Moving to Bilbao: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Bilbao, País Vasco, 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 Bilbao, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for BilbaoSteps in Bilbao
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 Bilbao padrón (empadronamiento)
Register (alta) or change your address on Bilbao’s Padrón Municipal de Habitantes in person at the Oficina de Atención Ciudadana or a district office, with the signed hoja padronal, ID and proof of housing use.
Get a padrón certificate or volante in Bilbao
Request a padrón volante online without any prior identification; it is posted to your registered home in about 10 days if your data match the padrón exactly.
Health
Book a GP appointment (cita previa)
You book Osakidetza primary-care appointments online with your TIS number, via the Cita Previa app, or by the free automatic phone line.
Find or change your health center / GP
Your Osakidetza centro de salud and family doctor are assigned to you when you obtain the TIS; you can choose your doctor within the 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.
Get vaccinated in the Basque Country (seasonal campaign and appointments)
How Osakidetza runs the autumn flu and COVID-19 campaign, how to book and the walk-in points.
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
Set up Bilbao’s official apps
The council lists a Bilbobus app for the city bus network, an InfoBilbao app for the city’s official agenda and news, and a Bilbaobizi app, which is how you can sign up for the public bikes.
Use Bilbaobizi bike share
Bilbaobizi relaunched in June 2025 with 790 bikes (target 1,250 bikes and 68 stations), and regular users pay 25 EUR a year plus one cent per minute.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Bilbao
In Bilbao, water is supplied and billed by the Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia.
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 (admissions and mid-year arrivals)
Basque public and concertado schools use a common admissions calendar, applied through Ikasgunea or at the first-choice school.
Apply for a Haurreskola nursery place (age 0-2)
The Basque public Haurreskolak network offers free places for children aged 0-2; for 2026-27 applications ran 13 April to 4 May 2026, online or in any center.
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.
Leisure
Get a Bilbao municipal library card
The first lector/a card from any Red de Bibliotecas Municipales de Bilbao library is free and does not expire; you need it for lending but not to enter or study.
Pets
Dog microchip and REGIA registry
Dogs, cats and ferrets must be microchipped and registered in REGIA, the Basque companion-animal registry.
Register your dog in Bilbao and microchip it
Under the Bilbao animal ordinance, dogs kept in the city permanently or over three months must be microchipped and registered with the Ayuntamiento within one month of birth or acquisition, and also in the Basque REGIA…
Good to know in Bilbao
- Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande) and big fiestas
- Consumer help from the OMIC (Bilbao)
- Contact the Servicio Social de Base
- Find citizen-service offices and book an appointment in Bilbao
- Grocery shopping in Bilbao
- Immigrant information section of the Ayuntamiento
- Park under OTA regulated parking in Bilbao
- Recycle and dispose of waste in Bilbao
- Ride Bilbobus city buses
- Take a taxi in Bilbao (official 2026 tariffs)
- Understand Bilbao’s districts
- Use Bilbao Kirolak municipal sports centers
Also: País Vasco · All of Spain
Topics: ID & numbers · Residency · City hall · Health · Work · Digital ID · Getting around · Housing · Utilities · Education · Family · Money · Legal · Taxes