GUIDE TO TOWN HALL REGISTRATION “PADRÓN”

 

© Instituto valencià d´estadistica

Table of contents:

1. What is the Town Hall registration (Padrón)
2. Obligation to register
3. How to register?
4. The Padron certificate
5. Benefits of being a registered resident
6. Benefits Benitatxell receives when you’re registered
7. Does being registered in Benitatxell imply paying taxes in Spain?
8. Telematic procedures available in the Town Hall
9. Is it possible not to be registered in your usual place of residence?
10. Consequences of not being registered
11. What is the relationship between the register and the electoral roll?
12. What data are recorded in the Town Hall registration (Padrón)?
13. Renewal of Town Hall registration
14. Confirmation of residence for EU citizens
15. Tax residence

1. What is the Town Hall registration (Padrón)

Article 16 of the basic regulation governing entities that constitute the local administration, establishes that the municipal Town Hall registration (Padrón) is the administrative record of the residents of a municipality. Its data constitutes proof of habitual residence in the municipality.

Certifications of this data have the character of a public and reliable document for all administrative purposes. This means that while the census registration form is only an informative document, the census registration certificate is a document issued by a secretary or civil servant that accredits the fact of census registration and has effects in relation to third parties. 

2. Obligation to register

• Law 7/1985 of the basic regulation governing entities that constitute the local administration, establishes that in Spain it is compulsory for all persons residing in Spanish territory to be registered, regardless of their nationality or legal situation, so that registration is not only a right, but also a duty and is a free procedure that is carried out in the Town Hall of the municipality where the person resides. 
• The main requirement for registration is that the person applying for registration must have his/her habitual residence in the municipality. This means that they must spend most of the year in the dwelling that appears as their address on the Town Hall registration (Padrón).
• Every citizen has to be registered in the register of the municipality where he/she lives for the longest period of time per year.
• All foreign nationals, like Spaniards, have the right and the duty to be registered, regardless of whether or not they have regularised their administrative situation.
• The law stipulates that a person can only be registered in one municipality, and under no circumstances it is legal to be registered twice.
• Intentionally registering in more than one municipality is illegal and punishable by law, as is fraudulently registering at an address where you do not reside.

3. How to register?

You must go to the Citizen's Advice Bureau (OAC) at Carrer les Escoles, 2 and present a valid passport and the rental contract or title deed of the property, utility bills for electricity, water, gas, etc., and fill in the census registration form.

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4. The Padrón certificate

This document is issued by the Town Hall and certifies that you have a fixed address in Spain. 

You may need it for:

• If requested by judicial bodies (courts and tribunals)
• If requested by military agencies or foreign authorities
• At the Civil Registry (marriages, nationality, changes of name and/or surname and adoptions)
• Immigration Offices
• Declarations of heirship
• Other Official Registers, Penitentiaries, Customs
• State Public Employment Service (SEPE)
• Universities
• Residence on social roots
• Recognition of the situation of dependency

5. Benefits of being a registered resident

• Residents who pay vehicle tax in the municipality can apply for free parking in Cala Moraig.
• Inclusion in the electoral roll.
• Apply for a school place in the public schools of Benitatxell 
• Receive benefits from the social services of Benitatxell
• Apply for the registration of a vehicle.
• Apply for a SIP health card from the Public Health Service.
• Apply for and renew your ID card and passport.
• Update your driving licence
• Contract basic utility services such as electricity, telephone, water or gas.

6. Benefits Benitatxell receives when you’re registered

Based on the number of inhabitants, Benitatxell receives money from the government to provide services to those who live within its jurisdiction. This means that if you’re registered, the Town Hall receives money to provide services on your behalf, regardless of your legal status. Therefore it is in the Benitatxell’s best interest (and yours really, for optimum service levels) to have an accurate count of who is really living in the community using the public services. Because of this, the registration (padrón) is confidential.

Benitatxell population from 2009 till 2021:

© Instituto valencià d´estadistica

7. Does being registered in Benitatxell imply paying taxes in Spain? 

No, it doesn't. Simple registration does not, in itself, constitute sufficient proof of tax residence in Spain. Municipal registration marks the place of habitual residence of an individual and grants access to local public services. On the other hand, tax residence determines the place where taxes are to be paid and is established on the basis of length of residence or predominant economic interests..

