Libro de familia

The day after Susie was released from hospital I went to the ayuntamiento to register the birth.


You can tell it's a small town as all the records going back to 1879 fit in one bookcase. From the photo you can see that 1884 and 1886 were bumper years for births here.


Once registered I got the libro de familia. Unlike the UK where you get one certificate for each child, here in Spain both births and deaths for each child is entered in the same book, so it's a vital document to get for any benefits that are available.


Since 'ZP' said back in July that each child born in Spain would get €2,500 we've applied for that. It turns out that when I applied at the end of last month the law had still not been published and is not due to see the light of day until November (assuming there's any money left in the governments coffers by then).


I also applied for paid paternity leave, which in Spain is 15 days (2 paid by the employer and 13 by the state). I'm happy to report that this was processed promptly once I had the libro, and I got the money in full this week. Hooray!


Three years ago we applied for familia numerosa, a benefit paid to families with three or more children. We are still waiting, but hopeful that having at least one child with a libro will break the logjam. Vamos a ver.


Curiously, although Susie is not Spanish she is counted as Andaluz and therefore entitled to full rights under the Andaluz constitution - such as "dignified" housing. This might come in handy when we start talking planning permission with the town hall.