Moving to Palma: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Palma, Illes Balears, 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 Palma, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for PalmaSteps in Palma
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 Palma padrón (empadronamiento)
Register your address with the Ajuntament de Palma: in person at an OAC with a cita previa (hoja padronal, ID, proof of home occupation), or online if you are the adult home-holder (or authorized by them) with a digital…
Get a padrón certificate or volante in Palma
Request a certificado (formal) or volante of your registration without appointment at any OAC, or a personal certificate online for free with Cl@ve or a digital certificate.
Get Palma’s city card (Tarjeta Ciudadana)
The Tarjeta Ciudadana is Palma’s municipal card that identifies residents of Palma.
Health
Book a GP appointment (cita previa)
Primary-care appointments at IB-Salut are booked via the EspaiSalut portal/app or by phone on Infosalut Connecta 971 220 000.
Find or change your health center and GP
Your public GP and health center in the Balearic Islands are assigned from your home address; a change procedure exists but its details were not found on official pages.
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 Illes Balears (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How IB-Salut takes appointments for the 2026-2027 flu and COVID-19 shots, and who is recommended.
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 BiciPalma bike share
BiciPalma is run by the municipal company SMAP; from 1 Aug 2025 only an annual pass (EUR 30) remains and e-bikes cost more.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Palma
In Palma, water is supplied by EMAYA, the city’s municipal water and sewer company.
Pay your household bills in Spain
Most household bills in Spain are paid by direct debit from a Spanish bank account.
Set up your water supply in Palma (EMAYA)
Water in Palma is supplied by EMAYA, the city’s municipal water and sewerage 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
Admission to publicly funded schools (public and concertados) runs through a regional process in spring; late and mid-year arrivals apply via the zone information and enrollment office.
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 municipal sports (IME) in Palma
The Institut Municipal de l’Esport (IME) runs the municipal sports centers.
Join the Palma municipal libraries
The Palma municipal library network issues a free carnet to residents of the Balearic Islands who do not already have a Consell de Mallorca library card; the loan limits are set per library type.
Pets
Dog microchip and the RIACIB registry
Dogs, cats and ferrets in the Balearic Islands must be microchipped and recorded in RIACIB, managed with the vets' college COVIB; the vet enters the data.
Good to know in Palma
- Consumer help: OMIC Palma
- Find municipal social services in Palma
- Grocery shopping in Palma
- Municipal nurseries 0-3 in Palma
- Park with ORA and get a resident permit in Palma
- Ride EMT Palma buses with the Tarjeta Única
- Rubbish, recycling and bulky items in Palma (EMAYA)
- Shop at Palma municipal markets
- Take taxis in Palma
- Understand Palma’s five districts
- Use Palma citizen-service offices (OAC), 010 and cita previa
- Use the Palma intercultural / immigration service
Also: Illes Balears · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes