Gestorias In Tenerife - plus an explanation of what they are!

Gestorias in Tenerife. To get the terminology totally correct, the gestoria is the office, or agency and the gestor is the person who works there.

It's the job he does that's quite difficult to describe.

The equivalent of the gestor doesn't seem to exist in countries apart from Spain. The position exists in this country because someone is needed to guide the layman through the confusing labyrinth of administrative Spanish law - it's that difficult! This probably dates from the time of General Franco, when the country was ruled as a dictatorship. The Spanish authorities, back then, loved their paperwork - and still do today!

Whereas, in the UK, say, you'd tax your car or pay your rates directly yourself, in Tenerife, you'd be better off employing a gestor to do it for you. He is, in effect, slightly lower in the legal hierarchy than a solicitor and letting him take care of all your minor bureaucratic wranglings can save much time and heartache.

Okay, so he takes a fee, but, trust me, it works out cheaper in the long run.

As the office of gestor is not a licenced one and, in theory, anybody can become one, you need to be a bit choosy about the one you approach. Ideally, if it's an agency also operating as an abogado, you should be okay. Also, it pays to ask around other ex-pats who they use.

You must keep any dealings with the gestor to really basic administritive issues. Such things as house sale or purchase and other major issues should be dealt with by an abogado.

One last essential: either you must speak fluent Spanish or the gestormust speak fluent English. You must be able to communicate adequately with each other. Fortunately, you'll find that most gestorias employ multi-lingual staff.

A first visit should be free and the gestor, if he is worth his salt, should tell you if you've come to the right place, or if you would be better with an abogado.

The Spanish Yellow Pages lists 134 results for gestorias in Tenerife. You can access this page here.

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