Opening a bank account for non-Spanish speakers in Barcelona is a bit difficult, as I have learned.
I started at Deutche Bank, which has a big branch on the Av Diagonal. The problem was that only one person speak English, and she was very busy, so I left after waiting 20 minutes. After this, I went to Caixa Penedes, which is approximately 2 minutes away from Deutche Bank. There the security told me that it is very unlikely that anybody speaks the level of English necessary to open a bank account in that branch, so I thanked him, and continued the search.
Finally I arrived to a Barclays branch at Carrer de Balmes. There the receptionist escorted me to a bank accountant, who spoke English.
To open the bank account a non-Spanish person must have the NIE number (which I had), and the job contract. I had a problem with the later one, since I did not had that yet.
On the next day, I told the situation to the HR, and he managed to prepare the contract, and we signed it, so I could go back to the bank to create the personal bank account.
Because I have just moved to Barcelona, I did not have any regular bank transfers, so I could choose only the very basic bank account, which had pretty high costs, but finally, at least I have a bank account.
I applied for debit card and online account as well. I had a small problem with the online account, namely that I managed to log in unsuccessfully three times and I locked myself out. So I went back to the bank on the following day, and they fixed my stupidity, so right now, everything is fine with my account (though the balance is currently zero, but my salary will take care of it).
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Númeró de Seguridad Social
After I got my NIE, I had to register for Social Security Number (Númeró de Seguridad Social) as well.
The place to do this was at Arc del Teatre 63. I arrived there at approximately 09:20. At the entrance, there was a police officer in front of a security gate. All the belongings containing any metal had to be removed, and they were X-rayed.
After I got through the security check, I asked the person at the information desk where should I go. He gave me a form to fill out, and sent to the second floor with a sequence number.
There were only a few people there, and the process was really quick. I could barely finished filling out the form, my number was called.
Unfortunately, the person behind the desk did not speak English at all, but this was not a problem, as we could understand each other by gestures.
Only the passport and the NIE was needed for this, and the filled out form they gave me.
After 5 minutes, he handed me a paper, which had my SSN on it, so this was very fast, no extra round were needed.
When I left the building, I headed straight to my workplace to hand them the photocopies of the NIE and the SSN, so they could start preparing the contract, which I will sign on Monday.
The place to do this was at Arc del Teatre 63. I arrived there at approximately 09:20. At the entrance, there was a police officer in front of a security gate. All the belongings containing any metal had to be removed, and they were X-rayed.
After I got through the security check, I asked the person at the information desk where should I go. He gave me a form to fill out, and sent to the second floor with a sequence number.
There were only a few people there, and the process was really quick. I could barely finished filling out the form, my number was called.
Unfortunately, the person behind the desk did not speak English at all, but this was not a problem, as we could understand each other by gestures.
Only the passport and the NIE was needed for this, and the filled out form they gave me.
After 5 minutes, he handed me a paper, which had my SSN on it, so this was very fast, no extra round were needed.
When I left the building, I headed straight to my workplace to hand them the photocopies of the NIE and the SSN, so they could start preparing the contract, which I will sign on Monday.
NIE (2nd round)
Last Thursday I successfully got my NIE number.
The process was relatively easy, but painfully slow. I applied for an appointment online on page https://sede.mpt.gob.es/icpplus/citar. The option I selected was Barcelona and CERTIFICADOS UE. The place was Oficinas de Expedición de Barcelona (Cataluña), at Rambla Giuposcoa 74.
The time on the appointment was 12:15, but I got there little more than an hour earlier. At the door, there was a lady, to whom I showed the appointment registration printed out, and she gave me a number (A50). When I sat down in the waiting area, I realized that they are currently processing A30 at the desks, so it will take a while before my number shows up on the screens. It was after a mere 2 hours, and my number started blinking.
