Having a baby in Barcelona: step-by-step paperwork for foreigners

Having a baby in Barcelona: 15 steps

1. Register your pregnancy with ASSIR

   In the Catalan public system, pregnancies are followed by ASSIR units (atenció a la salut sexual i reproductiva), linked to your CAP, your primary care centre. ASSIR handles pregnancy care, prenatal diagnosis and care after the birth.

   • Have a TSI, the CatSalut health card, and an assigned CAP (how to get a TSI)
   • Found out my ASSIR through the CAP and booked an appointment with the llevadora, the midwife
   • Discussed the dTpa vaccine: the Catalan schedule recommends it in weeks 27-32 of pregnancy

   Where: your local CAP and ASSIRTiming: as soon as you know you are pregnantCost: covered by the public system with a TSI

   When to get help: you don’t have a TSI yet or aren’t registered at an address: check with the CAP before your first visit what the conditions for access to public healthcare are in your case.

2. Choose a hospital

   If you are followed in the public system, the hospital for the birth is discussed at ASSIR. In a private clinic, everything depends on the contract and the insurance policy. The law requires all hospitals and clinics, public and private, to report the birth to the Registro Civil.

   • Asked ASSIR which hospital handles the birth under my care
   • Asked the hospital how it handles the birth registration and what to sign after the birth
   • Packed both parents’ passports or NIE/TIE in the hospital bag

   Where: ASSIR, hospital or private clinicTiming: before the last trimesterCost: at a private clinic, as per the contract

   When to get help: giving birth at a private clinic on a policy taken out only for the residence permit: check in advance whether it covers childbirth.

3. Check the inscripción de nacimiento at the Registro Civil

   Under Ley 20/2011 (article 46), the hospital or clinic sends the birth details to the Registro Civil within 72 hours, together with a form signed by the parents. If the child was born outside a hospital or the details were not sent, the parents declare the birth at the Registro Civil within 10 days (article 47).

   • Signed the official form at the hospital and checked the child’s first name and surnames letter by letter
   • Found out when the entry will appear in the Registro Civil
   • If the hospital didn’t send the details, booked an appointment at the Registro Civil within 10 days

   Where: hospital, Registro Civil in BarcelonaTiming: 72 hours for the hospital, 10 days for the parentsCost: see the Ministerio de Justicia page

   When to get help: the parents aren’t married and the father hasn’t acknowledged the child, there is disagreement over the first name or surnames, or the birth was at home: the wording of the entry is hard to correct later.

4. Order the certificado de nacimiento

   You need the certificate for almost every later step. You order it on the Ministerio de Justicia sede: with Cl@ve you can often download it straight away; without Cl@ve it is sent by post.

   • Chose the type: literal (full extract), extracto or plurilingüe (multilingual)
   • Ordered copies for the consulate and for extranjería
   • Noted that the same certificate can only be ordered again after 15 days (except those issued instantly online)

   Where: sede.mjusticia.gob.es, Registro CivilTiming: once the entry is madeCost: see the sede

   When to get help: the certificate has a mistake in the name or the parents’ details: it is corrected through the Registro Civil before you apply to the consulate and extranjería. Logging in with Cl@ve is explained in the article Cl@ve and Mi Carpeta Ciudadana.

5. Arrange the child’s nationality and passport at your country’s consulate

   The Spanish birth registration does not by itself give the child the nationality of the parents’ country. The child is registered at that country’s consulate under its rules, and then a passport is issued: without it you cannot apply for Spanish residence.

   • Found the list of documents and the booking procedure on my country’s consulate website in Barcelona or Madrid
   • Found out which type of Spanish certificate they accept and whether an apostille and translation are needed
   • Requested an apostille through the Ministerio de Justicia sede if needed (how the apostille works)

   Where: the consulate of the parents’ countryTiming: plan around the 6 months in step 8Cost: at the consulate’s rate

   When to get help: the parents have different nationalities, the consulate refuses to register the child, or the wait for an appointment is longer than a few months: then the deadline from step 8 is at risk.

6. Register the child on the padró

   Empadronamiento, registration at your address, is free in Barcelona. For a minor it is done by the legal guardians, with documents proving the relationship.

   • Prepared the certificado de nacimiento (or libro de familia), the child’s passport if there is one already, and the parents’ documents
   • Applied at an OAC or through the Ajuntament online office (the procedure in Barcelona)
   • Got the certificat d'empadronament: it will be needed for the TSI

   Where: Ajuntament de Barcelona, OAC or onlineTiming: right after the certificateCost: free

   When to get help: the parents live at different addresses or the other parent does not consent.

7. Get the child’s TSI and choose a paediatrician

   Under CatSalut rules, a child born in Catalonia is registered with the INSS as a parent’s beneficiary, and then the TSI is requested at the CAP. If the birth was in a public hospital, the centre passes on some of the details itself, but you still need to apply for the TSI.

   • Registered the child as a beneficiary with the INSS (Seguridad Social number)
   • Took the child’s document, a certificat d'empadronament no more than three months old and the INSS document to the CAP
   • Booked the child in with a paediatrician at my CAP (how to book a doctor’s appointment)

   Where: INSS, CAPTiming: in the first weeks after the birthCost: the first TSI is free and sent by post

   When to get help: neither parent is insured with the Seguridad Social: then the grounds for the TSI have to be looked at separately.

8. Apply for the child’s residence permit

   A child born in Spain to a parent with a residence permit gets residencia por menor nacido en España (article 159 of RD 1155/2024, information sheet Hoja 41). You must apply within 6 months of the birth or of the parent getting the residence permit; after that, family reunification applies.

