Terrassa: overview from official statistics
Also: Cataluña · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Emergencies · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes · Pets