When I sat down with the bureaucrat, I was happy to discover he spoke a little English, so I might have a chance. I showed him the papers I prepared, which were the following:
The process was relatively easy, but painfully slow. I applied for an appointment online on page https://sede.mpt.gob.es/icpplus/citar. The option I selected was Barcelona and CERTIFICADOS UE. The place was Oficinas de Expedición de Barcelona (Cataluña), at Rambla Giuposcoa 74.
The time on the appointment was 12:15, but I got there little more than an hour earlier. At the door, there was a lady, to whom I showed the appointment registration printed out, and she gave me a number (A50). When I sat down in the waiting area, I realized that they are currently processing A30 at the desks, so it will take a while before my number shows up on the screens. It was after a mere 2 hours, and my number started blinking.
When I sat down with the bureaucrat, I was happy to discover he spoke a little English, so I might have a chance. I showed him the papers I prepared, which were the following:
- Form EX-18 filled out (required for EU citizens, non-EU citizens should apply with E-15) (photocopy of the filled-out form)
- Passport (+photocopy)
- Official job offer in Spanish (+photocopy)
- Apartment rent contract + photocopy (was not needed)
The bureaucrat quickly scanned the papers, and he said everything is OK, so he typed the data into the computer, then gave me a "modelo 790" to get to the nearest bank, and pay 10.40 EUR for the process.
Unfortunately, the nearest bank did not accept cash, nor the second, nor the third I found. After approximately one hour of finding the suitable bank, finally a ranch of Caixa Penedes accepted the payment with cash, so I could rush back to the office to present the payment.
When I arrived, the time was 13:50, and the office is only open until 14:00. I got a number (B90), and waited. At 14:00, they locked the doors, so no one could get in, but of course, you could leave the building.
The waiting time was not so long as before, in 10 minutes, I was called. The current bureaucrat unfortunately did not speak English, but this was not the problem, she gave me the NIE number on the card in approximately 5 minutes.
When I left the building, I headed straight back to my apartment, because the office for the Social Security Number is only open till 14:00, so it was my next-day journey.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
First day of work
On Friday, I was very excited about my first day of work. I was told to be there at 0930. I arrived to the building at 0900, so I decided I wait outside, it was too hot anyways, I needed to cool down, so I sat on a bench for 25 minutes.
When I entered the building, the HR director was not in the office yet, so I waited 5 minutes for him to arrive.
He kindly explained the hierarchy of the company, the methods, the requirements, and everything, then he took me on a tour in the building.
Then he introduced me to my immediate supervisor, who helped me in logging into the corporate system, and some administrative stuff as well. Then he pointed at 2 documents, which were the initial setup of the development environment, and of the project I will be working on.
Soon, lunch came, and I was invited to join a group of co-workers for lunch in a nearby restaurant. They were very friendly, and I had a great time with them. the lunch lasted about 1.5 hours, so I would not consider it as a fast lunch :).
After we got back, I tried to compile the project I was assigned to, but I had some trouble with it. I hope I will be able to compile the whole stuff properly on Monday.
When I entered the building, the HR director was not in the office yet, so I waited 5 minutes for him to arrive.
He kindly explained the hierarchy of the company, the methods, the requirements, and everything, then he took me on a tour in the building.
Then he introduced me to my immediate supervisor, who helped me in logging into the corporate system, and some administrative stuff as well. Then he pointed at 2 documents, which were the initial setup of the development environment, and of the project I will be working on.
Soon, lunch came, and I was invited to join a group of co-workers for lunch in a nearby restaurant. They were very friendly, and I had a great time with them. the lunch lasted about 1.5 hours, so I would not consider it as a fast lunch :).
After we got back, I tried to compile the project I was assigned to, but I had some trouble with it. I hope I will be able to compile the whole stuff properly on Monday.
NIE
I went to the police station in Barcelona, which is known to cope with the NIE registration of foreigners:
Comisaría de Policia, Calle Balmes 192.
They said the office responsible for the NIE issuing has moved to AV/Rambla Giupuzcola N°74.
