Spain does not have a system to issue personalised licence plates. It does however have a system to identify and recognise Classic Cars. Cars that qualify can achieve the status of being certified as a ‘historical vehicle’. Classic Cars with this status can be registered with historical licence plates, so the owner can enjoy the kudos of having their beloved motor officially recognised and marked as a Classic Car.
Getting ‘historical vehicle’ status for a Classic Car, also brings with the added perks of cheaper insurance, longer gaps between ITV´s and road tax exemption.
The starting qualifying criteria is the age of the car, the qualifying age being 30 years. The age for a Classic Car in Spain used to be 25 years, however was changed to 30 years in May 2018. This change was not retrospective. Classic Cars that already had historical number plates kept them, so there are cars with these plates that are less then 30 years old.
Update – Spanish Residency for British UK Nationals During the Transition Period
The article below was written the UK left the EU under the withdrawal agreement in January 2020.
Under the withdrawal agreement, British Nationals who hold a residency certificate have their rights as an EU citizen secured. On July 6th 2020, the residency application procedure for British UK nationals, switched for the EU residency certificate to the withdrawal agreement TIE ‘tarjeta de indentidad de extranjeros’. Both the certificate and the new TIE give the holder equal status in terms of protected EU rights under the withdrawal agreement.
Read more about Spanish Residency for British UK Nationals and the Transition Period
Article written 13th April 2019
Earlier this year, the Spanish Government published its ‘No Deal Brexit’ Contingency Plan. The Contingency Plan was approved by Royal Decree 1st March, and affirms that the Spanish residency certificate will be needed to confirm legal residence in Spain. The plan makes provision for those residing in Spain who’ve not obtained their Spanish residency EU registration certificate before Brexit, to obtain residency documentation. However, it makes clear that British nationals in this situation will be treated differently to to those who have obtained their certificate BEFORE the UK leaves the EU.
NOTE FOR BRITISH NATIONALS
The UK is no longer part of the EU. British citizens / UK nationals can no longer apply for the Spanish residency certificate for citizens of EU countries. As of 1st January third country general immigration rules apply to British citizens. Nationals of third countries must first apply for a long stay visa before applying for Spanish residency, and then obtain a TIE, ‘tarjeta de indentidad de extranjeros’.
We provide more information in this article: Spanish residency requirements for British citizens / UK nationals
Spanish Residency Certificate for Citizens of EU countries
All EU and EEA (European Economic Area) citizens and their family members have the right to visit, live or work in Spain. A Spanish residency certificate confirms your status as a resident in Spain. For stays of up to 3 months there is no need to register or obtain any Spanish documentation unless you are going to be working, or for example buying a property, in which case you’ll need an NIE. After that period, or if you intend to stay more than 3 months, you are expected to register as a resident.
You are given a residency certificate, or ‘certificado de residencia‘, when you successfully register. The issue of certificates is controlled by the National Police, (Cuerpo Nacional de Policia).
The UK left the EU at 11pm on 31st January 2020 with a withdrawal agreement in place. This means that we are now in the transition period which will run until 31st December 2020.
During the transition period, EU rights and freedoms are unchanged. So for now Brits can continue to have and take up residency as EU citizens. What happens at the end of the year remains to be seen.
The UK and Spanish Governments have made clear what the transition period means for British Nationals in Spain, and what they need to do if they want to continue living in Spain
According to the withdrawal agreement, UK nationals settled and lawfully residing in Spain before the end of the transition period, will continue to be considered legal residents and keep rights they have had, and enjoyed as EU citizens.
It is also made clear what Brits living in Spain need to do to achieve and maintain lawful residence.
So What do Brits Living in Spain Or Planning to Need to Do?
We get asked a lot of questions about schools and the system of education in Spain. A lot these questions are answered in our in Spain mini guides. Being based in the Costa del Sol, we also often get asked by people moving to or planning to move to the area, about International Schools in Costa del Sol, so we’ve created a list of those that we know.
International Schools Marbella:
Until fairly recently, private holiday rental regulation in Andalucia has been relatively uncontrolled.
For holiday property owners in Andalucia, this all changed at the beginning of 2016, when the regional government, Junta de Andalucia, brought in a host of regulations to conform with changes in national legislation.
Properties under Holiday Rental Regulation in Andalucia
Holiday rental regulation in Andalucia applies to:
- Individual privately owned properties where the complete dwelling is let for holiday purposes.
- Rooms in individually privately owned properties, in which the owner resides, e.g. bed & breakfast, Airbnb.
The maximum capacity, i.e. number of beds/people that can stay in the accommodation is limited by the occupation license, subject to overall maximum of 15 beds for complete dwellings and for bed & breakfast type arrangements – 6 beds, with no more than 4 beds in any one room.
Owners of holiday rental properties that fall into these categories, firstly need to list their property with the Registry of Tourism of Andalusia (RTA), in order to meet the first part of the regulatory requirements; secondly, meet the requirements within a year. During this time owners will not be allowed to host tourists/rent accommodation until fully compliant.
The Requirements of Holiday Rental Regulation in Andalucia
Registering Classic Cars in Spain
The process of assigning a licence number to a classic car in Spain is more or less the same as that for a normal car. However in most cases, the car will have to go through more vigorous checks before it can be passed. There is no differentiation in regard to age of vehicle and licence number issued. A 50 year old classic Ferrari, and a brand new Nissan Micra, could end up with consecutively numbered plates.
So unlike UK registrations which in general contain a year marker, it’s very difficult to gauge a Spanish registered car’s age from its licence plate.
From a classic car perspective, this means that, if you’re bringing your pride and joy 1964 Mercedes SL to Spain, when you register it, you will end up with a licence number that is just one digit different to hundreds of other regular new cars registered at the same time. Not great for prestige.
Registering on the ‘padrón’ helps the local town hall to apply for funds from central government to bolster their municipal budgets. For this reason, many town halls are keen to get more inhabitants to register on their ‘padrón’, and often campaign to persuade more people to do so. In touristic and popular holiday home areas such as Costa del Sol, these campaigns are often targeted at the high numbers of foreigners who have homes in the locality. This includes both residents and non-resident holiday home owners.
Aside from the potential benefits to the area where you live the `Certificado de Empadronamiento´ is useful for a number of other purposes. These include proof of address, entitlement to local and reduced price services, and eligibility for subsidised rates of locally collected taxes – IBI,
Registering on the ‘padrón’. Do you need to?
