Moving to Elche: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Elche, 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 Elche, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for ElcheSteps in Elche
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 Elche padrón (empadronamiento)
Register (alta en el padrón) or change address with the Ayuntamiento de Elche, free of charge, online through the sede electrónica (Cl@ve) or in person at an OMAC office.
Get an Elche padrón certificate
Elche issues padrón certificates online (automated individual or collective certificates for people currently registered in Elche) or through an OMAC; the sede lists no fee except historic certificates.
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
Apply for the Bus Lliure under-26 student exemption
Students under 26 registered in Elche can apply for a free bus card exemption, subject to a household-income limit; otherwise they pay reduced Bus Lliure fares.
Use BiciElx bike share
BiciElx is Elche’s municipal bike share, open 24 hours since December 2021; you need a yearly subscription.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Elche
In Elche, water is supplied by Aigües d’Elx.
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 (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.
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…
Consumer rights
File a consumer complaint with Elche’s OMIC
Elche has a municipal consumer-information office (OMIC) that handles consumer queries and complaints, with the procedure available both in person and online through the Sede Electrónica.
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.
Register a dog on the Elche census
The sede electronica has a 'Censo canino municipal' procedure.
Good to know in Elche
- Elche’s big fiestas: the Misteri d’Elx nights
- Free 0-3 early-childhood education in Elche
- Grocery shopping in Elche
- Immigration-related municipal reports and social services (migration and integration)
- Municipal libraries in Elche
- Recycling and the mobile punto limpio in Elche
- Ride Elche’s urban buses and get the Tarjeta de Movilidad
- Taxis in Elche: official fares 2026
- Understand Elche’s waste tax (tasa de basura) and its discounts
- Use Elche’s OMAC citizen-service offices and the 010 line
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