NIE, Empadronamiento, Matriculation – Saving €’s and Learning.

Three years ago I was visiting Spain to housesit for a few weeks, two years ago it was a few months, this last year it has been home for a majority of the year in between other housesits

I understood that a foreigners identity number was a good thing to have to buy goods and pay for courses (eg Salsa lessons) at official places. I managed to get my

Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) with just gleaning info from friends and the internet. It took six visits to Cartagena police station over two months. I wanted to understand the process and not pay lawyers/translators for work I could get through.

I was getting settled in Puerto Mazarrón and enjoying the flat I was renting from Anne. Stand-up Paddle boarding on the beaches and walks in the surrounding mountains, great cycle area too.

My Volvo is happy on the perfect Spanish roads, and trips to Granada, Sevilla, Valencia are a dream. Flying from Madrid to Abu Dhabi was a five hour drive from Puerto Mazarron and needed no ‘traffic jam’ time added.

Taking the car back home each year for M.o.T would cost £1,000 with fuel and ferries/train. The alternative is to re-matriculate (it’s a real word apparently) to Spanish registration plates.

To get Spanish plates I first have to be on the Padron, which I achieved this week with lots of paperwork at Mazarrón Ayuntamiento

The Volvo now has to be checked for conformity at an ITV (Inspección Técnica de Vehículos).

My NIE, Padron, Log Book, MoT, Passport were all needed along with 92.50€.

At Cartagena ITV I was turned away as I could not speak Spanish and had no interpreter.

I was keen to keep the Volvo, avoid the loop journey each year to MoT in U.K. and achieve this on my own. Certainly to do it without the forecast £1000.

A drive to another possibly more helpful testing station was worth trying.

I went to La Hoya, between Totana and Lorca, and found really helpful staff. They made light work of the paper side and guided me easily through the inspection lanes

The Volvo was given a pass for both the configuration and MoT’ish parts. It’s a two day wait for the issue of the paperwork.

Next stage is taking all the above documentation to the Ayuntamiento to pay road tax and import duties.

As the Volvo C30 is £0 rated for road tax in U.K. and I think Europe wide, and I am bringing the car into the country as part of my chattels within the three months of initial Padron, I am crossing all digits that this cost will be minimal.

Tráfico May be a bigger hurdle as all needs to be done in Spanish for them to issue the new registration plates.

I’m enjoying the challenge of learning my way through this process, meeting folk who help or not, and finding out how low I can keep the forecasted cost (my hope is to do it at a quarter cost ie >£250).

Mid-July is my target date, el reloj está haciendo tictac