This is a question that we’re often asked by clients. And our answer is usually, yes. You can read the reasons why in this article on our Spain Explained web page:

Spain is in the middle of election season. The general elections are on Sunday 28th April and in May there will be the local town and regional elections. People who are resident in Spain but are not Spanish nationals are able to vote in the local elections but cannot vote in the general or regional elections.

Voting takes place on a Sunday and you vote for the party you want rather than the individual representing them. Each party has its ‘list’ of candidates and the number of these who take office depends upon the number of votes the party receives.

The pre-election campaign is relatively short. For two weeks you will see billboards erected and hear the different parties on the campaign trail. However, the day before the election no campaigning must take place and definitely not on election day itself.

The Guardian has published an interesting article about the Spanish general elections, highlighting the main issues:

The Local has published some interesting articles to help keep you informed about the Spanish political situation:

Where should you have the right to vote? This is a controversial subject that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. For example, if you are a British national you no longer have the right to vote in Britain after living 15 years in another country. If that country is Spain then you don’t have the right to vote there in the general elections either.

Others have also found themselves in this void of voting rights. Including some people who were born in Spain but inspite of this are not automatically entitled to Spanish nationality. You can read more about the issues in this article:

The date for paying your Spanish road tax is nearly upon us. If you have a car in Spain then you need to pay this annual tax before 6th May in some parts of the country. It’s easy to do so provided you are in the allotted time. If you live in Torrevieja, then you can pay on the SUMA website. You just need your NIE and reference number and it’s perhaps one of the best payment systems we’ve seen here.

However, if you leave it too late you will have to go into the SUMA office where you will be required to pay a small fine as well as settling the original charge. So make sure you do it on time!

If you’re reading the book ‘Burmese Days’ by George Orwell or ‘Thunderball’ by Ian Fleming in Spanish you might be surprised to discover that you are reading a censored version. It’s not well known but between 1936 and 1966 every book published in Spain had to be submitted to the national board of censorship.

This might no longer be the case but some books have continued to be published in the censored version even though Franco is long since dead and buried.

The Conversation explains more about this unusual state of affairs:

Or dad’s of course. It appears that the average young Spaniard doesn’t leave home until they’re 29. The EU average is 26, suggesting that Spaniards are likely to spend more time in the nest than their peers in Sweden and Denmark, for example.

There are a number of possible reasons for this. Lack of employment, low salaries and temporary employment all make it difficult for them to get on the property ladder. There might also be an element of choice. Spaniards are generally more family orientated than some other nationalities:

The Average Young Spaniard Doesn’t Leave Home Until The Age Of 29