Moving to Donostia/San Sebastián: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Donostia/San Sebastián, 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 Donostia/San Sebastián, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for Donostia/San SebastiánSteps in Donostia/San Sebastián
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 Donostia padrón (alta)
Register your address with the Ayuntamiento’s Padrón Municipal de Habitantes; the city page says this cannot be done online and must be done in person at an Udalinfo office.
Get a padrón volante or certificate
Obtain a volante (valid for most procedures, issued immediately) or a certificado (signed by secretary and mayor, for courts, banks, notaries) of your padrón registration.
Set up Donostia’s official apps
The council lists its own apps in one place: Donostia Eskura for council procedures and your mailbox, Dbus for the city bus, and Dbizi for the public bikes.
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
Apply for the OTA resident parking permit
OTA resident parking authorization lets residents park in regulated zones; 2026 fee €62.24 per year.
Dbizi bike share
Dbizi is the city’s public bike-share (including electric bikes); registration is through a city procedure.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Donostia/San Sebastián
In Donostia/San Sebastián the water service is run by the council’s own Servicio de Aguas, and the council bills water and sewerage on one receipt every three months.
Pay your household bills in Spain
Most household bills in Spain are paid by direct debit from a Spanish bank account.
Social support
Get newcomer information from the council’s cultural diversity service
Donostia / San Sebastián’s Diversidad Cultural service, part of the council’s Igualdad, Derechos Humanos y Convivencia area, runs a page for people who have just arrived, with a resource guide (general and by…
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.
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 with Kirol Txartela
Donostia Kirola runs municipal polideportivos and pools; the Kirol Txartela gives access to all municipal facilities.
Join the municipal library network
Donostia Kultura runs a network of public libraries with a central library and many branches; membership is the Tarjeta Donostia Kultura.
Pets
Dog microchip and REGIA registry
Dogs, cats and ferrets must be microchipped and registered in REGIA, the Basque companion-animal registry.
Good to know in Donostia/San Sebastián
- Consumer complaints with the OMIC
- Dispose of bulky items (muebles y enseres)
- Dog rules and identification in Donostia
- Find a nursery (haurreskola) for ages 0-2
- Grocery shopping in Donostia/San Sebastián
- Neighborhoods and beaches overview
- Reach municipal social services
- Recycle organic waste with the Joko Garbia brown bin
- Ride Dbus city buses and get a Mugi card
- Use Udalinfo citizen service, 010 and cita previa
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