Do you like to draw your signature? Then you should come to Spain. We had to put more signatures on papers in these past months than in the last 10 years in the Netherlands. And we didn’t make any big purchases yet. I wonder what we will have to sign when we buy a house … Read more
Whatever route you take into the city, nothing reminds you of the fact that Cadiz is probably the oldest city of Europe. Nowadays, Cadiz has the charm of an old port city. For instance, there is a unique boulevard. Or rambla as they call it over here. This rambla almost circumvents the old city on the … Read more
The sun is shining again. Oh, how we missed the warmth of it the past weeks, hmmm, maybe the past months. And it makes up for a lot of things. Especially for the Spanish bureaucracy. Yesterday at the very last moment before leaving we had to arrange for a document from the city council that … Read more
They did warn us [14] Every time we visit the police station in Carabanchel they give us an inside view of their well-organized archive. đIt makes us smile every time, starting off our appointment well. And this time we were really happy because at last, we have our NIE. Yeah!I expected a card – it’s … Read more
They did warn us [11] We had more fun today watching the birds flying up above the sea than we had trying for the umptieth time to get an NIE. Either we are total knobheads, or the system here sucks big time. As they advised us in MĂĄlaga we went to the police station in … Read more
They did warn us [10] We are very persistent. To be able to buy a subscription for a mobile phone, or a car, or a house, or to be able to open a bank account, as a foreigner you need a NIE number. NIE means: NumĂ©ro de Identidad Extranjero. After numerous attempts (see They did … Read more
They did warn us [9] Yesterday at 11:13, I received a ‘no-conteste-a-esta-direccion@correo.gob.es’-email. This official email from the Spanish Government confirmed that I had an appointment (‘cita previa‘) at 10:15 hours at the Policia National on January 5th in Motril to apply for a NIE number. When we went there for the first time, they said … Read more
They did warn us [7] Some people remark that the Americans are so insincere with their “Hello, I am your waitress for tonight”. But I prefer that level of customer service way beyond the treatment you get over here. Last time we went to the police station in Motril we were sent home with a … Read more
They did warn us [6] Today it was again a beautiful sunny day. Although a bit windy as you can see in this picture. The young guy tried to fly up to his colleagues. He didnât succeed. Neither did we, trying to get a NIE number in Spain for the umptieth time. We went to … Read more
They did warn us [5] In our ongoing search to get a NIE number we went to the Oficina Extranjeros today. Our son went along to translate, maybe that would help. A very friendly security officer told us our form was wrong, and where did we need a NIE number for anyway since we are … Read more