Life map
Procedures you may need in Spain, organised by life stage.
✅ Full guide🔗 Official link📍 Varies by region
My life in Spain
Just arrived9
- Municipal registration (Barcelona) Barcelona✅📍
- Municipal registration (padrón) Madrid✅📍
- NIE application✅
- Personal digital certificate✅
- Register for Cl@ve✅
- Registering on the padrón in Valencia Valencia✅📍
- Reporting lost or stolen documents (Policía Nacional)✅
- Reporting lost or stolen documents in Catalonia (Mossos d'Esquadra) Barcelona✅📍
- Immigration appointment booking🔗
Residence and nationality20
- CCSE and DELE A2 exams for citizenship✅
- Changing from student stay to work or job-search residence✅
- Criminal record certificate✅
- EU long-term residence✅
- Extension of the student stay authorisation✅
- Family reunification✅📍
- First TIE card✅
- Hiring a foreign worker: initial residence and employment permit✅
- Long-term residence✅
- Non-lucrative temporary residence✅
- Replacing a lost or stolen TIE✅
- Reporting a change of address (foreign nationals with a TIE)✅
- Residence and work for highly qualified professionals (Law 14/2013)✅
- Residence card for family members of EU citizens / of Spanish nationals✅
- Residence for a child born in Spain to foreign parents✅
- Residence for international remote work (digital nomad)✅
- Residence through settlement (arraigo)✅📍
- Return authorisation✅
- Spanish nationality by residence✅
- TIE renewal✅
Work and business28
- Annual income tax return (IRPF)✅
- Declaration of assets abroad (form 720)✅
- Deregistering as self-employed✅
- Employment history report✅
- Equivalence surcharge (VAT for retailers)✅
- Lump-sum payment of unemployment benefit✅
- Opening a shop or business in Barcelona (activity notification) Barcelona✅📍
- Opening a shop or business in Madrid (declaración responsable) Madrid✅📍
- Opening a shop or business in Valencia (environmental declaración responsable) Valencia✅📍
- Quarterly income tax prepayment for the self-employed (form 130)✅
- Registering a domestic worker with Social Security✅
- Registering as a job seeker Madrid✅📍
- Registering as a job seeker (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Registering as a job seeker with LABORA (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Registering as self-employed✅
- Setting up a limited company (S.L.)✅
- Social Security number✅
- Spanish tax residence certificate✅
- Tax census registration to start a business (form 036)✅
- Temporary incapacity (sick leave benefit)✅
- Unemployment allowance✅
- Unemployment benefit✅
- VAT return (form 303)✅
- VERI*FACTU: new requirements for invoicing software✅
- Withholding on business premises rent (form 115)✅
- Form 390: annual VAT summary return🔗
- Reduced flat-rate contribution for new self-employed workers🔗
- Self-employed contributions based on actual income🔗
Housing18
- Applying for public rental housing from the Agencia de Vivienda Social (Community of Madrid) Madrid✅📍
- Housing Demand Register (public housing, Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- IBI property tax in Valencia Valencia✅📍
- Padrón certificate in Valencia Valencia✅📍
- Proof of registration (Barcelona) Barcelona✅📍
- Proof of registration (volante / certificado) Madrid✅📍
- Property tax (IBI) — Madrid City Council Madrid✅📍
- Property transfer tax when buying a home (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Property transfer tax when buying a second-hand home (Community of Madrid) Madrid✅📍
- Protected Housing Applicants Register (Barcelona) Barcelona✅📍
- Rental deposit (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Rental deposit lodging (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Rental deposit registration Madrid✅📍
- Transfer tax (ITP) when buying a resale home (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Property tax IBI (Barcelona) Barcelona🔗📍
- Young Rent Bonus (Catalonia) Barcelona🔗📍
- Youth Rent Bonus (Valencian Community) Valencia🔗📍
- Youth rent subsidy Madrid🔗📍
Education17
- Recognition of foreign qualifications✅
- School admission (public schools) Madrid✅📍
- School admission in publicly funded schools (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- School pre-enrolment, ages 3–16 (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Admission to Official Language Schools (EOI) Madrid🔗📍
- Admission to public nursery schools (ages 0–3) Madrid🔗📍
- Government study grants🔗
- Municipal nursery schools, ages 0–3 (Barcelona) Barcelona🔗📍
- Municipal nursery schools, ages 0–3 (València) Valencia🔗📍
