Moving to Castellón de la Plana: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Castellón de la Plana, Comunitat Valenciana, 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 Castellón de la Plana, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for Castellón de la PlanaSteps in Castellón de la Plana
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 padrón in Castellón de la Plana
Municipal register of residents (padrón de habitantes) run by the Ajuntament de Castelló de la Plana.
Get a padrón certificate or volante in Castellón
Request a padrón certificate (certificado) or informal slip (volante) proving your registered address in Castellón.
Get Castelló’s city card (Tarjeta Ciudadana)
The Tarjeta Ciudadana is the council’s card for municipal services.
Set up Castelló’s official apps
Castelló’s council has an official city app (APP Castelló) with a messaging service for questions about municipal services, SMC Castelló for reporting incidents on a map, the Tarjeta Ciudadana app, and the Bicicas…
Health
Book a GP appointment (cita previa)
Book, check or cancel primary-care appointments in the Conselleria’s official app or by phoning your health center.
Find or change your health center / GP
You can choose or change your family doctor or health center (libre elección) at any time of the year; the Conselleria answers within 15 business days.
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 Comunitat Valenciana (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How the Conselleria de Sanidad runs the 2026-2027 autumn flu and COVID-19 campaign in phases, and where to find the regional vaccination calendar.
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 TRAM, train station and Bicicas bike share in Castellón
Castellón has a TRAM line to the UJI university and El Grau/beach, an intermodal RENFE station with regional, medium and long-distance (AVE/Alvia) trains, and the Bicicas bike-share system with docking at the station.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Castellón de la Plana
In Castellón de la Plana, water is supplied by Facsa under a council concession.
Pay your household bills in Spain
Most household bills in Spain are paid by direct debit from a Spanish bank account.
Social support
Get free information at the council’s immigrant office (AMICS)
Castelló’s council runs AMICS (Agencia de Mediación, Integración y Convivencia Social) at Ronda Mijares, 14, under its Acollida i Normalització area.
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 (Comunitat Valenciana admissions)
School places are requested online through the regional education portal in fixed ordinary and extraordinary phases; mid-year arrivals go through a different route.
Get a library card in Castellón
Castellón has a municipal public library network (Biblioteques Municipals de Castelló) that is part of the Comunitat Valenciana’s shared OPAC and digital-lending (eBiblio/eFilm) systems.
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…
Legal
File a consumer complaint in Castellón (Consum)
Castellón’s municipal consumer office (Consum, the local equivalent of an OMIC) handles consumer information and complaints.
Pets
Dog microchip and RIVIA registry
Dogs in the Valencian Community must be microchipped by an authorized vet and registered in RIVIA, the regional animal ID registry.
Good to know in Castellón de la Plana
- Find social services support in Castellón
- Grocery shopping in Castellón de la Plana
- Ride the urban bus network in Castellón
- Sort waste and use the Ecoparc in Castellón
- Use municipal pools and sports facilities in Castellón
Also: Comunitat Valenciana · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes