Leaving Madrid for Guadalajara: your papers
Published
A bigger flat, the same job, a new town hall. What a move from Madrid to Guadalajara changes on your papers, and what it leaves alone.
The decision often starts with a lease. Perhaps the rent in Madrid has gone up again, a flat in Guadalajara or Azuqueca de Henares has one more bedroom, and the job can stay where it is. The papers come later, and they are simpler than many people fear.
Start with what stays. Your NIE is the same in every province, for life. A green certificate or a TIE issued in Madrid is valid in all of Spain. Your Social Security number does not change either.
The first real step is the padrón. Register with the town hall of your new home, in Guadalajara or wherever the flat is. When the new town registers you, you are taken off the Madrid padrón; you do not need to go back there. Ask for a padrón certificate after you register, because the next offices will want to see it.
Then the police. EU and non-EU residents are asked to tell the authorities about a new address. In the province of Guadalajara, the Brigada on Avenida del Ejército lists the EU regime and TIE issue. Whether you need a new certificate or card, or only an update, is a good question to ask at your appointment.
From now on, appointments are booked for the province of Guadalajara. A renewal you started in Madrid is a special case: ask the office that holds the file before you book anything here.
Last come the small updates that people forget: the tax office, the bank, the employer, the health centre. Health care is run by each region, so a move from the Comunidad de Madrid to Castilla-La Mancha means asking at your new health centre how to change your card.