An NIE number (Foreign Identification Number, Número de Identificación de Extranjero) is a tax identification number in Spain.
The initial letter is an X before July 2008 and a Y afterwards and is followed by seven numbers and a letter. Your number is personal to you; it is not transferable nor does it expire.
Your NIE Number is required for:
- Buy/sell property in Spain
- Ensure your Property in Spain
- Buy a vehicle in Spain
- Apply for a mortgage or other loan in Spain
- Apply for a business permit
- Pay Spanish taxes
- Employment in Spain
- Inheritance of assets in Spain
- Sign onto the national Social Security Health plan
The taxes that are due when you buy a property and sign for a mortgage in Spain are withheld on your behalf and paid over to Hacienda (Inland Revenue).
How to get an NIE number in Spain?
It is not difficult to get NIE. It can be applied in three ways:
- Present the application in Spain personally, in which case proof of being legally in Spain and documents which justify the reasons for having the NIE.
- An accredited representative in Spain with the correct legal powers, either general or specific, can make the application on behalf of the person making the application and requires documents which justify the reasons for having the NIE. The price is usually around 100€ and you don’t have to be present.
- Applications made in a Spanish diplomatic mission, consulate located in the country in which the person making the application is domiciled, requiring the documents which justify the reasons for having the NIE.
The following documents must be submitted to obtain an NIE number:
- Original completed and signed application and a photocopy
- Passport and photocopy
- Address in Spain (you can use a friend’s)
- A written justification of why you need the NIE (issued by an accountant, a notary, a bank manager, an insurance agent a future employer, etc.)
If you have any questions, call the National Police Station, the Departamento de Extranjeros (Foreigners Department) Tel: (+34) 952 923 058