The NIE number

The Numero de Identification de Extranjeros, (identification number for foreigners), is one of the first bureaucratic necessities which you must attend to when you come to live in Spain. You should go to your local police station with your passport, a copy of your passport, two passport photographs, proof of residence in Spain and complete the relevant forms.

Your local lawyer, your estate agent, your gestor or a local friend who already lives here can help you organise this. The first step is probably to ask the estate agent to help you organise an NIE number. Most will be very happy to do this as part of the service they have provided in finding you a property and after all they have already earned commission from the vendor. What you do not need to do is to pay any company to organise an NIE number on your behalf. Paying for this service is not necessary –the NIE number is available free and you should not have to pay to obtain it.

Companies who charge a large fee are basically operating a scam – it is so easy to organise by yourself. If you are afraid of filling in the forms because they are in Spanish, your gestor will do it and I am informed that this should currently cost you around €40.

There are many people living here who have not bothered to organise an NIE number but without it, it is difficult to buy a car, organise insurance or carry out many other financial dealings. If you choose to follow no other legal rules, I would strongly suggest that you get an NIE number. I also suspect that there are many people who live on the Costa del Sol who do not even know that they should have applied for an NIE number because no one told them they should.