Before you start

A visa or residence authorisation appropriate to your situation, granted before travel for most non-EU nationals
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
Proof of address in Granada — a rental contract, a utility bill or a signed owner's authorisation
Passport photographs to Spanish specification and the paid Modelo 790 tax form

Step-by-step

1
Obtain the NIE number
The Número de Identidad de Extranjero is the foundational identifier and everything downstream needs it. If you arrived on a residence visa it is normally assigned as part of that process; otherwise apply through the Oficina de Extranjería in Granada or a Spanish consulate before travelling.
In personWho: YouBefore or immediately on arrival
2
Register on the padrón at the ayuntamiento
Take your passport and proof of address to the Ayuntamiento de Granada with an appointment. The certificate is required for the Andalusian health card, the TIE, school places and the licence exchange. A room in a shared flat counts if the contract names you or the landlord signs an authorisation.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
3
Book the TIE appointment as early as the queue allows
There is a limited window after entering Spain to apply for the physical residence card. Start checking for slots before your other documents are assembled — you can gather paperwork while you wait for the date, and Granada's slots move faster than the coastal provinces'.
OnlineWho: YouWithin the first month
4
Attend the TIE appointment with fingerprints taken
Bring the completed Modelo EX-17, the paid Modelo 790 code 012, passport photographs, your passport with copies of every used page, the padrón certificate and your residence authorisation. Fingerprints are taken at the appointment and the card is collected several weeks later.
In personWho: You
5
Register with social security and get a NUSS
Employment triggers registration by your employer. If you are self-employed you register as autónomo yourself on the income-based contribution scale, with a reduced starter rate available for new registrations. The social security number is what converts into healthcare entitlement — the TIE alone does not.
In personWho: You
6
If you are here through the university, use its international office
The UGR's international and doctoral offices handle very large volumes of residence procedures every September and know exactly which document each office wants. For students, researchers and visiting academics this is faster and cheaper than a private gestor, and it is a resource almost no non-academic newcomer thinks to ask about.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and photocopies of every used page
Residence visa or authorisation
Padrón certificate from the Ayuntamiento de Granada
Modelo EX-17 for the TIE and the paid Modelo 790 code 012
Passport photographs to Spanish specification — white background, 32×26 mm
Rental contract or signed owner's authorisation

Things most newcomers don’t know

Spain rewrote its immigration regulation in 2025 and older guidance is unreliable.

Real Decreto 1155/2024 replaced the 2011 reglamento de extranjería and took effect in May 2025, reshaping the arraigo routes, the work rights attached to student status, and family reunification. Granada's large student and researcher population is disproportionately affected, because student-to-work transitions are exactly what changed. Anything you read about switching status should be checked against the current text rather than against advice that was correct for a decade.

Source: Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones

September is the worst month to need anything administrative here.

The university's intake, the Erasmus cohort — Granada receives more Erasmus students than any other European institution — and the returning academic staff all hit the same offices in the same fortnight. Padrón appointments, extranjería slots, bank appointments and flats all compress. If your arrival date is flexible, arriving in late spring or early summer means a fraction of the queue for exactly the same procedures.

Source: community-reported

The padrón certificate is the keystone and it costs nothing.

It unlocks the Andalusian health card, the TIE application, a school place, the driving-licence exchange and your residency renewal, and it is the evidence of continuous residence for long-term status later. Newcomers treat it as a low-priority errand and then discover three separate processes stalled behind it. Register in your first fortnight even if you are in a temporary room — you update it when you move.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Granada

The digital nomad visa carries a tax election with a hard deadline.

Spain's startups law created a teleworking residence route and extended the impatriate regime — the Beckham Law — to arrivals under it, taxing Spanish employment income at a flat rate rather than the progressive scale for a limited number of years. The election must be made within a strict window after social security registration and is not easily undone. It favours higher earners; on a Granada cost base a lower earner is often better off outside it.

Source: Agencia Tributaria

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving in September, when every office and every flat is contested at once.
Relying on pre-2025 guidance about arraigo and student-to-work status changes.
Delaying the padrón and blocking the health card, the TIE and the licence exchange behind it.
Assuming the NIE alone gives you healthcare — social security registration is a separate step.
Missing the strict window to elect the impatriate tax regime.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.