So I went there also, where they said, the process can only be started online, because everybody should register for an appointment online. The funny thing is, the soonest appointment is available 3 weeks from now.
There was nothing more to do, I quickly sent a mail to my future employer, that this is the case, what should we do next. The HR manager made some phone calls, and informed me, that ho was unaware of this new process, which was introduced in April 2013, so there is no way to go round the system.
He told me, to start working tomorrow, and I will deal with the NIE in 3 weeks time. But till I get my NIE, I officially do not work there.
Comisaría de Policia, Calle Balmes 192.
They said the office responsible for the NIE issuing has moved to AV/Rambla Giupuzcola N°74.
So I went there also, where they said, the process can only be started online, because everybody should register for an appointment online. The funny thing is, the soonest appointment is available 3 weeks from now.
There was nothing more to do, I quickly sent a mail to my future employer, that this is the case, what should we do next. The HR manager made some phone calls, and informed me, that ho was unaware of this new process, which was introduced in April 2013, so there is no way to go round the system.
He told me, to start working tomorrow, and I will deal with the NIE in 3 weeks time. But till I get my NIE, I officially do not work there.
New room
I have finally found a room to rent for long period. It is the cheaper (350 EUR/month). It is 5 subway stops away from my future workplace. It is on the 6th floor, and has a balcony with view to a park. It is in a very quiet neighbourhood.
I went to the nearest supermarket to buy some long-term products, like toilet paper, tin foil, chemicals for washing the dishes and clothes.
The only negative issue about it is that the neighbour always cooks something (I do not know what, but he/she does it through the day), so the corridor and the balcony always has that heavy foot-smell. But apart from that, I think I will enjoy my stay here.
I went to the nearest supermarket to buy some long-term products, like toilet paper, tin foil, chemicals for washing the dishes and clothes.
The only negative issue about it is that the neighbour always cooks something (I do not know what, but he/she does it through the day), so the corridor and the balcony always has that heavy foot-smell. But apart from that, I think I will enjoy my stay here.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Finding a room to rent for long term
I have looked 3 apartments, and I am currently which of them is the most suitable for me.
I ruled out one of them, because the apartments was quite small, it had several rooms in it, and the owner did not speak English at all.
The other two are good, and I do not know yet which one to choose. Unfortunately, time is my enemy, because I must find a place to stay to start the legal processes (applying for NIE, etc.). I will write about the process later.
One of the rooms is relatively cheap (350 EUR/month), and I like the location of it. I am currently waiting for an answer whether it can be payed via bank transfer, as I do not have much cash with me. There are separate locks for each doors in the apartment, so it is a big plus for it. A minus because the owner speaks English very little, and I am concerned whether this can cause problems in the future.
The other is a bit more expensive (500 EUR), but this price includes all expenses (water, gas, heating, Internet). Here the owner speaks English, and the flatmates too. The rooms have a HUGE terrace as a community place, and the room I liked has a private balcony also.
I am currently waiting for the response of the first, and I decide afterwards.
I ruled out one of them, because the apartments was quite small, it had several rooms in it, and the owner did not speak English at all.
The other two are good, and I do not know yet which one to choose. Unfortunately, time is my enemy, because I must find a place to stay to start the legal processes (applying for NIE, etc.). I will write about the process later.
One of the rooms is relatively cheap (350 EUR/month), and I like the location of it. I am currently waiting for an answer whether it can be payed via bank transfer, as I do not have much cash with me. There are separate locks for each doors in the apartment, so it is a big plus for it. A minus because the owner speaks English very little, and I am concerned whether this can cause problems in the future.
The other is a bit more expensive (500 EUR), but this price includes all expenses (water, gas, heating, Internet). Here the owner speaks English, and the flatmates too. The rooms have a HUGE terrace as a community place, and the room I liked has a private balcony also.
I am currently waiting for the response of the first, and I decide afterwards.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)