How to get a NIE: four routes compared

Which route fits you

Whichever route you choose, the core is identical: form EX-15, the €9.84 fee (tasa 790, código 012), your passport, and a stated economic, professional or social reason — the ground defined in Real Decreto 557/2011. By law, the police must resolve a registered application within five days — the real bottleneck is never the decision, it is getting the appointment.

Route 1: In person at a police station in Spain

The fastest route on paper — some offices hand you the certificate the same day. The catch is the cita previa (appointment): in Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and Alicante, free slots can vanish for weeks the moment they are released.

1. Book a cita previa online for "Policía — Asignación de NIE"
2. Fill in EX-15 (two copies) and pay the €9.84 fee at any collaborating bank — the bank stamps your 790/012 form
3. Bring your passport, the stamped fee form, and evidence of your reason (a purchase contract, a job offer, a notary letter)
4. Collect the white certificate — same day at some offices, a short wait at others

Route 2: At a Spanish consulate abroad

Every Spanish consulate accepts NIE applications from residents of its district and forwards them to Spain. Same EX-15, same reason requirement; the consular fee is paid locally on top of the standard process.

It is the right route when you are not in a hurry: forwarding adds time, and in practice you should plan in weeks, not days. Requirements vary slightly by consulate — check your consulate’s page before booking, and see our country-specific notes on getting a NIE from the UK, Ireland or the US.

Route 3: Remotely, through a representative

Spanish administrative law — Ley 39/2015 — allows you to act through a representative in administrative procedures. In practice that means: you sign a limited power of attorney (poder notarial) covering only the NIE application, get it apostilled under the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 and sworn-translated into Spanish by an MAEC-appointed translator — and a lawyer in Spain files and collects everything for you.

Typical timeline once your apostilled documents arrive in Spain: 2–3 weeks end-to-end. You never travel. This is the route we operate: the paperwork is handled by the remote NIE application service team behind this site.

Route 4: Bundled with a visa application

If you are applying for a long-stay visa (work, study, non-lucrative, digital nomad), a NIE is usually assigned as part of the process — check your visa sticker and paperwork before applying separately. Applying twice does not get you two numbers; it gets you delays while the systems reconcile.

What you’ll need on every route

The full breakdown of NIE documents, forms and the fee covers EX-15 field by field. The short list: valid passport (full copy), completed EX-15, stamped proof of the €9.84 payment, and documentary evidence of your reason. And before you submit anything, double-check the number you receive against the standard format — here is what a NIE number looks like.

⚠ Scams to avoid

• ✗ Paid "guaranteed cita" offers. Police appointment slots are free of charge; resellers monetise the queue — they cannot create slots.
• ✗ "Official express NIE". No express track exists — the procedure and the five-day resolution rule are the same for everyone; a good representative saves you the queue and the errors, not the law.
• ✗ "Check anyone’s NIE by name". There is no public NIE registry; no legitimate service can look up another person’s number.