Residents of EU members and nationals from a country that has signed a reciprocal agreement with Spain have the right to vote in the local elections that are coming up on May 28th. To create an electoral census of foreign residents in Spain (CERE) the Census Electoral Office (OCE) has sent the following information to the country’s Town Halls.
NATIONALS FROM EU MEMBER STATES:
EU nationals who are residents of Spain and meet all the standard criteria, as are required of Spanish voters, have the right to vote in local elections once they have officially registered their desire to do so.
According to a resolution passed by the Census Office on 07/09/2010, the following applied to EU residents wishing to register to vote.
Formal declarations of the intention to vote can be made online, by post, or in person at the Town Hall.
a) Online: They can register through the INE website at: https://sede.ine.gob.es/manifestacionVotoPermanente/presentacion using the cl@ve system.
b) In person at the Town Hall: You will need to fill out a form, which you can download here: https://sede.ine.gob.es/manifestacionVotoPermanente/presentacion or you will be able to get the form at the Town Hall, but make sure you take your relevant paperwork for identification and residency.
Postal reminder:
To make the process easier, the OCE will be sending out letters to EU residents with their registered data on the padrón at the end of October. This letter will only be sent to those residents who have not formally registered to vote in previous municipal elections.
The letter will include a numerical key which you can use online (CTT) to register your intention to vote without needing to use the cl@ve system. If you receive one of these letters you can sign up to the electoral census online or by post using the reply letter and prepaid envelope included.
Duration on census:
Formally declaring your wish to vote in Spain is seen as permanent for as long as you are living here unless you declare otherwise. To ensure that you are registered in time to vote on 28th May 2023, you must make the formal declaration and sign on the electoral census before 30th January 2023.
NATIONALS FROM NON-EU COUNTRIES WITH RECIPROCAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR VOTING IN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS:
Those people who are a resident in Spain from countries with a reciprocal arrangement with Spain, giving their citizens the right to vote in municipal elections, and who meet the agreed requirements and the conditions to vote, may also register on the electoral census for the May 2023 municipal elections.
These countries are: Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Iceland, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
Nationals from countries that had an agreement in force during the period when census registration was permitted may also register. (From the date of the official communication, the UK is included in the list above of countries with a voting agreement in place and about to be ratified).
The requirements for registration are:
- You must be over 18 years old and not be the subject of any official restrictions on your right to vote.
- You must be registered on the Padrón (local register of residents in your borough).
- You must have authorised resident status in Spain.
- You must have lived, legally, in Spain for the time as stated in the voting agreement with your country (3 years for Norwegian nationals, 3 years at the time of census registration for UK nationals, and 5 years at the time of census registration for other countries). You may be asked to confirm your length of residency with a residency certificate from the police.
Norms and how to request registration:
For those who wish to register on the census, either online, by post, or in person at the Town Hall.
To ease the process of registration, towards the end of November 2022 the OCE will be in contact with foreign residents in Spain, nationals from countries with a reciprocal voting arrangement with Spain who meet the conditions as laid down, with their data as it is registered in the official foreign resident central register and the town hall padrón lists, detailed in the INE. This letter will include a code (CTT) with which the recipient can register to vote online.
a) Online: To request registration in the electoral census online you can go to the following page, https://sede.ine.gob.es and confirm your identity using the cl@ve system and click on the registration option. If you don’t have a cl@ve you can register using your NIE number and the CTT code provided in your letter.
b) Post: You may send a reply directly to the OCE using the pre-paid envelope.
c) At your Town Hall: If you believe you are entitled to vote in the municipal elections due to the reciprocal arrangements in place, you can go in person to the Town Hall and ask to be registered on the census, taking your identity card (TIE), and nationals from Norway, Iceland, and the UK also need to take their national ID cards and/or passport.
You will have to be able to prove the length of time you have lived in Spain with a residency certificate from the Oficina de Extranjería or the national police offices.
TIME FRAME:
Registration requests can be made between 1st December 2022 and 15th January 2023.
Registration requests made outside this time frame, including petitions to change registered data on the electoral census, will not be considered.
