NIE Certificate

Hi Smiley

Thanks for that.I am coming over to CDS in February villa hunting so I may need more help from you.

Hi all

Gettin a bit confused now as I understood that I have to apply for an NIE number and I can do this from the UK before I leave to Spain and that I would also need to go to local Police station in Spain when I arrive to regiser as Resident? Is this right ar can I go to local police station and register as resident and also apply for NIE there?

Sorry for sounding thick

Cheers

Hi Smiley

afraid no relation toCrocodile Dundee althogh my hubby may say I can BITE like him at times!!   I will PM you now

Noel & Wilma 

Note that Wikipedia has now included a detailed run-down of the NIE Numbers!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIE_Number

Your 'order' is entirely correct.

The NIE Number must come before obtaining residencia (tarjeta de residencia that is) - many local branches of the National police will now no longer issue these cards any more by the way, as they are meant to be 'useless' now with the new EU laws in effect. 

Following the above, and with a rental contract (or property purchase), you will then be able to open a resident bank account, and get all of your utilities set up.  When you have received your first statements (e.g. from the electric company & telephone company), you can take those down with you (along with your NIE document and passport) to the town hall to register yourself. (Empadronamiento).  If you will be working, or claiming social security benefits, you will also then need to register yourself with the social security.

Please don't hesitate to post back if you have any further queries.

Hello everyone

I am new to the forum and have many questions,I have read through some threads but I think I have a unique question and if anyone can help will be most appreciated.Approx 3 yrs ago my partner and I purchased some land with a ruin down in Almeria,wont bore you with the story but after waiting a whole year with our money invested in the builders account and not ours , we never got the licence.

However we were taken to a gestor to obtain our N.I.E. numbers, my partner who actually had the paperwork in his name for the purchase got his number through our solicitor  and the number was used during the buying process, but mine was never used.We have now been told we have to re-apply as we are due to sign for a villa in April  up in Murcia (thats another post see LFO ) I will be asking for advise on there also.We do not understand why we have to re-apply ,I think mine has gone astray but my partners number has been used for this purchase but the mortgage and the deeds will be in joint names , we will have to get mine and  we will only have a few days before we go the notary to obtain the numbers .

We have been told we must go to the foreigners office, not the police station also the reason we have to re-apply is something to do with black and white code confused so are we. The logic in my head says that someone  somewhere has lost my NIE and hopefully when we go to the foreigners office they will put our names into the system and see we already have NIE numbers against our names,my partner even paid tax on his when we  previously purchased the land.

so it seems strange we have to apply again is there some new form now that we have to have our NIE numbers put on?And hopefully if we have already got NIE nos then it should be an immediate process,we do have a solicitor but he has told us over the phone all this and we are so mixed up with what he is saying unfortunatley we do not speak alot of spanish ,so we are even more worried about going into the office asking for documents that we dont understand what we are meant to be asking and only conversing in English the journey in April is going to be stressful enough.Help please!

Further to your NIE Number query:

Ok first, the basics:  It is indeed correct that if you will both now be included on the mortgage and title deeds that you will both need to have your own NIE number.  If your partner still has his original NIE Number certificate, then that is perfect.  If not, then he (as well as you) will need to apply for a duplicate NIE Number certificate prior to the signing.

Note that in the past two years, the government has strictly enforced the requirement to possess an NIE Number when purchasing or selling a property (or a car for that matter).  In 95% of the cases, the notary public will not even accept a photocopy of the NIE Number certificate, they require the original document issued by the National Police of Spain. (This is the only institution that can issue an NIE Number certificate by the way).

Unfortunately, even though the numbers may already exist in the system (if you never received your certificate, it is quite possible that your application was never submitted) there is no other means by which to obtain the certificates other than through the National Police.  Note that this can either be done in person (by yourselves completing the forms and queuing in person both to submit the application and then to collect) or by engaging the services of a company such as NIE Number Direct.

As time is clearly of the essence in your case, it is important that you also know that some local branches of the National Police can take up to 6 weeks to process the application, where others can be as quick as 1 week.

Don't hesitate to drop me an email or give me a phone call should you have any further questions..

Hello,

Thankyou for your reply NIE  direct but a  bit confused you say we must got the police station but your post below mine, you say SOME  police do not issue these or are you refering to something else also I asked about the black and white code what is that?The agent we were dealing with said we have to go to the foreigners office and it will only take that morning cannot understand why she would give the wrong information as its in her interest for us to do the sigining at the notary to get her comissions ,I am also concerned to think as you said we possibly never got the numbers submitted was it right to say it was a gestors office as that was back in 05 have things changed since then?,also  where did the tax go that we paid on the previous purchase as we never got that back. 

Was we really given NIE numbers ?and if that was not the case then the purchase we are doing now has been processed under  maybe an illegal NIE number.Should our solicitor not be sorting all this out anyway ?

Sorry for not being clear!

Every local branch of the National Police will accept applications for, process, and then issue the NIE Number certificates to the individuals themselves (in person).  What some (many in fact) will not allow is for someone else to submit an application on their behalf.  (E.G. if you did not want to wait in line for hours, and would rather have someone else apply for you).

I'm afraid I have never heard of a "black and white code".  If you let me know where you heard of this, then I can investigate further.  Additionally, the "foreigners office" is a term often used to describe the department for foreigners within the National Police (where the NIE Numbers are applied for and obtained).  It can be confused with the Town Hall's department (where you would do empadronamiento, NOT apply for / collect an NIE Number.  Do remember, this is the National Police of Spain, not your local poilce or the guardia civil (these are different).

Regarding the tax, you have stated that your partner has their NIE number (perhaps not the certificate, but he knows the number - e.g. if he has a Social Security - orange - card, it would be printed on there) therefore you should have no fear that the taxes you paid were allocated properly. 

Note that having the NIE Number is one thing, and having the NIE Number certificate is entirely different.  The number is yours for life, and even if you KNOW the number, that is sufficient for many purposes.  (E.G. opening a bank account, on the application form you simply write in the number).  However when signing for the purchase of a property, the NIE Number is not only used for tax purposes, but the certificate itself (original) is used as a form of identification.  This is why the notaries often require the original certificate.

It is highly unlikely that you have an "illegal NIE Number".  As for your solicitor, if (in their local area) they cannot apply for / collect the NIE Number on your behalf, then there is very little they can do (apart from travelling themselves to a town that would allow them to do so).

Hi - I hope that you could help me. We have done our N.I.E. numbers and have the certificates, but have been told that they are copies. We don't know how the agent managed to photocopy & swop them over as we were sat in the room when she did it.

However, we are no longer able to get in touch with the agents as they seemed to have washed their hands of the builders who are going bankrupt & even though they have had our agency money they are not answering any messages.

But we are now buying another property and need "original copies" of our certificates - how do we go about it. We went to the police in Alicante originally, I would be grateful of your reply.

many thanks - Lucydog  

The best way to know if they are copies or not is to see the stamp by the National Police.  It is a circular stamp which should say "Comiseria XXXX de España" on it. 

This stamp should be in colour, and should look as though it was stamped on (not copied).

If they are in fact copies rather than the originals, then obtaining a new NIE Number certificate can be done either by filling in the standard application form, presenting yourself in person with the form, the copy of your NIE Number certificate, and your passport, and mentioning that you are requesting a duplicate certificate for use in your property purchase.

They will then issue you a receipt and you will need to go to the bank and pay the fee (should be around 6 EUR), and then return when you are instructed to collect it.

Alternatively, you can use a company like NIE Number Direct to obtain the duplicate originals on your behalf.  Don't hesitate to call or email me directly.