Applying for the NIE: How It Works in 2026

In short: The NIE is your Spanish identification number as a foreigner. You apply for it either before your move at the Spanish mission in Germany or Austria (Route A) or in Spain at the Policía Nacional (Route B). Both routes use the same EX-15 form and cost a 9.84 € fee, but they differ considerably in processing time and bottleneck.

What is the NIE and what do you need it for?

NIE stands for Número de Identidad de Extranjero. It is a personal, unique number that the Spanish police (Dirección General de la Policía) assigns to every foreigner who has economic, professional or social dealings with Spain. You don’t get a card, just a sheet of paper or a PDF with your number.

Important to understand: the NIE is only a number. It is not an ID document and not a permit to live in Spain. It is also not the TIE, which is the plastic card for people from countries outside the EU.

You need the number for almost everything involving money and contracts: buying property, opening a bank account, an employment contract, social security, taxes, a car and registering as an Autónomo (self-employed).

Consulate or Spain: which route suits you?

The decision comes down to one question: do you need the number before you are in Spain? If you are already buying a flat remotely or signing a contract, take Route A. If you are already there or arriving in the next few weeks, Route B is usually faster.

Route A: applying for the NIE before your move in Germany or Austria

The consulate does not issue the number itself. It accepts your application and forwards it to the Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras in Madrid. Hence the waiting time. You have to appear in person or send a representative with a power of attorney, and you can only go to the mission whose district you are registered in.

Documents

The consulates’ lists are similar but not identical. Expect these documents and check them against the information sheet of your mission:

• EX-15 form, completed entirely in Spanish on a computer, printed twice
• Original ID card or passport plus a copy (Düsseldorf requires front and back, Berlin a black and white copy)
• Proof of your residence in the consular district; in Germany the Meldebescheinigung (certificate of registration) (Düsseldorf: not older than 3 months)
• An explanation of what you need the number for
• Fee form Modelo 790, Código 012, if your consulate requires it (Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna mention it explicitly)
• Printed appointment confirmation

Process

1. Find the responsible mission

   Düsseldorf is responsible for North Rhine-Westphalia, Frankfurt for Hesse, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, the consular section of the Embassy in Berlin for Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. For Austria it is the Embassy in Vienna. For all other federal states, check responsibility on the websites of the Consulates General in Hamburg, Stuttgart and Munich.

2. Book an appointment

   Düsseldorf and Frankfurt use an online appointment system. Stuttgart gives appointments by phone or email, Hamburg and Vienna by email or via the Foreign Ministry’s appointment system. In Berlin every applicant needs their own appointment.

3. Submit the application and pay

   You hand in the documents in person. Do not sign the EX-15 in advance if your consulate says so: Düsseldorf explicitly wants the form “not signed”.

4. Wait for the number

   In Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Vienna, the assignment arrives by email.

What the consulates handle differently

The information sheets contradict each other on payment method and processing time. The table shows what the missions themselves publish. The page of your responsible consulate is always what counts.

Route B: applying for the NIE in Spain

In Spain the Policía Nacional is responsible, depending on the province at an Oficina de Extranjería or a Comisaría. In Granada, for example, the Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras handles NIE assignments. Only the appointment system tells you reliably which office in your province accepts the application.

Documents

• EX-15 form, two copies, completed and signed
• Valid passport or ID card, original and copy
• An explanation and, ideally, proof of the reason for the application
• Proof of payment of the fee: Modelo 790, Código 012, item “Asignación de NIE a instancia del interesado”, 9.84 €
• Printed appointment confirmation

Foreign documents you submit as proof must carry an apostille and be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator (traducción jurada).

Booking an appointment (cita previa)

Nothing happens without an appointment. You book via the Spanish administration’s “Cita previa de extranjería” portal. First you choose the province, then the procedure (trámite), and enter your ID number, name, mobile number and email. Then you choose the office and time and print the confirmation.

The entry for the NIE usually contains the words “Asignación de NIE”, but the exact name varies from province to province. An appointment is only valid for the chosen office and the chosen procedure. If nothing is available in your town, search in other towns in the same province. The administration does not announce fixed times when new appointments appear.

Process

1. Pay the fee

   You fill in form 790-012 on the Policía website, print it and pay at a bank, savings bank or credit cooperative in Spain. For newcomers, the bank counter or an ATM is the easiest way. Take the receipt with you.

2. Go to the appointment

   You hand in the EX-15, ID, copies, explanation and payment receipt.

3. Receive the number

   The Policía states a deadline of no more than 5 days from receipt of the application. Many offices hand over the paper at the appointment itself, but that is not guaranteed. Check your name and number for typos straight away.

The reason for the application (motivo): what do you write?

On the EX-15 you tick whether you need the number for economic, professional or social reasons (económicos, profesionales, sociales) and give a short explanation. Officially, you only have to state the reason. In practice, proof helps because the official then doesn’t need to ask questions.

Suitable examples are a preliminary contract or a reservation for a property purchase, a job offer, a letter from a notary, bank or tax adviser, documents relating to an inheritance or to setting up a company. Which proof an individual office wants to see is not regulated uniformly.

The form also asks for personal details that often surprise Germans, such as your parents’ first names and your marital status. How to fill in each field and what an explanation in Spanish sounds like, with sample texts, is in the NIE Playbook.

Applying for the NIE through a representative with a power of attorney

You don’t have to appear yourself. Both in Spain and at the consulate, the application can be made by a representative. One clear condition applies: the power of attorney must explicitly include the authority to apply for the NIE. A general power of attorney is not enough.

• Form: a notarised power of attorney. Stuttgart speaks of a “representative authorised by a notary”, Hamburg and Vienna require the original power of attorney.
• In addition: the representative’s ID and a certified copy of your ID.
• Power of attorney from Germany or Austria: it needs an apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish.
• Easier: if you sign the power of attorney at a Spanish notary or at the Spanish consulate, the apostille and translation are not needed.

Whether an office requires additional copies varies locally. Clarify this before the notary appointment. How we take care of the application for you is explained under the NIE service.

Typical mistakes in the NIE application

Most applications don’t fail on legal grounds but on small details. Then the appointment is gone and the search starts all over again.

• Fee not paid or wrong item ticked: the 790-012 has several lines with different amounts.
• Only one printout: the EX-15 is required in two copies.
• Form in German or filled in by hand: Spanish is required, and the consulates want it completed on a computer.
• No proof of the reason: a vague explanation leads to follow-up questions.
• Wrong appointment: a different procedure or a different province booked.
• Wrong consulate: application outside your own consular district or without a Meldebescheinigung.
• Consulate despite an imminent move: if you will be in Spain in a few weeks anyway, you often wait longer at the consulate than on site.

With the number in hand, the next steps are the Padrón (town hall registration) and the digital certificate. You’ll find the complete order of steps in the guide Moving to Spain.

Frequently asked questions