Before the contracts, before the mortgage, before the appointment with the notary, there is a number. Nothing in a Spanish property purchase can be signed without it, and it is the one piece of administration a foreign buyer cannot delegate to the end of the process. It is worth understanding early, because the route chosen to obtain it decides whether it costs you a journey.
What it is
The NIE — Número de Identidad de Extranjero — is the identification number the Spanish state assigns to foreign nationals who have economic, professional or social interests in Spain. It is personal, unique and permanent: one number, issued once, valid for the rest of your dealings with the country.
What it is not is equally worth stating. The NIE is not a residence permit and confers no right to live in Spain. It says nothing about your tax residence. A non-resident buyer who spends three weeks a year in the country holds exactly the same kind of number as someone who lives there permanently. It is an identifier, and it identifies you on every document that follows: the private purchase contract, the deed signed before the notary, the entry in the Land Registry, the tax returns, the mortgage file, the utility accounts.
Who needs one
Anyone buying property in Spain, whether they come from within the European Union or outside it, and whether or not they intend to live there. The same number is required to open a Spanish bank account, to take out a mortgage, to pay the taxes attaching to the purchase and to put the utilities in your name. Where a home is bought by two people — a couple, a parent and child, business partners — each of them needs a number of their own. It cannot be shared, and the point catches people out at the notary more often than it should. Companies do not use a NIE; a legal entity is identified by its own tax number.
Three ways to apply
The application itself is the same in each case — the standard form EX-15, the passport or identity document in original and copy, and the state fee paid on the form known as Modelo 790, código 012. What differs is where you stand when you hand it in.
In Spain, in person. The application is made at an Oficina de Extranjería or at a National Police station with a foreigners' desk, on an appointment booked in advance. This is the direct route, and it suits buyers who are coming to see the property in any case: the viewing trip and the appointment can be arranged for the same week.
Through a Spanish consulate. Applications made outside Spain go through the Spanish consular office covering your place of residence — for most of our buyers, the consulate general in their own country. The documents are the same and an appointment is likewise required. The advantage is obvious: the number is in hand before the first trip.
Through a representative. The application may also be made by a duly accredited representative, in practice a Spanish lawyer acting under a notarised power of attorney. Physical presence at the counter is always required — but it is the presence of the applicant or of the representative that counts, which is precisely what makes this route useful. You sign the power of attorney once, and the appointment, the queue and the paperwork happen without you.
How this is handled with us
The third route is the one we use. As stated on our home page, the legal team takes on the NIE application together with the anti-money-laundering clearance and the Spanish bank account, in the buyer's own language. In practice that means one signature on a power of attorney, and the number arrives without a journey booked around an appointment slot. The buying process is set out step by step in a separate entry.
Legal basis: Ley Orgánica 4/2000 on the rights and freedoms of foreign nationals in Spain, and its implementing regulation, Real Decreto 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025. Processing times and the amount of the state fee are set by the administration and change; we give neither here on purpose. The current figures, the appointment systems and the forms themselves are published by the Ministerio del Interior and the National Police for applications made in Spain, and by the consular offices of the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores for applications made abroad. This entry describes the usual course of the procedure and is not legal advice; your own lawyer advises on your case.