   • Filled in EX-25 and attached the child’s and parent’s passports, the Spanish birth certificate and the parent’s residence permit document
   • If one parent applies alone, attached the other parent’s consent (except in cases of sole custody)
   • Paid modelo 790 código 052, filed at the Oficina de Extranjería or on the sede, and kept the resguardo

   Where: Oficina de Extranjería in Barcelona or the sedeTiming: 6 months to apply, decision within a month, silence means refusalCost: €10.94 under order PJC/617/2025

   When to get help: the 6 months are nearly up and there is still no passport; the child has left Spain; the parent’s residence permit is expiring or being renewed: this is a case for a lawyer specialising in extranjería.

9. Get the child’s TIE

   After a positive decision, the TIE is requested in person within a month; the child comes along with a parent.

   • Booked a cita previa with the Policía Nacional (which appointment to choose)
   • Prepared EX-17, the decision, the child’s passport and the 790-012 receipt
   • Checked the details on the finished card (TIE in Barcelona)

   Where: Policía NacionalTiming: a month after the decisionCost: €16.08 (initial residence)

   When to get help: the month for the TIE is nearly up and you have no appointment.

10. Apply for the prestación por nacimiento y cuidado de menor

    Each working parent gets 19 weeks of paid leave: 17 weeks in the first 12 months, of which 6 weeks are taken without a break straight after the birth, plus 2 more weeks until the child turns eight. In a single-parent family, 32 weeks. The benefit is 100% of the contribution base.

    • Checked my alta with the Seguridad Social and the minimum contribution period: it depends on age, and the conditions are on the Seguridad Social page
    • Got the leave start date from my employer
    • Applied through Tu Seguridad Social, on the INSS platform without a certificate, or at a CAISS by appointment

    Where: INSS, Seguridad SocialTiming: from the date of birthCost: free

    When to get help: you are autónomo, recently changed jobs or don’t have enough contributions: check with a tax and administrative specialist (graduada social) whether you are entitled to the benefit or to the subsidio no contributivo for those short of contributions.

11. Factor in the tax deductions

    Deducción por maternidad in IRPF: up to €1,200 a year for each child under three, in proportion to the months. It goes to the mother who, at the time of the birth, was working with an alta in the Seguridad Social, was receiving unemployment benefit, or built up 30 days of contributions after the birth.

    • Decided whether to take the deduction monthly in advance with modelo 140 or in the annual tax return
    • I keep the invoices from an authorised guardería: an extra up to €1,000 a year, only in the tax return
    • Checked that the child counts towards the mínimo por descendientes (IRPF deductions)

    Where: Agencia TributariaTiming: until the child turns threeCost: free

    When to get help: you became tax resident in the year of the birth, or the family receives the complemento de ayuda para la infancia: these situations affect the deduction.

12. Sort out the libro de familia and certificates

    Ley 20/2011 does away with the paper libro de familia: instead, the Registro Civil keeps an individual record for each person. While offices move to the new system, practice on issuing the books varies, and the main document everywhere remains the certificado de nacimiento.

    • Asked the Registro Civil whether the child is added to the libro de familia we already have
    • I keep an electronic copy of the certificate and its CSV verification code
    • For foreign authorities, I get an apostille and a sworn translation (sworn translation)

    Where: Registro Civil, Ministerio de Justicia sedeTiming: as neededCost: see the sede

    When to get help: you are asked for a libro de familia and your office doesn’t issue one: ask the Registro Civil which certificate replaces it.

13. Follow the Catalan vaccination schedule

    Vaccines on the public schedule are given at the CAP. The schedule is approved by Ordre SLT/261/2024: all children born from January 2025 get the rotavirus vaccine at 2 and 4 months, and immunisation against VRS (RSV) in their first epidemic season.

    • Got the carnet de vacunacions at the first paediatrician visit
    • Noted the dates of the next vaccines from the paediatrician’s schedule
    • I keep the carnet: it is asked for when enrolling in an escola bressol

    Where: CAP, paediatric nurseTiming: from 2 months, per the scheduleCost: see Canal Salut

    When to get help: the child was vaccinated abroad on a different schedule: the paediatrician draws up a catch-up plan.

14. Apply for an escola bressol place

    Places in Barcelona’s municipal escoles bressol (ages 0-3) are allocated through the annual preinscripció. For the 2026-2027 school year, applications were accepted from 4 to 15 May 2026, online only; the child must be at least 16 weeks old at the start of the school year.

    • Checked the dates of the next preinscripció on edubcn.cat
    • Chose nurseries in my area: living close by earns points
    • Prepared for the matrícula the certificate, a parent’s ID document, the TSI, the carnet de vacunacions and the volant de convivència

    Where: Ajuntament Oficina Virtual de Tràmits, Consorci d'EducacióTiming: in May; you cannot apply for a child not yet bornCost: see edubcn.cat

    When to get help: the child was born after the preinscripció: ask about places that free up during the year, as nurseries also take children mid-year.

15. Check the special cases

    If one parent is Spanish, the child is Spanish from birth (article 17.1 of the Código Civil). If none of the parents’ countries gives the child nationality, Spanish nationality is recognised through a declaración de nacionalidad con valor de simple presunción at the Registro Civil. If the parents have no residence permit, steps 3-7 are the same, but step 8 does not apply.

    • Spanish parent: got the child’s DNI; the other parent checked their grounds under residence permit for a relative of a Spanish citizen
    • EU citizen parent: the child’s nationality is set by that parent’s country, registration follows the CUE rules
    • The child got Spanish nationality: checked arraigo familiar for parents without status

    Where: Registro Civil, Oficina de ExtranjeríaTiming: depends on the caseCost: depends on the procedure

    When to get help: in every case covered by this step. The presumption of nationality depends on the laws of the parents’ country, and for parents without status a mistake in the order of steps is costly: first get a review from a lawyer specialising in extranjería and nationality.