Everyone who buys a property in Valencia, and indeed everyone who buys a property in Spain, requires a NIE number in order to complete their purchase. You can come and look at properties without one, you can make a deposit on a place you want to buy without one, but in order to complete your purchase you'll need a NIE number. Therefore one of the questions we are always asked is "how do I get a NIE number?" and one of the statements people make online all the time is "I can't get an appointment to get a NIE number in Valencia!" We have written about this previously and the article we send to people about it is still relevant but it was written in 2018 so everyone asks is it still true.
The answer of course is yes. It is still relevant but today it's time to update the article for the mid 2020's. Here we go then, how to get your NIE in Valencia*.
*If the situation changes we will update this blog post.
NIE stands for Número de Identificación Extranjera (Foreigner ID number) It is in place in order to identify the person buying a Spanish property but you also need it for buying a car and as an ID, in conjunction with your passport, in many situations (including for shopping at times, banking and many more). In other words you need it as they say in Spain, "Sí o sí" (Yes or yes). It is important to note that a NIE is not your residency certificate and having a NIE doesn't make you a resident.
So let's recap what you need to know. You can get your NIE number two ways.
Firstly, you can apply for it in Valencia when you are visiting. In Valencia you can apply for it in person or through the use of a Power of Attorney (The easiest way). If you do it yourself it doesn't cost you anything, but if you name someone to do it through a POA then the POA will cost money and the person getting it for you, your named POA, will charge you for the service or applying for it and picking it up.
Secondly, you can apply for it in your own country in person. This will not cost you anything but will be a process that takes a bit longer and will require patience and a visit to a consulate or embassy and possibly more paperwork. We'll start with this method.
Applying From Your Own Country
You apply for the NIE through the Spanish Embassy in your country or through the Spanish consulates that there are in the country if there is no Spanish embassy locally. For example in the UK the Spanish Embassy is in London but the consulates are dotted around the country including in Manchester and Edinburgh.
The Embassy and the consulates only act as couriers effectively as they forward your application to the police in Spain who then return it to the consulate for you to pick up. Currently Edinburgh consulate, for example, states that the time that will elapse between application and reception of the NIE is around three to four weeks. You will also need to make an appointment at the Consulate to apply and this may take a few weeks depending on demand (And currently there is a very high demand).
You will need to fill in the following forms to apply for your NIE number. The EX15 NIE number application form can be found here or you can find a NIE Number form with instructions in English of how to fill it out here. Form 790 for tax purposes for paying the tax for getting the NIE number is here.
You will need other documentation apart from the completed forms. You will need a private health insurance document or an EHIC if you are from the EU to show you won't be a burden on the state health system. You will also need your passport and a copy of it. Documents must have an official translation into Spanish unless they are official EU documents. If you are a non EU citizen then you may need to show other documents with official translations and prove you have funds to live here too along with a landing card, passport photos, Visa for coming into Spain and a few other things depending on which country you come in from.
Generally, you need a reason for applying too. However, nowadays the police or consulates are not usually demanding the deposit contract on a property as proof of the reason why you want the NIE number. You can also say you want it for opening a bank account, buying a car, renting a property etc… However at certain consulates you'll be required to show a signed deposit contract on a property or a rental agreement. That's a pain in the proverbials but it is what it is!
Applying For Your NIE in Valencia
In theory it is quicker to get the NIE number in Spain rather than through a consulate of course because the documentation is already here, it doesn't need to be sent from the consulate and returned. However the length of time it takes varies according to region and office. In Valencia currently the wait for an appointment can be up to ten weeks if you can get one. To make an appointment in Valencia go to this site. However when you get there and click through to the link to make an appointment, as I write this you see the following.
"At the moment we are working on the site. Sorry for the issues." In other words the site for making appointments doesn't work. This is unfortunately very common.
So, in theory, you make your appointment, book your flight, bring your paperwork and wait. Then once you are notified you come back, go to the office to pick it up, get given the payment to take to your bank, pay and then return again to pick up the NIE certificate.
Time consuming isn't it! At least three visits over a period of weeks requiring you to be here twice and queue, meaning possibilities of flight delays, expensive next day flights and unseen problems coming up and you have to understand everything that is going on and make sure you have all the papers correctly filled in and copied in duplicate or triplicate etc etc etc...
Of course, we have a better solution requiring only one visit, or even none, and you don't have to make an appointment yourself and appear on that day.
Our better solution involves giving a lawyer or a Gestor a Power of Attorney to apply for the NIE number for you here in Valencia. The lawyer/gestor will have a set of dates already booked for getting the NIE number for many different clients and therefore they will generally have your appointment before the ten week period.
In order to do this you might need to appear here once and the named POA will take you to a Notary to do that POA and also take a copy of your passport stamped by the Notary with "The Hague Seal" to take to the police station. You just give the lawyer the required details for filling in the EX15 form and let them get on with it. However, you can even do this without being here if you get the POA at a Spanish Notary office in your home country, the lawyer will send you the wording of the POA, and get them to also do a certified copy of your passport with "The Hague Seal" and send both the POA and certified passport copy to the lawyer by courier.