8. Telematic procedures available in the Town Hall

• Request for modification of Town Hall registration (Padrón) data

• Application for a collective census certificate

• Removal from the Town Hall registration (Padrón) of foreigners moving abroad

• Application for a cohabitation form

9. Is it possible not to be registered in your usual place of residence?

No, it is not. In Spain, the law requires you to be registered at the address where you live for the longest period of time per year, so we all have the obligation and the right to be registered.

10. Consequences of not being registered

• No free parking at Cala Moraig.
• No inclusion in the electoral roll.
• No application for a school place in the public schools of Benitatxell 
• No benefits from the social services of Benitatxell
• No application for the registration of your vehicle.
• No SIP health card from the Public Health Service.
• No application for or renewal of your ID card and passport.
• Non-renewal of your driving licence
• No contracting of basic utility services such as electricity, telephone, water or gas.

11. What is the relationship between the register and the electoral roll?

In order to be able to vote in a municipal election, it is necessary to be registered on the electoral roll, which is updated on the basis of the census data. If you are not registered at your real address, you cannot vote in that Municipality, i.e. you cannot be a voter and you cannot be eligible to vote.

12. What data are recorded in the Town Hall registration (Padrón)?

• Name and surname

• Sex

• Usual place of residence

• Nationality

• Place and date of birth

• National identity card number or the document that replaces it (foreigners).

• School or academic certificate or diploma

• Any other data that may be necessary for the compilation of the Electoral Census, provided that respect for the fundamental rights recognised in the Constitution is guaranteed.

13. Renewal of Town Hall registration

• EU foreigners are not obliged to renew their census registration.
• Non-EU foreigners without a long-term residence permit must renew their census registration every 2 years from the date of registration in the Municipal Town Hall registration (Padrón) or from the date of the last renewal.
• Renewals will be carried out by ratifying the data already on the Municipal Town Hall registration (Padrón), including a declaration of continuing to live in the municipality and at the address where they are registered and their willingness to renew their registration.

14. Confirmation of residence for EU citizens

By virtue of the Resolution of 29 April 2020, of the Undersecretary's Office, which publishes the Resolution of 17 February 2020, of the Presidency of the National Statistics Institute and the Directorate General for Autonomous Community and Local Cooperation in its section 7, periodic checks will be carried out on the residence in the municipality of foreigners who are not obliged to renew their census registration. 

Following checks are carried out for foreign EU citizens:

• Every two years if they are not registered in the Central Register of Foreigners.

• Every five years or more, if they are registered in the Central Register of Foreigners. 

15. Tax residence in Spain

• Simple registration in Spain does not in itself imply tax residence in Spain.
• Tax residence is a matter of fact that must be proven, as the tax authorities equate tax domicile with habitual residence. This would entail the obligation to pay tax in Spain on all income earned, not only in Spanish territory, but worldwide. This scenario is known as being subject to personal liability tax.
• This means that, if the citizen has his tax residence in another country, where he habitually lives and/or where he obtains most of his income, he will only be obliged to pay tax in Spain on the assets and rights he has there. In this case, he/she would be subject to real obligation.
• A natural person is understood to be habitually resident in Spain when any of the following circumstances apply:
• Staying in Spain for more than 183 days during the calendar year. 
• The main core or base of its activities or economic interests is directly or indirectly located in Spain.
• Double taxation and double residence treaties
• The double taxation treaties generally provide for the following criteria to avoid a person being considered a resident of both States:

• He shall be a resident of the State where he has a permanent home at his disposal.
• If he has a permanent home at his disposal in both States, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State with which he has the closest personal and economic relations (centre of vital interests).
• If this cannot be determined, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State where he habitually lives.
• If he habitually lives in both States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State of which he is a national.
• If, finally, he is a national of both States, or of neither of them, the competent authorities shall settle the case by common agreement.
• Proof of tax residence

Tax residence is evidenced by a certificate issued by the competent tax authority of the country concerned. These certificates are valid for a period of one year.