Moving to Vitoria-Gasteiz: the steps, from official sources
The steps newcomers take in Vitoria-Gasteiz, 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 Vitoria-Gasteiz, in your order. Documents, offices, hours and fees for each step, for your passport and visa.
Build my plan for Vitoria-GasteizSteps in Vitoria-Gasteiz
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 Vitoria-Gasteiz padrón (empadronamiento)
Register your home address with the Ayuntamiento de Vitoria-Gasteiz in person at an Oficina de Atención Ciudadana (or by post/registry), proving identity and your right to occupy the address.
Get a padrón certificate (volante de padrón)
Request a volante de padrón in person at an OAC or civic-center quick counter, by phone (individual version only) or online through the sede electrónica.
Get Vitoria-Gasteiz’s city card (Tarjeta Municipal Ciudadana, TMC)
The TMC is a personal card issued by the city council.
Set up Vitoria-Gasteiz’s official apps
The council has a free Buzón Ciudadano app for reporting problems, a VGBus web app for live bus and tram times, and a GEO map app.
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
Get an OTA resident parking permit
Resident OTA permit to park in your regulated-parking zone; no physical card, enforcement is by license-plate reading.
Use MugiBIKE shared electric bikes
Municipal e-bike sharing run through an app: 80 bikes at 12 stations, open 24 hours, EUR 0.99 for the first 30 minutes.
Utilities
Pay your household bills in Vitoria-Gasteiz
In Vitoria-Gasteiz, water is supplied by AMVISA (Aguas Municipales de Vitoria-Gasteiz), the council’s own company, which bills every quarter.
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.
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
Join municipal sports facilities and pools (abono)
The annual abono gives access to 11 indoor pools, the Mendizorrotza and Gamarra summer complexes and more than 250 sports spaces, and a 40% reduction on municipal courses.
Get a municipal library card
Join the Red de Bibliotecas Municipales in person with ID, the Tarjeta Municipal Ciudadana and the registration form.
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 on the municipal census
Register dogs in person at the Centro de Protección Animal with the health booklet; unmicrochipped dogs must be identified first (fee applies).
Good to know in Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Complain about a purchase or service (OMIC)
- Cultural agenda and the Fiestas de La Blanca
- Enroll a child in a municipal nursery (0-3)
- Grocery shopping in Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Reach municipal social services (Servicios Sociales de Base)
- Ride Tuvisa city buses and tram (BAT card, fares)
- Sort rubbish, recycle and dispose of bulky items
- Use the OAC network, 010 and cita previa
- Visit the Oficina de Acogida for newcomers
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