How to get a NIE number in Spain: your three options

If you are already in Spain and need a NIE number, the calculation is different from applying from your home country. There is no consulate involved, but you do have to deal with the Spanish appointment system. This article walks through the three routes, the documents you need, and the mistakes that most often cause delay.

Where do you apply?

Within Spain, applications go through the Oficina de Extranjería or a police station with a foreigners desk (Policía Nacional), in the province where you are staying. Which office is competent depends on your location. If you are in Torrevieja or Benidorm, that means Alicante province; on Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Worth knowing: the NIE is valid nationwide. Wherever you apply, the number works throughout Spain.

Option 1: apply yourself

The cheapest route. You book the cita previa yourself, complete form EX-15, pay the fee of around €9,84 via modelo 790, código 012, and attend your appointment.

What to bring:

• Your passport or identity card, plus a copy
• The completed and signed EX-15 form
• Proof of payment of modelo 790
• Evidence of why you need the number, such as a purchase agreement, employment contract or notarial statement

That last one is where applications most often fail. Without justification of the reason, many offices will not process the file. Our section by section guide to the EX-15 form covers each field.

The practical hurdle is the appointment itself. In busy provinces slots are scarce and disappear quickly. Expect to monitor the system over several days.

Option 2: through a gestor

A gestoría is an administrative office that handles this kind of formality routinely. They know local practice, know which document is expected where, and can often secure an appointment faster.

A good fit if you are in Spain, do not want to work it out yourself, and expect no legal complications. Note that a gestoría cannot give legal advice; where a purchase, inheritance or tax question is involved, their role ends.

Option 3: through a lawyer with power of attorney

Here you authorise a lawyer to submit the application on your behalf. That removes the appointment, and it also means the file is reviewed legally before it goes in.

This matters most when the NIE is part of something larger: a property purchase, an inheritance, setting up a company, or a tax matter such as the Beckham Law. In those cases the number is not an end in itself but one link in a chain where order and timing count.

How long does it take?

The fee is small; the processing time is the variable. In a self-service application the waiting time for an appointment usually sets the pace. If you need the number for a notary date, start well ahead or have it handled by someone who is not dependent on the public booking system.

Common mistakes

• Wrong form. EX-15 is for the number, EX-18 for registration as an EU resident. They are not interchangeable.
• No justification. The most common reason for refusal.
• Wrong office. Not every police station has a foreigners desk.
• Starting too late. The appointment is the bottleneck, not the application.

Why Buenaley?

Buenaley is a Spanish law firm with offices in Madrid, Málaga and Bilbao, specialising in supporting international clients. We submit NIE applications on behalf of our clients, so the trip to the counter and the hunt for an appointment both disappear.

• Handled end to end by lawyers, including where the NIE forms part of a purchase or tax procedure
• Fixed price including the government fee and notarial costs
• Support in English

Want to know more? See how applying for a NIE through Buenaley works.