How to: Obtain your N.I.E Number

In order to legally work in Spain, all EU citizens and non-EU citizens must be issued with an NIE (Número de Identidad/Identificación de Extranjero). The NIE is also required for opening a Spanish bank account, starting a new buiness and obtaining rental properties.

Although it’s possible to obtain your NIE ahead of time at the Spanish Embassy before you leave your home country, or even through a Gestor (this costs around 100€) many expats opt for a slightly less simple process once they arrive in Spain.

Filling in the form

Unless your Spanish is up to scratch, filling in the NIE can cause confusion so we’ve made it easier for applicants with by translating each section of the form:

1er Apellido: Surname

2er Apellido: Second surname

Nombre: Name

Fecha de Nacimiento: Date of Birth (DD/MM/YYYY)

Lugar de nacimiento: Place of Birth

Sexo: Gender – Use ‘H’ for male (Hombre) and ‘M’ for female (Mujer)

Estado Civil: Status – Use ‘S’ for single,  ‘C’ for married, ‘V’ for widow and ‘D’ for divorced.

País de Nacimiento: Country of Birth

País de Nacionalidad: Current Nationality

Nombre del Padre: Father’s Name

Nombre de la Madre: Mother’s Name

Domicilio en España: Address in Spain

Localidad: Town

CP: Post Code

Provincia: Province

Section 2
Razones del Uso: Reasons for application – the options are: Economic, Professional or Social
(Tick professional for work reasons or social for house purchase)

Section 3
Domicilio a Efectos de Notificaciones: Leave blank
At the bottom of the form, you’ll find the words ‘firma de solicitante’.  Write your signature underneath.
Standing at the Station

Once you’ve completed your form, you need to take it to your local Police Station, along with a photocopy of the form, your passport plus a photocopy.

Most local Police Stations open for NIE applicants at 9am however, the queue can often be extremely long, particularly between June and September, when a large number of foreigners require the NIE for summer bar jobs. Deli-style tickets are given out to the first 50 people in the queue and if you’re not one of them, you will simply be turned away. Therefore, it’s recommended that you arrive at the Police Station as early as 7am during these months, in order to secure a good place in the queue. 

Once you’re inside the station, you’ll need to wait until your number is called. The Police Officer will then check your documents and issue you with a date on which to go back to the station to collect your NIE number. It usually takes around 4 weeks for the NIE to be processed and once you have it, you’re ready to work in Spain!