20 words, A to Z
Concello, Quenda, Resgardo: Vigo’s Words in English
Concello, empadroamento, folla de inscrición, quenda, resgardo, trámite: the words of the town hall and the police forms, with what they mean.
- Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras
- In every province, the Policía Nacional’s team for foreign nationals and border control; Pontevedra’s works from C/ Joaquín Costa 17.
- Carpeta Cidadá (Carpeta Ciudadana)
- The Concello’s online folder: register, print a volante or follow a request, with an electronic signature.
- Certificado de registro (green certificate)
- A European’s registration as a resident of Spain, printed with the NIE and without a photo.
- Cita previa
- An appointment booked ahead, in the same words in Galician and Spanish. Police procedures are booked by province on the State’s system; the Concello has a booking site of its own.
- Concello (Ayuntamiento)
- The town hall, and the municipality it runs. Vigo’s own pages are in Galician and say Concello; State forms say Ayuntamiento. The padrón is its business.
- Empadroamento (empadronamiento)
- Being entered on the padrón at your home address. Galician drops the n: empadroamento, empadroado.
- Folla de inscrición (hoja de inscripción)
- The form for joining the padrón; each adult on it signs.
- NIE
- Número de Identidad de Extranjero: the number the Policía Nacional assigns a foreigner, once; Hacienda knows you by it as well.
- Oficina de Extranjería
- The office of the Delegación del Gobierno that decides authorisations to live and work; Vigo’s is on Rúa Teófilo Llorente 4.
- Padrón municipal de habitantes
- The register of residents that each municipality keeps; the words are the same in both languages.
- Praza (plaza)
- Square. Vigo’s town hall stands on Praza do Rei, Plaza del Rey on its Spanish pages.
- Quenda (turno)
- Your turn in the queue. At the Concello’s statistics office you take a numbered ticket from the machine.
- Resgardo (resguardo)
- Proof that an application was lodged. After the TIE fingerprints, it is the slip you show to collect the card.
- Rexistro Xeral (Registro General)
- The Concello’s general registry, where papers are lodged for another service to process.
- Rúa (calle)
- Street. The Concello writes Rúa Teófilo Llorente, State pages Calle Teófilo Llorente: the same door.
- TIE
- Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, written out: the card with a photo that non-EU residents carry, showing the NIE and the kind of residence.
- Toma de huellas
- Fingerprinting: the police appointment at which a TIE application begins.
- Trámite
- Any administrative procedure. Choosing the right one on the booking screen decides which offices you are shown.
- Xunta de Galicia
- Galicia’s regional government. It issues neither the NIE nor the green certificate nor the TIE.
- Xustificante or volante de empadroamento
- A short record of your padrón entry (justificante in Spanish), which the Concello de Vigo lets you print free of charge online. Some offices want the formal certificado instead.
Which raft are you tied to?
A few lines are enough: your nationality, where around the ría you live or will live, and what has to be ready by when. We answer by email with the route that fits.