Moving to Spain permanently

Yes, you need to sign on the padron. You need your passport, NIE certificate and copy of deeds. They will issue you a padron for 3 months to enable you to sign on the register of EU foreign citizens registered in Spain and then a permanent one once you have done so. That is done at a National police station in the province you are moving to (Alicante). You need to show the padron, the passport and a balance of 7500 euro (you can get a statement online if you have internet banking), an income of 600 euro per month or more and your health cover. Either private insurance or state provided if you receive a state pension from you home country and you are retired. You will then be issued a green card.

Once you have that, you do the same thing for your husband as the spouse of an EU citizen resident in Spain. Yes, the marriage certificate must be translated and apostilled officially which you can do at a notary.

Not particularly hard for an EU passport holder except getting the appointment is quite difficult and you have to do it within 3 months of arriving in Spain. It may be necessary to go to a gestor or company that will get the appointment for you (do not use a solicitor as they will rip you off). The company will also ensure your documents are in order and accompany you to the police station to carry out the procedures. 

You register your S1 with the social security (INSS) who will issue you a document which you take to your health centre and they will give you a SIP (health card) and register with a GP. Once your husband has his green card as the spouse of an EU citizen he can do the same if receiving a pension or, if not, as your beneficiary.

Good luck

Thank you for such a prompt, detailed and helpful response. Apologies in advance for all of the questions.

The 600 euros per month, per peron (this isn't an issue as we both have full state pension and private pensions). Do we have to be in 'receipt' of it - again asking as I do not officially retire until the 21st June and may not be in receipt of all pensions by the time we register on the padron.

Yes, the marriage certificate must be translated and apostilled officially which you can do at a notary - can I get this done in the UK and bring it with us? This may sound like a silly question! Does the apostilled certificate have to be in Spanish? I hope that makes sense! Or is it 2 certificates? One in Spanish and the English version apostilled.

It may be necessary to go to a gestor or company that will get the appointment for you - any recommendations and costs involved?

Once you have that, you do the same thing for your husband - can this all be done at the same time at the same appointments as mine?

You can register your S1 online with the Spanish INSS. This guide will take you through the process step by step. The process is the same for whatever nationality therefore you can ignore UK and replace with Maltese where appropriate:

https://www.ageinspain.org/post/your-health-state-healthcare-in-spain-for-uk-pensioners-s1-form

The following link will provide you with all information on how to register as a resident in Spain as an EU National. It also includes a link to yet another guide which explains 'Sufficient Economic Means' and how an applicant can prove they have sufficient funds to maintain themselves:

https://www.ageinspain.org/post/how-to-obtain-the-resident-certificate-as-an-eu-citizen

Best wishes

Thank you John, very helpful.

You're very welcome. If there is anything else we can help you with just ask. You can do all these processes yourself without engaging help at extra cost. 

You don't need the proof of income to register on the padron, that is only the proof of where you are living permanently and is done at your town hall. You do need the proof of income, or future income, for your appointment at the National Police station.

The marriage certificate is translated to Spanish. It is the translation that is apostilled, that is, shown that it has been translated officially. You could get it done in UK and the Spanish consulates have a list of the approved translators. You'd still keep your original certificate and you only need it when you get your husband registered as the spouse of an EU citizen. 

Not sure if you can both get the green card at the same time. You may need to ensure you are on the list first but using a gestor or company to do it for you will clear all that up. 

The 7500 in a bank and the 600 euro a month is not actually set in stone. You simply have to show you have sufficient means to not become a drain on the Spanish social security services and cases are dealt with on a case by case situation. For example owning your own home will count but the figures are a guide line to make things go smoothly.

Again, good luck. 

Thank you John, I don't want to incur any other extra unnecessary expenses if it can be avoided! Much appreciated.

Perfect and again thank you so much!

The only expense I can forsee is if neither of you are conversant in Spanish you may have to engage an interpreter for your residency interviews with the National Police.

You will also need to arrange two residency interviews one for you and another for your husband. You cannot be interviewed together, however, you should be able to sit in on each others interview. 

You will also need an appointment each for the Padron.