UPDATED: 20th February 2024
Empadronamiento Certificate – Applying at the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall)
The Empadronamiento Certificate (registering on the electoral/residence roll) is obtained at the local Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) – two words guaranteed to tongue-tie new arrivals to Spain! This document can be obtained AFTER applying for your NIE certificate, but is required BEFORE applying for Residency in Tenerife/Spain.
Each borough in Spain (municipio) has a Town Hall (“Ayuntamiento”). The Municipios covering the main tourist and expat areas of South Tenerife are ‘Adeje’, ‘Arona’, ‘San Miguel’ and ‘Guia de Isora’ and in the north they are ‘Puerto de la Cruz’, ‘La Orotava’, ‘Los Realejos’ and ‘Santa Ursula’.
Applying for Empadronamiento has benefits for both the individual and the community as a whole, including:
- access to public services and discounts
- access income-related benefits and social care
- receive a reduction in taxes
- get 75% discounted travel if you are resident in the Canary or Balearic Islands (after 5 years of residency!)
- vote in local elections
- register for local healthcare
- enrol children in school
- register a car with a Spanish number plate
For the individual, it allows you to vote in municipal and European elections. It also entitles you to apply for a separate Residents Travel Certificate, under which discounts of up to 75% on the standard ticket price can be obtained on direct flights and ferries between the Canary Islands and the Spanish mainland and Balearics, or between the Canary Islands themselves (N.B. the travel discount is only available once you have obtained your residency in Tenerife -( i.e. the green residency card for either UK or EU citizens, or UK Citizens with a new TIE card marked with ‘permanent’ status). So for those without residency yet, you will need to first obtain your Empadronamiento, then go and apply for residency, and then return to apply for the travel certificate.
Please also note that whilst EU citizens are entitled to the travel discount from the moment they obtain the green card residency in Tenerife, UK Citizens who obtained residency after Brexit with a TIE photocard (i.e. “Temporary” Residents) must wait until they accrue 5 years residency (i.e. “Permanent Residency”) to qualify for the travel discount. However, UK Nationals who obtained their residency before Brexit (i.e. they started with the old green card, regardless of whether they later updated it to a TIE card) are entitled to the travel discount from day one, just like EU nationals, as they were of course an EU national back when they first applied!
Many Town Halls seem to be making the rules up as they go along, particularly in discriminating against UK Nationals, by not applying the above rules correctly. If you still have the old green card or even earlier Green A4 sheet, there is NO law or rule requiring you to change it for a new TIE card, nor should having the old green card stop you getting the travel discount. Indeed, nationals of other EU countries can still only obtain an old green card even if they apply today, because the new TIE’s are only available to non-EU nationals such as Brits.
Also, changing your old green residencia for a new TIE card remains purely voluntary. You can continue to use your old green card and enjoy the same residency rights as all other ongoing EU green card holders. When faced with any bureaucrat who will not apply the above rules correctly, feel free to complain and make a scene, assuming you have the time, energy and patience!
For the local community, registering for empadronamiento at your local Town Hall serves to increase the foreigner demographic. The more foreigners registered in a particular borough, the more the Town Hall will be obliged to consider and accommodate their needs (e.g. translators / English language notices/websites etc). However, the biggest benefit to the community is that the government allocates funds to each Town Hall based on its population count. The more people registered in a borough, the more funding that borough will receive for a variety of public services.
Despite this, many lazy residents only ever apply for the Empadronamiento for a few reasons. Typically, because they need their Residency, or are buying a car, or because they wish to enjoy resident travel discounts. To buy a car, the only accepted method for changing the car’s registered address at the Trafico department registry is to show an Empadronamiento.
To obtain an Empadronamiento since the coronavirus outbreak, most Town Halls/Ayuntamientos are operating an appointment system bookable in advance. You can book either at the relevant counter in the Town Hall, by telephone, or in some cases on their website.
Online Appointments
Adeje – http://citaprevia.adeje.es/ (appointments are approximately 1 month from date of booking)
San Miguel de Abona – https://aytosanmigueldeabona.sedelectronica.es/citaprevia.2
Arona – https://www.arona.org (Click on the red box for CITA PREVIA).
Guia de Isora – https://www.guiadeisora.org/corp/servicio-de-cita-previa/
If you go to make an appointment in person, find the correct office (typically ‘Oficina de Atencion al Ciudadano‘ or ‘Servicio al Ciudadano’ (SAC). There is usually a ‘take a ticket’ queueing system. There is no paperwork to complete, save that they will ask you to sign a form. You will need to take:
- your original passport,
- Original NIE certificate,
- Proof of address (which can only be an original signed Rental Contract for your accommodation, OR an original or ‘Copia Simple’ Escritura (title deed) OR Nota Simple (Land Registry Office Copy Entry) showing that you own a property in Tenerife, OR a recent utility bill in your name. For children, it is advisable to get your landlord to note in your rental contract that they live at the same address.
