Paperwork!

Since Brexit meant that we had to apply for residency in Spain before the end of 2021, we spent time here last Autumn and engaged the lovely Rosa to help us navigate the paperwork. Covid didn't help, cost us an eye-watering amount in PCR tests and means most of the Department of Immigration are at home and watching Netflix so an already slow process was moving even more slowly than usual.

My online income helped, it meant I could register as "Autonoma", self-employed, so since October I have been paying tax and National Insurance in Spain. Because of this, my residencia was granted pretty quickly, poor Alex, as my dependent spouse, is still waiting. Each week Rosa tells him it wil be the week his residencia is granted, but we wait...

Since April I have been to Teruel, our provincial capital, a lovely city but a three-hour drive through the mountains, four times and have given the Spanish my fingerprints, picked up my TIE (Alien ID Card) and managed, on the second attempt, to exchange my UK driving licence for a Spanish one.

And the other good news is, we've both registered for healthcare and both of us have had our first Covid vaccine.

I'm a legal alien!