- Official Language School (EOI) admission (Valencian Community) Valencia🔗📍
- Official Language Schools, EOI (Catalonia) Barcelona🔗📍
- School meal grants Madrid🔗📍
- School meal grants (Barcelona) Barcelona🔗📍
- School meal grants (Valencian Community) Valencia🔗📍
- University entrance exam (PAU) Madrid🔗📍
- University entrance exam (PAU) in the Valencian Community Valencia🔗📍
- University entrance exam, PAU (Catalonia) Barcelona🔗📍
Healthcare16
- Booking a CAP appointment (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Booking an appointment at your health centre Madrid✅📍
- Booking an appointment at your health centre (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Childhood vaccination schedule (Comunidad de Madrid) Madrid✅📍
- Choosing a family doctor and CAP (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Choosing a family doctor and health centre Madrid✅📍
- Choosing your family doctor or health centre (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- European Health Insurance Card✅
- Health card Madrid✅📍
- Health card (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- SIP health card (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Special agreement for public healthcare (for people without public healthcare entitlement) Madrid✅📍
- Special healthcare agreement (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Special healthcare agreement (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Vaccination schedule (Catalonia) Barcelona🔗📍
- Vaccination schedule (Valencian Community, 2026) Valencia🔗📍
Transport15
- DGT environmental sticker✅
- Driving in Spain with a Chinese licence✅
- Getting a Spanish driving licence (test)✅
- Personalised T-mobilitat card (Barcelona) Barcelona✅📍
- Public transport pass (abono) Madrid✅📍
- Public transport pass in Valencia (SUMA) Valencia✅📍
- Renewing a Spanish driving licence✅
- Traffic fines (DGT)✅
- Vehicle inspection (ITV) in the Valencian Community: appointments Valencia✅📍
- Vehicle inspection ITV (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Vehicle ownership transfer✅
- Vehicle roadworthiness test (ITV) Madrid✅📍
- Vehicle tax (IVTM) — Madrid City Council Madrid✅📍
- Vehicle tax in Valencia (IVTM) Valencia🔗📍
- Vehicle tax IVTM (Barcelona) Barcelona🔗📍
Family12
- Birth and childcare benefit✅
- Birth registration✅
- Child support supplement✅
- Civil marriage✅
- Large family certificate (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Large family certificate (título de familia numerosa) Madrid✅📍
- Large family certificate (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Maternity tax deduction (and advance payment, form 140)✅
- Minimum Living Income✅
- Registering a civil partnership (unión de hecho) in the Community of Madrid Madrid✅📍
- Registering a civil partnership (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Stable partnership (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
Retirement and end of life14
- Certificate of last will✅
- Death grant (funeral expenses)✅
- Death registration and death certificate✅
- Inheritance and Gift Tax in the Community of Madrid Madrid✅📍
- Inheritance tax (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Inheritance tax (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Non-contributory pension (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Non-contributory pension (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Non-contributory retirement and disability pension (Community of Madrid) Madrid✅📍
- Recognition of dependency (Catalonia) Barcelona✅📍
- Recognition of dependency (Valencian Community) Valencia✅📍
- Recognition of dependency status (long-term care) Madrid✅📍
- Retirement pension✅
- Widow's or widower's pension✅
China-related13
- Apostille for Chinese documents used in Spain✅
- Chinese passport (Consulate General in Barcelona) Barcelona✅📍
- Chinese passport renewal✅
- Chinese travel document (Consulate General in Barcelona) Barcelona✅📍
- Consular notarization at the Chinese Embassy (powers of attorney, declarations)✅
- Marriage and divorce registration at the Chinese Embassy✅
- Marriage at the Chinese Consulate General in Barcelona Barcelona✅📍
- Notarial services (Chinese Consulate General in Barcelona) Barcelona✅📍
- PRC Travel Document✅
- Proof of life for a Chinese pension✅
- Proof of life for a Chinese pension (Consulate General in Barcelona) Barcelona✅📍
- Travelling to China with a Spanish passport: visa waiver and visas✅
- Chinese nationality after acquiring another nationality🔗