Our first year of Spanish residency expired at the end of March.  I called the Oficina de Extranjeros in early march to make an appointment for renewal, but they didn’t have an appointment for us until early April.  I was really surprised that it was a 5+ week lead time to get a cita!

When we went to the Oficina de Extranjeros in Motril, they back-dated the application for renewal to 5 days before our expiration date, just to make sure there was no problem with us being here while in process.  On April 5, we submitted an updated copy of the same forms we needed to apply for the initial application, plus proof of medical insurance coverage, a copy of our financial documents (we provided our latest 401k statements to show sufficient funds, plus a month’s worth of recent transactions from our local bank here), copies of every page of all of our passports, and a letter from the school saying the kids were enrolled so that they didn’t need to come with us to the appointment.  We didn’t need photos this time, and the paperwork load was a lot lighter than it was for the first application!

The appointment was quick – she just verified the copies of our passports against the actual passports, and made sure we had the required documents, and we were done.  Then we waited for the letter from Granada.

The “inicio de procedimiento” letters finally arrived late last week (it took about 6 weeks).  Today I went online to request the forms required to pay the renewal fee at the bank (modelo 052), and then once I have paid the tasa I take the receipts back to Motril, so they can send them on to Granada.  And then we wait some more for the next letter!  This is a multi-step process… hopefully we’ll have our updated residency cards by July.

For anyone who might be going through the same process, here is some helpful information:  When I went to the URL to fill out modelo 052, the web URL gave me an invalid security certificate error, and I had to add an exception to my security rules to access it.  It looked like there was an option to pay online, but you have to have a digital DNI, which is a physical device (some sort of card reader) and a digital card that I think you can get from the ayuntamiento, but I did not have.  So the other option is to print the forms and bring them to a bank to pay.  You choose your province (Granada), and then fill out the form with your DNI, name and address.  I was a little confused at first about which box to check, but I called the Oficina de Extranjeros to confirm that the correct one was “2.2 Renovación de autorización de residencia temporal”.  The fee was 15,76 euros per person.

When I tell people we might be moving to Spain, I often get questions like “is your husband in the military?”  About half of the people we tell say “Why on Earth would you want to do THAT?” and about half say “Oh, what a marvelous adventure!  You will love it!” I guess it makes more sense to move for a job than as a family choice, and many people are surprised that we want to move to Spain!  Why would we leave our family and friends, and all the comforts of life in America, to go to Europe?  It’s such a big change, so it is important for us to know what we hope to get out of the experience.

1. Family Study Abroad: Bilingual Kids and Parents!  First and foremost, we think of this as a “family study abroad” adventure.  Ryan and I both speak some Spanish, and have always wanted to live in Europe while the kids were young enough to learn the language easily.  We believe there is a major life benefit from being bilingual and  culturally aware, and we really want that for our kids.  Our kids are currently ages 10, 10, 7, 5 and 1, so now is the time!  Too much older, and it will be more difficult for them.  Plus, if we go for a couple of years now, we can come back to the USA for high school (or perhaps a dual enrollment homeschool high school/college plan that will practically get them an associates degree before they graduate from high school).
2. Travel and Cultural Enrichment:   We have been homeschooling our kids from the beginning, and I have really enjoyed learning history for the first time in my life. It was always my least favorite subject when I was in school.  I’m excited about seeing some of the places we have studied (and many that we haven’t) together with the kids, and enjoying some world travel with greater understanding and also through the fresh eyes of our children.  We also really want the kids to experience how much diversity there is in the world, to better understand that not everybody lives or thinks like Americans, and to appreciate and respect the differences.
3. Simpler and Slower Pace of Life: We live in northern VA, and life here is very fast paced, full of stress, with too many activities, and too much stuff.  We like the idea that the forcing function of an international move will cause us to really evaluate all of our stuff and activities, and determine what we really need.  We want to be intentional about what we keep in our home and our schedules. Spain is known for being a laid-back, relaxed sort of place, so we’ll see if that holds true for us there!
4. Support the Kingdom Work of Christian Believers in Spain:  We have not been called to go to Spain as missionaries, but we do have a heart for the spiritual health of the Spanish people (and everybody else, really!).  Spain has a centuries-old Catholic tradition, but many Spaniards don’t understand or don’t care about the gospel, and so find no joy, hope or comfort in the love of Christ.  Sadly, faith has fallen by the wayside and many of the present-day impacts of the Church on Spain are purely cultural, devoid of any connection back to God.  Thankfully, over the past 20 years since I studied in Seville in college, many evangelical churches have been planted in Spain, and people are seeing and hearing the good news of Christ’s redemption in a fresh new way.  We want to support the efforts of the local Christian church there, and we hope to show the people we meet the love of Christ and the truth of His plan.

Those the primary reasons we want to go.  I should throw in that I also look forward to living in a warm climate between the beach and the mountains, having a little more personal time while the kids are school, the personal challenge of regaining my Spanish fluency, and the family closeness that I think this adventure will engender.

We recognize that some of the changes we want to make we could make here.  We could move to a smaller home in the US, get rid of a lot of our stuff, cut out some of our activities, and simplify our lives.  We could send our kids to public school here (gulp!), or even try to find some sort of bilingual immersion program for them.  But to learn it through daily life interactions while we see and live in places that are thousands of years old?  How cool is that?!  To be that much closer to so many great travel destinations?  To enjoy a climate where we don’t need heat or air conditioning most of year?  Sounds great to us.  We’re ready for the adventure!

As we begin this adventure, I have so many questions!

1. Where is the most reliable broadband internet coverage?  Can we get the speed we need for Ryan to work there?  What about satellite internet?  http://www.internetandalucia.com/
2. How much do private or semi-private spanish schools cost?  (I think maybe ~$5k per year per kid?)
3. How do schools handle mid-year transfers?  Can our kids enroll mid-year?
4. Would it be better to put the 10 yr olds in a bilingual private school, rather than spanish public school?
5. Where are there evangelical churches, and what are they like?  Are they casual, modern, and less liturgical?
6. Do we want to choose a place in the Mediterranean climate?  (Here’s a good article about climate areas: http://www.spanish-town-guides.com/Weather_in_Spain.htm)
7. For a 1-2 yr move, should we plan on going with only basic clothing and books, or should we ship other household belongings (kitchen stuff, furniture, etc)?
8. Can we bring the van with us?
9. What about bringing the cat?