After we received our UGE approval in July, we knew it was time to focus on the practical steps—starting with finding a long-term apartment in the district where we wanted to live.
It was also the right moment to open a Spanish bank account. Based on friends’ recommendations, we went to Banco Santander on Calle Fuencarral. At the time, we didn’t have a TIE yet—only our NIE and passports. Even with the language barrier, we were still able to open an account. Supposedly, the card will be delivered to your apartment. Upon informing the bank officer that we have not found an apartment yet, they allowed us to use their branch as a temporary address. They informed us we can claim our card at their branch.
Next came the paperwork for becoming autónomo and getting set up with Social Security. Again, following friends’ advice, we contacted Entre Trámites. They handled my autónomo registration, and we paid them to process everything related to Social Security.
Later on, when it was time to deal with taxes, I realized the gestor assigned to me wasn’t as responsive as I needed. So I decided to switch to a different gestor to support me moving forward—especially for tax filings and ongoing compliance.