Canary Islands (IC)
The Canary Islands are Spain's Atlantic autonomous community: Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa.
Key Documents Checklist
Gather these before and after moving to Canary Islands.
Valid for at least 6 months beyond your planned stay. Bring the original + 3 photocopies. Non-EU arrivals need an empty stamp page.
Número de Identidad de Extranjero — mandatory tax/identity number for any foreigner doing almost anything administrative in Spain. Apply at Oficina de Extranjería, Comisaría de Policía Nacional, or a Spanish consulate abroad.
Required for empadronamiento (in some town halls), marriage registration, family reunion, citizenship applications, and school registration. Must be recent (under 3–6 months old).
Required for family reunion visa, registering dependents, shared tax returns, and property purchases as spouses.
Required for school enrolment, family reunion visa (reagrupación familiar), child benefits, and inclusion in your residence permit.
Degree certificates and transcripts — essential for regulated professions (medicine, law, architecture, engineering, teaching, nursing). Submit for homologación or equivalencia via the Ministerio de Universidades.
Required for most non-EU long-stay visas, residence permits and work permits. Must cover all countries where you lived in the past 5 years, be under 3–6 months old, apostilled and sworn-translated.
Required for the cuenta ajena work permit, Blue Card, and sponsored non-lucrative residence.
EU/EEA licences are valid until expiry. UK licences exchangeable. Non-EU licences must be exchanged or tested within 6 months of empadronamiento — country-specific bilateral rules apply.
Mandatory for the non-lucrative visa, digital nomad visa, and student visa. Must have no copayments, full coverage in Spain, and minimum coverage of €30,000+. EHIC/GHIC for short EU stays only.
Bank statements (last 6–12 months) + IPREM multiples. Non-lucrative visa 2026: ~€2,400/month for main applicant + ~€600/month per dependent.
Proof of registered residence at your Spanish address. Issued by the Ayuntamiento (town hall). Required for almost every other procedure: NIE, healthcare card, driving licence exchange, school enrolment.
Required for empadronamiento. Landlords do not always want to provide a copy — town hall may accept a signed authorisation + utility bill.
Microchip + rabies vaccine at least 21 days before travel. For non-EU arrivals: EU Health Certificate issued within 10 days of arrival, plus rabies titer test for some origin countries.
If moving between Spanish municipalities, you need to baja and re-empadronar at the new one within 3 months.
📜 What is an Apostille?
An apostille is an official certification that validates a document for international use. It is issued by a designated authority in the country where the document was issued (usually a court or government office). Required for documents from Hague Convention member states.
🌍 Certified Translations
Certified translations must be done by a sworn/authorised translator. In Canary Islands, only translations by officially registered translators are accepted by government offices. Keep originals — they may be returned after verification.
Documents
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