With a plan to head to LA for a wedding the timing seemed perfect: 3 weeks before I leave, I get to pick up my NIE. Unfortunately, during the educational previous visit my birth-date was entered incorrectly, an oversight that was only discovered by the woman who checked my passport before declining to hand me my ID card. Seizing on an opportunity to embarrass a rival, this titan of office politics shouted across the floor “There’s a mistake in this one, [name redacted]

After a short conversation with our previous attendant/jewelry-consultant we were told very apologetically that we should come to get in no later than a month. When we informed our Lady of the Ring that I’d be out of the country, she was very kind and promised to expedite the process as much as possible and gave us her mobile number in case we had any problems.

One week later, the phone rang and we made our final trip to Aluche for the year. I’m a legal resident!!

To read the whole odyssey of legal residency:

  1. Choose a visa to pursue
  2. Gather documents and sign-up for stuff
  3. Show I’m not a criminal
  4. Submit everything to the consulate, wait, and get my visa
  5. Move to Spain
  6. Get my proof of residence
  7. Get your NIE in theory…
  8. Paying for my NIE
  9. Getting my NIE
  10. Picking up my NIE (done for the year)