The NIE Numbers Game (Part I)

What Is An NIE?
An NIE number or “Número de Identidad de Extranjero”, which translates as Identification Number for Foreigners, is required to carry out all manner of purchases, contract services, commence employment in Spain and for tax purposes. Without an NIE number the Spanish tax authorities are unable to assess or process annual tax payments such as income tax (IRPF), and the annual wealth tax (Patrimonio), which are compulsory payments made by all resident and non-resident property owners. In a nutshell, you won’t get far without it, and whilst you might think that a valid passport is a more reliable form of ID as it carries a photograph, which the NIE certificate does not, Spanish bureaucracy does not agree. Therefore, you should make it your priority to arrange getting one as soon as possible, and even before you have relocated if you intend to purchase property here, as it may take some time…

Validity Period
The process of obtaining a Spanish NIE number has changed so many times over the past two decades that it is really difficult to keep up. The application process may vary from place to place, and process alter without prior warning or announcement so please treat this as a rough guide rather than set in stone. Initially, you only needed to apply for your NIE number once, at which point you were issued with an official paper copy which was yours for life. The rules altered recently so that certificates were being stamped with a three-month validity period from the time of issue, at which point you were obliged to either apply for residency or register as a non-resident in its place. Unfortunately the new system did not work as very few people applied for the non-resident certificate, so they changed it back again during mid- 2016. Your current NIE number should only need renewing if it was obtained during the period which the new system was in place and had an expiry date on it, and your new one will be valid for life. However, this is Spain and not all professionals, even those in the legal sector, keep abreast of changes in the law, and regulations are not uniformly implemented or understood. Therefore, you may find that some notaries and other official authorities will refuse to accept a certificate which was issued more than three months ago. On this basis, to avoid any setbacks when you come to sign for a property it may seem logical to hold off obtaining your NIE number until you have a completion date, which is within the next three months.

Timescale
Now this is where it gets even more tricky, as most lawyers and estate agents will recommend that you apply at least one month in advance of your completion date if you are applying in Spain; and at least two months before hand if you are applying through an overseas Embassy, Consulate or other third party. You may consider applying for your NIE number in person when you arrive in Spain, which is a much cheaper but certainly more stressful approach, and may take days, or possibly weeks, so you should plan ahead in either case. The actual time scale varies according to where you apply, and the time of year, with the summer months being particularly slow! This all leaves you with a very narrow window to have all of the correct paperwork in place before you go to the notary, but you will find that this happens in many cases here so you best get used to it!

Applying In Spain
Applying for an NIE number in person should be a relatively straightforward process, although it is worth noting that the way the rules and regulations are interpreted varies according to what part of Spain you are in and even down to who you speak to! If you are planning to relocate to an area within Alicante Province you should obtain your certificate from the “Oficina de Extranjeros” or Foreigners’ Office, which is situated at Calle Campo de Mirra, 6, 03005 Alicante. The opening hours are 09:00 to 14:00 from Monday to Friday, although it is advised to arrive several hours before the office opens as queues can be extremely long, and you may be turned away after a long wait if you do not reach the front by closing time. All applicants will require two completed and signed copies of the “Solicitud de Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) y Certificados” (Ex-15) application form, which can be downloaded from the Spanish Government’s “Extranjería” page. You will also need to take two copies of your passport, plus the original copy, a photocopy of why you need an NIE number (i.e. work contract, property purchase agreement or rental agreement) plus the original, and two passport sized photographs, although these do not actually appear on your certificate. The process costs around 10 euros, which must be paid at the nearest bank once you have completed your application, at which point you should return to the Oficina de Extranjeros to submit proof of payment. At this point your application is complete and you will be given an official receipt or “resguardo” which you must bring with you when you collect the certificate.

Collection
In Alicante they will normally inform you that it will take between one and six weeks for the form to be processed, and you will need to collect it from the same office, either in person or you can give the resguardo to someone else thus permitting them to collect it on your behalf. Making the process yet more frustrating, you are not given any more information than this, nor can you obtain information either online or over the phone, so have to keep returning to check whether your certificate is ready for collection. In addition, if there were any details missing or problems in processing your form they will not contact you to let you know, so you may even find that you have to start all over again when you return to collect it!

Applying From Abroad
If all of this sounds a bit too much like hard work, you may prefer to apply through the Spanish Embassy or Consulate in your own country, which will save you lots of energy and travelling back and forth as it is processed and sent off to Madrid on the same day, but can work out quite costly. You also have to go to the office in person, which is located in Chelsea for English and Welsh applicants, Belfast in Northern Ireland and Edinburgh in Scotland. You are more than likely to need the same form, documentation and evidence with you as you would if applying in Spain, but you will be expected to sign the form while you are there. You may also need a self-addressed envelope (no stamp required), and separate envelope addressed to:

Comisaría General de Extranjería y Documentación
Dirección General de Policia
C/ General Pardiñas, 90
28006
Madrid.

It is strongly recommended that you telephone the appropriate office to verify the latest procedure and documents required, as well as the current fee incurred as they alter frequently. If the process flows smoothly then you should receive your NIE number in pdf format via email within two to three weeks. Please note that the Spanish Consulate cannot issue NIE certificates, but merely facilitates the process, forwarding it on to the competent authorities in Spain. Therefore, you will not be able to obtain information regarding the status of your application through the consular services in future, instead addressing any enquiries to the “Comisaría General de Extranjería y Documentación”, and preferably in Spanish if you hope to receive a response.

*Make sure you pick up next month’s edition of A Life In Spain for details of a stress free solution to obtaining an NIE number- through a third party!*