Simon Wade
SAN FULGENCIO, incorporating the popular British expat urbanisation of La Marina, has launched an information campaign about the municipal Padrón and residency applications.
The initiative offers useful information for all residents who have doubts about these essential elements of life in Spain.
Local Councillor for International Relations, Darren Parmenter, explained “the aim of this initiative is to inform and remind people what the Padrón is and how useful it is.”
Adding, “At the same time it dispels many of the myths that can lead to a reluctance to register.”
Over the next few days, posters and leaflets will be translated into four languages (Spanish, English, French and German) and distributed throughout the Vega Baja municipality.
Parmenter said, “They will be available in the San Fulgencio municipal buildings, bars, cafes and local businesses in the town and urbanisations.”
The initiative has been carried out thanks to a grant of €1,380 from the Provincial Council of Alicante.
The councillor reiterated that anyone living in Spain for more than three months is obliged to apply for Spanish residency, which involves registering on the Padrón.
Continuing, “what is declared to the authorities is that [your property] is a habitual residence, so it should be borne in mind that this fact may affect administrative consequences or have tax implications.”
Samantha Hull, Councillor for Social Services for the Urbanisations, stressed the importance of this action, “in order to appear in the Town Hall’s databases, and thus be eligible for all the services and aid available to those official residents.”
The leaflet also includes a section clarifying the different registration requirements for citizens with EU and non-EU nationalities, as well as for UK nationals who are protected by the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
The document includes information on how to apply for Spanish residency.
The council revealed that as of January 1 2020, San Fulgencio had 8,071 inhabitants registered in the municipal Padrón, more than half of whom are foreign nationals.
Records show that in 2020, the official population was 7,855 – of which 4,929 were born abroad.
Of those, 2,853 were from the United Kingdom, 537 were German and 224 were Moroccan.
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