The lawyers we work with here in Valencia are currently getting the NIE number within a week or two using this POA system. It's the quickest, the best and the most reliable way of getting your NIE number. It costs up to 360 euros plus VAT but that is a drop in the ocean for people buying a property and makes sure you can move forward on your purchase with confidence.
Playing the Game With Agents, Even Us.
Remember, that without the Spanish NIE Number you cannot really do anything official here. You definitely cannot buy a property and many owners won't let somebody without a NIE rent a property either. And here's the truth, some agents are refusing to take out potential property buyers without the NIE number already with them, or at a minimum applied for, because they are so busy they suspect you may be a time waster and their time will be better spent with somebody who already has their ducks in a row (Bank account, currency company organised, NIE number applied for or given. We can organise all of that for you by the way).
Why would an agent in a fast moving property market with huge demand choose to spend time with somebody who doesn't commit themselves to the process and at least do the minimum of being in a position to purchase or rent?
It is likely that you will be unable to organise visits with an agent unless you decide to spend a morning doing what is needed to apply for your NIE number. If an agent does take you out then I'd say they haven't got a clue about what the process requires and so will not be much help further into your purchase. It shows your commitment to the process and to the fact that you really do want to buy or rent here.
We had a meeting with a client here this week and they told us that they are coming over next year to buy. We therefore told them to do the NIE number through their local consulate, no cost for them, no time pressure in place and no rush. However, if they had been looking to buy now or very soon we would have said do you want us to organise your NIE for you first and we would expect one of two answers, yes, or we already have someone working on it for us.
If you make excuses for not getting it then it is likely that your treatment will be worse by the Estate Agents because they know if you are serious about buying property you have to get a NIE, full stop. You could be a holidaymaker fancying a free trip around the city or surroundings and the truth is that the properties you look at will not be available when you have the NIE number finally, so why show them to you? Agents will invariably give preferential treatment to those who are able to buy than to those who may buy at some unspecified time in the future.
As you can see clearly, if you are thinking about buying Valencia Property or Spanish property in general and if you are thinking about coming to live in Spain and do anything official you will need your Spanish NIE number. Doesn't it make sense to get the process started? Ask us and we can help you.
Moving to Valencia
As you will probably know if you read these pages regularly, we had a 25 years celebration recently in Valencia. In it we had a videographer and they asked our clients why they moved to Valencia, what was their experience here like and all about the process of working with us at Valencia Property. Take a look and listen to what people say about us and the way we work in the video below. Equally you could go to our reviews page on Google to see what we do and how we do it from our clients.
Property of the Week
Nestled in the hills but just a short stroll down for a day on the beach we find this lovely looking Multi Storey Town House that could tick every single box on your wish list. It is also totally renovated and in pristine condition for you to enjoy from Day 1 of your new life in Spain.
This place has everything you could ever need and the stats are impressive, Living Space and Kitchen with Bathroom on the ground floor, moving up to 3 Double Bedrooms and 2 more Bathrooms, up one more for a large Lounge area with the main Kitchen, sea view Terrace and shady Garden to the rear, then finally the rooftop terrace for even better views, barbecue area and plenty of room to dine al fresco with back slapping all round for being a gracious host, great cook, living legend and for making such a wonderful purchase that your family and friends will enjoy for years to come.
Cullera offers extraordinary value when compared with the likes of Denia, Javea and Moraira and it’s also a lot closer to Valencia, so yeah, we like it, and you probably should take a good look when searching for the ideal holiday home or permanent residence.
Apartment of the Week
The city life isn’t for everybody, the buzz and quick pace of life might not appeal to you but maybe you’re not the type who wants to be isolated out in the sticks either. So what to do? Well you could go and live in Mislata, not part of Valencia city but it may as well be. It’s the first town west of the city limits and has quite the claim to fame in being the most densley populated town in Spain!
Now on hearing that you may be feeling all claustrophobic and thinking of cramped streets with little personal space and freedom to move around but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I was pleasantly surprised the last time I visited Mislata to discover all of the work that’s been put in to make this a comfortable vibrant and fun area to live. The bar in the middle of the Parque de la canaleta with it’s constantly moving terrace according to where the sun is in the sky is a particular favourite of mine to while away an afternoon but you have plenty other green spaces, parks, wide boulevards and even the exotic sounds and smells coming to fill your eardrums and nostrils from the Bioparc just down the road. And of course the excellent public transport options have you into Valencia in no time at all.
And as for bang for your buck, obviously your money goes that little bit futher being outside the big smoke. Just try and find 170m2 in this condition in Valencia for this price. So if the simple rural life doesn’t float your boat but the city slicker within you has long since died, this could just be the pad for you. The asking price without the garage is € 344.000.
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If you want to join us here in Valencia just fill in the form below to start the process and take that first step towards moving to Valencia. We'll be happy to talk with you and guide you through the process as we have done with hundreds of people just like you in the past.
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