Credentials of Confraternity of St James

[diandlola]

Hi. First timere here. I have used a tour operator to book my camino, which includes accom, luggage transfer, pilgrim passport etc. Do I still need to register beforehand with the Confraternity of St James?

 

[Antnix1]

Not much of a tour operator by the sounds of it!

Edit: quips aside, I'm not sure what happens when the credential/passport is issued. Does the issuer log it somewhere?
Well assuming you have the "passport"/credential, the next time you need to register is upon completion of the camino to receive the Compostela. Instructions at the cathedral's pilgrim's office or on the website.

 

[diandlola]

Not much of a tour operator by the sounds of it!

I don't understand your response.

 

[henrythedog]

No. If you have a credencial, you need do nothing more. Just fill in your contact details and start stamping.

 

[diandlola]

No. If you have a credencial, you need do nothing more. Just fill in your contact details and start stamping.

Thank you

 

[Bradypus]

Do I still need to register beforehand with the Confraternity of St James?

No. No one has to register their Camino anywhere in advance. The only obligatory registration is with the pilgrim office in Santiago on completion of your Camino and even then only if you want to receive a Compostela.

 

[diandlola]

Apologies for being blonde! I now realize that the credencial is the pilgrim passport. My problem is the tour operator in Spain sends it to the first place of accommodation, but the Spanish Visa office in South Africa want the original with my visa application.

 

[Corned Beef]

I have one which I haven't used yet. Has a number on it but otherwise blank.

You could order another one from the Confraternity which is how I got mine.

Pilgrim Passports Applications

Purchase your pilgrim passport here!

www.csj.org.uk

 

[Antnix1]

Apologies for being blonde! I now realize that the credencial is the pilgrim passport. My problem is the tour operator in Spain sends it to the first place of accommodation, but the Spanish Visa office in South Africa want the original with my visa application.

Ok I'll be more helpful than my earlier response!.


Register here: https://csjofsa.za.org/pilgrim-passport/

A quick glance of the page suggests to me that it basically is a requirement in your country in order to obtain a visa. So go ahead and register and obtain the south african credential. And they also provide letters for visa purposes.

You also will have a nice talking point when you meet other pilgrims who are using a generic Spanish credential.

Edit: do your due diligence! The page looks legit and it seems to be what your visa office are asking for.

I didn't realise they weren't allowed to call it a credential outside of spain. I guess my irish one also didn't use the word credential and instead called it a pilgrim passport.

When you arrive in Spain you can either use your s african one or the spanish one.

 

[Corned Beef]

I didn't realise they weren't allowed to call it a credential outside of spain. I guess my irish one also didn't use the word credential and instead called it a pilgrim passport.

They appear to be slightly different as this one does use the phrase. Good spot on the ZA site.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Do I still need to register beforehand with the Confraternity of St James?

Pre-registration is optional -- however, for those taking a more "normal" and/or "conventional" route along one of the major Ways, it has the convenience pilgrim-side of speeding things up ; and the MASSIVE advantage Pilgrim Office -side of hugely increasing the efficiency of the volunteers there, plus reducing the queues that used to exist by 95%+.

Some pilgrims do still exist outside of the norms, but we are a minuscule proportion, and from experience we also know how not to expect nor demand more time from the lovely volunteers than is absolutely needed.

Having said that, you can in nearly every case do your online registration after you reach Compostela. That's not me, my tech is not compatible (and usually my Caminos aren't), but in this case it's 99%+ pilgrims who can.

Pilgrims who may prefer it can pre-register at the very start of the Spanish portion of their Way, and this will speed up the delivery of their distance certificate if they want one, as well as speeding up the verification process, assuming that the pilgrims will have ensured electronic verification at least 2/day over the last 100K.

It is important to understand that ALL of this is to help the Pilgrim Office and the volunteers there get their job done most efficiently, with the split second photo finish second purpose of helping pilgrims have the smoothest possible experience at the Pilgrim Office.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I don't understand your response.

Nor do I.

 

[Antnix1]

Nor do I.

You realise the op is talking about registering for Spanish Visa purposes and you're talking about registering for the Compostela?