The certificate lasts for 6 months and now appears to be free of charge in all boroughs.
You are legally required to update the Town Hall if you change address within the borough (“Cambio de Domicilio“), or you must re-register with another Town Hall if you move to a different borough.
EMPADRONAMIENTO TRAVEL DISCOUNT CERTIFICATE
Once you are registered on the Empadronamiento (and regardless whether you choose to renew your actual Empadronamiento certificate every 6 months, EU Citizens can immediately apply for the corresponding Travel Certificate, although UK nationals are subject to different rules (see below). Again, the application is made over the counter whilst you wait. You again need to take your passport, NIE and proof of address.
N.B. EU Nationals are entitled to the travel discount certificate from the moment they obtain their Spanish residency. However, under the current rules published by the Spanish Government, UK Nationals cannot obtain the Travel Discount Certificate until they obtain ‘permanent’ residency status (i.e. after 5 years of residency).
Whilst Spain is free to impose this restriction against recent-arrival UK nationals who became Spanish resident AFTER 1st January 2021, Tenerife Guru considers that the travel discount certificate should be granted to UK Nationals who obtained a green card Spanish residency before the end of the UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement Transitional Period on 31st December 2020, regardless of how long they have been resident. The entire point of the Withdrawal Agreement was to protect and enshrine the right of UK Nationals to continue to enjoy all of the same rights and privileges they previously enjoyed whilst the UK was still part of the EU (which includes the transitional period up to 31st December 2020). Yet many town halls appear to be discriminating against Brits holding the old green card.
This is hardly the first time that the Spanish authorities have illegally discriminated against foreign nationals in one way or another. However, until an official legal challenge is filed with the EU over this discriminatory practice, UK Nationals living in Tenerife should assume for now that they will be denied access to the travel discount scheme until they can show they have been resident in Spain for more than 5 years.
The travel discount certificate now appears to be free of charge from most Town Halls. Like the Empadronamiento Certificate, the Travel Certificate expires after 6 months. You will currently also need to book an appointment in advance to obtain your travel certificate. Most ferries and airlines will automatically verify your travel discount status electronically on the booking website when you book your travel, so you only need to bring your certificate to check-in if the booking website informed you of a problem confirming your discount status at the time of booking. N.B. We recommend inserting ALL of your first names and your Surname when making a travel booking, as the automatic discount verification system checks against the full passport names you presented when you first registered for Empadronamiento at the Town Hall. So if your passport name is JOHN BRIAN EDWARD SMITH and you book a flight or ferry as just JOHN SMITH, your travel discount will most likely be rejected by the travel discount verification system, forcing you to bring a paper travel discount certificate when you check in. However, if it still doesn’t work even using your correct full names, it is worth checking at the Town Hall that they haven’t mistaken one of your middle names for a surname (a surprisingly common error that will also lead to online travel discount rejection!)
As of June 2019, the travel certificate entitles the holder to a typical 75% discount on flights and ferries between the Canary Islands and between the Canary Islands and mainland Spain (but not the Balearics).
Some residents have grown increasingly cynical about the travel discounts. Many believe that the airlines and ferries hike up the price on routes popular with residents knowing that the majority of passengers will qualify for the discount. Upon reviewing typical prices, those concerns would appear to be justified. In many cases, the resident-discounted fares are often similar to comparable European journeys of similar length that don’t benefit from any subsidies or discounts whatsoever.
Either way, unless you wish to pay a far higher amount than your fellow passengers, applying for the travel certificate is clearly a ‘no brainer’ for anyone needing to catch flights or ferries to/from Tenerife.
When booking your flights online, remember to select the applicable discount option (island resident), usually on the initial search page, or sometimes before the payment stage. This might be in a partially hidden drop down menu or checkbox and not immediately obvious. Some reseller sites (e.g. Expedia) may not show you the option of a resident discount at all, so if you book with them at full price, you are stuck and can’t claim the travel discount later.
Once you have selected your flight and click on proceed, most major airlines then check your name and NIE number online with a national database to see if they can identify your travel discount certificate remotely. If successful, this means that you have been pre-approved for the discount and don’t need to do anything else. However, this system is notoriously inflexible and will fail if there is the slightest discrepancy with your details that are registered at your Town Hall (e.g. different spelling, omitted middle names, etc etc. Any passenger that is unable to be pre-approved online should simply take their paper travel certificate along when they check in. Although our advice is that ALL customers should play it safe and bring their paper travel certificate at check-in, even if they have been pre-approved online!