The word garden
Spanish words you will meet along the way
The offices speak Spanish, and some words come up again and again. Here they are, gathered in one bed and explained in plain English.
A
- Arraigo
- A residence route for people who have built ties in Spain through time, work, family or training. Requested at the Oficina de Extranjería.
- Asignación de NIE
- The police procedure in which a foreigner is given a NIE number.
- Autorización de regreso
- A travel permit letting a resident leave and re-enter while their card is still being made or renewed.
C
- Certificado de registro
- Nicknamed the green certificate: proof that a European national is on Spain’s register of residents.
- Cita previa
- The booked slot you need before any desk will see you, at the police as at the town hall’s padrón service.
- Comisaría
- A local police station. In the region, those of Molina de Segura, Cartagena, Lorca and Yecla handle NIE procedures.
D
- Delegación del Gobierno
- The State’s outpost in each region; in Murcia, its foreigners’ office rules on permits to live and work.
E
- Empadronamiento
- Putting your name and address on the padrón, the list each town hall keeps of its residents.
- EX-15
- The application form for a NIE number or a NIE certificate.
- EX-17
- The application form for the TIE, the card of non-EU residents.
- EX-18
- The application form for the EU registration certificate.
- EX-19
- The form non-EU relatives of a European resident use to ask for their own card.
H
- Huerta
- The irrigated farmland of the Segura valley around Murcia, laced with channels: the reason the city is surrounded by orchards and vegetable plots.
M
- Modelo 790, código 012
- The form used to pay the fee for NIE, certificate and TIE procedures, at a bank or online.
P
- Pedanía
- A district or village belonging to the municipality of Murcia, often with its own information and registration office.
- Prórroga
- An extension or renewal of a residence or stay authorisation.
R
- Régimen comunitario
- The set of rules, and of police procedures, for EU citizens and their families.
T
- Toma de huellas
- The fingerprint appointment that starts the production of a TIE.
V
- Volante de empadronamiento
- A simple proof of your padrón registration, lighter than the formal certificate.
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