DON’T LOSE YOUR RIGHTS – REGISTER WITH THE TOWN HALL

The National Office of Statistics has informed the Mijas Town Hall that 14.000 inhabitants may be removed from the “padrón” (official list of inhabitants) because no modifications have been made by them in the past 5 years.

Those who are not in the padrón are not considered inhabitants of Mijas and as such, will not be able to receive any benefits.

Please come to Mijas Town Hall Foreigners Department or the Town Hall Branch Office in Las Lagunas or La Cala in order to update your registration (empadronamiento) BEFORE OCTOBER 31st 2012. You only need to bring your passport and NIE number. This is free of charge and will only take you a few minutes.

You can also take this opportunity to check your address and leave your telephone and email. We insist on the importance of registering and urge everyone to be included on the padron.

What is the Padron?
The “Padrón” is the list of all the people who live in a certain town. “Empadronarse” is the act of registering yourself on this list with your local Town Hall.

Who should register?
Officially all residents in Spain are required by law to register on the padrón, yet many still have not done so. The padrón is the way the Town Hall knows how many people live in their area, without entering into investigations as to a person’s official residence status or financial affairs. The information provided at registration is confidential and protected by data protection laws.

What are the benefits?
Discount on Municipal Rates. The Town Hall offers discounts on the rates bill to all property owners that are registered on the padron.

Better public services: The Central Government allocates money to the different municipalities according to how many people are on the Padrón. Therefore, if you are not registered, your town hall is losing money for the provision of health centres / doctors, police officers, fire fighters and schools.

Access to benefits and social care: You must be on the Padrón for a certain period of time to take advantage of some income-related benefits and other aspects of social care available through social services at your Town Hall. Those on the Padrón can often enjoy discounted courses, leisure and cultural activities run by the Town Hall.

Voting rights: In order to register to vote in local or European elections, you must first be registered on the Padrón as this is where the Census office in Malaga get their information to make up the electoral roles. When you register, make sure that you also ask for the form to apply for your desire to vote in these electoral procedures.

Day to day life: Because this document is your official proof of address, you will need your Padrón certificate to carry out almost any administrative task, such as registering for healthcare, registering your car with Spanish number plates or any procedure carried out at the Traffic Headquarters; enrolling your children for Spanish schools etc…

For all the above reasons, we would like to encourage Mijas residents and property owners to register on the padron before the end of October. It is a very simple procedure that can be carried out in the Mijas Foreigner’s Department or in the Town Hall Branch Offices of La Cala or Las Lagunas. You have to take your rates receipt, original passports and Residence / NIE numbers.

If you have any doubts, you can contact the Mijas Foreigner’s Department on
952 58 90 10 or via email frd@mijas.es