Anyway my response was simply that travel agents usually help with this kind of thing. That was before i realised the op was based in south Africa but the tour agency is in Spain

 

[JabbaPapa]

Apologies for being blonde! I now realize that the credencial is the pilgrim passport. My problem is the tour operator in Spain sends it to the first place of accommodation, but the Spanish Visa office in South Africa want the original with my visa application.

I was blonde for the first few years of my life !! (now auburn)

If that's what they want, then just order a new one and get it sent to you at home in SA rather than relying on the tour operator.

After you receive it, go to your Catholic Parish Church, even if that's just once in your life, and ask them to stamp it for you.

That will fulfil the requirement.

 

[JabbaPapa]

You realise the op is talking about registering for Spanish Visa purposes and you're talking about registering for the Compostela?

Yes and I have responded to both aspects of the issue.

 

[duncanwhyte]

In the UK The CFSJ will send you the credentials by post. Each one is numbered by hand. So I expect your name gets logged with the number on the credential.

There is also a form to fill out after you have completed the Camino, which you can send back to them.

 

[David Tallan]

I don't understand your response.

I think Antnix1 was expecting that a good tourist operator would have answers to all of your questions.

 

[David Tallan]

To hopefully clear up some confusion (and not just create more).

A lot of people are saying that no pre-registration with the national pilgrim association is necessary, and that one can just bring along a credencial (or get one at the start) and start walking. This is true as far as the requirements of the albergues and pilgrim office are concerned.

But one also needs to enter Spain to start the Camino. That can carry additional requirements which may vary by country. There may be different, additional requirements for people from some countries to be granted entry into Spain. I've read in these forums about people needing to show return tickets and or accommodation bookings. As per posts #7 and #9 in this thread, it appears that South Africans need a visa to visit Spain and to get the visa they need to show a credencial registered wit their national pilgrim association. Our experience that it is not needed in Canada, ther US, UK, France, or elsewhere isn't valid in this particular case.

 

[Bradypus]

Our experience that it is not needed in Canada, ther US, UK, France, or elsewhere isn't valid in this particular case.

True. But responses might have been better tailored to the specific need if the OP had stated from the start that his/her query was related specifically to a Schengen visa application rather than simply a Compostela and that the Confraternity of St James mentioned in the original post was the South African one rather than the probably better known UK one.

 

[David Tallan]

True. But responses might have been better tailored to the specific need if the OP had stated from the start that his/her query was related specifically to a Schengen visa application rather than simply a Compostela and that the Confraternity of St James mentioned in the original post was the South African one rather than the probably better known UK one.

I will admit that when I read CSJ in the thread title, my mind immediately went to the UK. But the confusion seems to have persisted past posts 7 and 9, and the responses may be confusing to OP and future readers, which is why I thought it worth clarifying.

 

[Marileep]

https://csjofsa.za.org/ Contact them. They are based in Cape Town. They will send you the necessary documents for the visa. Buen Camino

 

[Kirkie]

Whatever about official passports, there is a value in completing the details on the inside page of the actual pilgrim passport. It helps greatly when the occasional passport is mislaid or forgotten, but it also avoids having to keep showing the national passport when registering at accommodation.

 

[Antnix1]

Whatever about official passports, there is a value in completing the details on the inside page of the actual pilgrim passport. It helps greatly when the occasional passport is mislaid or forgotten, but it also avoids having to keep showing the national passport when registering at accommodation.

I'll bite.

No, you almost always -at least in Spain-show your national passport/ID

Many places (and correctly so) insist on originals and not a screenshot or copy.

 

[Corned Beef]

Contacting the local CSJ may provide an answer but it seems a strange request from the Spanish Embassy in the RSA. Would be great if @diandlola could shed some light on it. The Spanish Embassy pages actually say this -

• For tourist or private visits, the confirmed reservation of an organized trip, or proof of accommodation, or letter of invitation from a private individual (such a letter only proves the availability of accommodation and does not release the traveller from the obligation to meet the other requirements for entry). The proof of accommodation may indicate whether it includes all or part of the traveller's living expenses.

Conditions for entry into Spain

The CSJ local's provision of a letter (as stated on their website) may be for those not on an organised trip but the only way to know is to ask for clarification as to why there is this apparent extra requirement for RSA pilgrims.