Moving to Santiago de Compostela: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, 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 Santiago de Compostela, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for Santiago de CompostelaSteps in Santiago de Compostela
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 Santiago de Compostela padrón (alta)
Register your address with the Concello (empadroamento) in person at the Padrón office; the Concello’s Padrón page lists adult registrations and address changes as in person only.
Get a padrón certificate in Santiago de Compostela
The Concello issues a certificado de empadroamento, which you can view online in the sede’s personal area (login needed) or request at the Padrón office; a separate certificado de convivencia shows household makeup.
Renew your padrón registration (non-EU without permanent residence)
Non-EU foreign nationals without a permanent residence authorization renew their registration with a declaration confirming they still live at the address, filed in person.
Health
Book a GP appointment in Galicia (cita previa)
Primary-care appointments can be booked on sergas.gal, in the Sergas Móbil app, or by phone on the Sergas single number.
Choose or change your GP and health center
In Galicia you can change doctor or nurse online with a digital certificate or in person at your health center, subject to open quota and minimum intervals.
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 Galicia (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How Sergas runs the autumn flu and COVID-19 campaign and how appointments are given.
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 a Santiago de Compostela bonobús card
The sede lists a procedure to apply for or renew bonobús cards at the TUSSA offices, with registration in Santiago required.
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 Santiago de Compostela
You report a crime (denuncia) at the Policía Nacional denuncia office in Santiago or the Guardia Civil company; emergencies are 112, 091 or 062.
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
Buying and selling second-hand: your rights
From a business, the legal guarantee for second-hand goods can be agreed to less than the usual 3 years but never below 1 year; goods bought from a private person are not covered.
Pets
Dog microchip and Galician registry (Regiac)
All dogs in Galicia must be identified and registered in the Regiac; authorized vets do the chip and registration.
Community
Join neighborhood associations and volunteering
The Concello keeps a Rexistro Municipal de Asociacións and a citizen-participation unit at the Casa das Asociacións de Cornes.
Good to know in Santiago de Compostela
- Bulky items and the recycling center (punto limpo)
- Consumer office (OMIC)
- Dog rules: microchip and the dangerous-animals register
- Enroll a child in school (school places) in Santiago de Compostela
- Find a job in Santiago de Compostela
- Housing aid you may qualify for (Xunta programs)
- Kids' programs run by the Concello
- Local public holidays in Santiago de Compostela (2026 and 2027)
- Marriage and birth registration in Santiago de Compostela
- Municipal nurseries (escolas infantís, 0-3)
- Reach municipal social services
- Resident parking card (ORA)
- Start a water contract (water supply) in Santiago de Compostela
- Use the Concello’s information line, citizen offices and appointment system
- Why Santiago de Compostela: overview from official statistics
Also: Galicia · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Emergencies · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes · Pets