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NIE Barcelona
NIE Barcelona
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Procedure · NIE Barcelona

The NIE number, explained for people arriving in Barcelona

Spain gives every foreigner with economic, professional or social ties here a Número de Identidad de Extranjero, or NIE. It is assigned a single time, by the Policía Nacional, and never changes. In Barcelona it is the first thing an employer, a landlord, a bank or a notary asks you for.

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§1A letter, seven digits, a check letter

A NIE reads like Y-4826103-L: an opening letter (X on the oldest numbers, then Y, now Z), seven digits, and a closing letter calculated from the rest. That last letter is a checksum, so one wrong digit on a contract turns the whole number invalid. Copy it with care, every time.

The number does not change. Leave Barcelona for years, come back with a new passport, and the same NIE is still attached to your name in the system.

§2Number, certificate, card: three different things

People say “my NIE” about three separate documents. A white NIE certificate carries the number for someone who needs it for a transaction but does not live in Spain. Europeans who settle here, EEA and Swiss nationals included, receive it on the green registration certificate. Non-EU residents carry it on the TIE card, with a photo and fingerprints.

Whichever paper you end up holding, the number printed on it is the same. What differs is what the document proves: a white certificate shows that you have a number, nothing about where you live.

§3What waits for it in Barcelona

  • An employment contract, and the social security registration your employer files before day one
  • A lease in your own name, and the deposit lodged with it
  • A Spanish bank account for a salary, a mortgage or simply your rent
  • The purchase of a flat, a car or a share in a company, signed before a notary
  • Registration as self-employed (autónomo) and your first tax return
  • Electricity, internet and mobile contracts in your name
  • University enrolment and many school and health-centre forms
  • An inheritance with property or accounts in Spain

§4Who assigns it here

In the city the Policía Nacional divides the work by nationality: EU citizens who are not resident are seen at Rambla Guipúzcoa 74, non-EU citizens who are not resident at Passeig de Sant Joan 189. How the two NIE offices share the work is set out in a guide of its own, and several comisarías of the province assign numbers as well.

The police counters in Barcelona

Offices of the Policía Nacional, not ours: you go there for the appointment itself.

  1. Counter A · EU citizens · TIE issueSant Martí de Provençals, Sant Martí

    Oficina de Régimen Comunitario (Policía Nacional, Rambla Guipúzcoa)

    EU registration certificates, NIE numbers for EU citizens who are not resident, autorizaciones de regreso. The same address hosts the Oficina de Régimen General, which issues TIE cards to non-EU citizens.

    Address
    Rambla Guipúzcoa 74, 08020 Barcelona
    Hours
    Mon–Fri 9:00–14:00, with cita previa
    Official phone
    932 951 071

    Every procedure here is by cita previa. Non-EU citizens who are not resident get their NIE at Passeig de Sant Joan 189. No official page names a metro station or a bus stop for number 74: use the map.

    Map of this addressListed on policia.esAccess: guia.barcelona.cat

  2. Counter B · Non-EU, not resident

    Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras (Passeig de Sant Joan)

    NIE numbers for non-EU citizens who are not resident, residence certificates for non-EU citizens.

    Address
    Passeig de Sant Joan 189, 08037 Barcelona
    Hours
    Mon–Fri 9:00–14:00
    Official phone
    935 209 523
    Metro
    metroL4 Joanic
    Bus
    bus15 · 20 · 39 · 45 · 47 · 55 · 114 · 116

    Lines listed on a how-to-get-there sheet of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

    Map of this addressListed on policia.esAccess: upc.edu

  3. Counter C · TIE collectionEixample, corner of Enric Granados

    Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras (Carrer de Mallorca)

    Collection of TIE cards for non-EU citizens.

    Address
    Carrer de Mallorca 213, at Enric Granados, 08008 Barcelona
    Hours
    Mon–Fri 9:00–14:00
    Official phone
    934 514 804

    Map of this addressListed on policia.es

Questions on this entry

Does the number ever expire?
The number never does. The documents that carry it are another matter: a TIE card has an expiry date printed on it and is renewed, while the number on the new card stays the same.
Is the NIE my tax number?
For a foreign individual, in practice yes: Spanish tax forms and the tax office use the NIE to identify you.
Can I start work in Barcelona with only the number?
An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen can, because the right to work comes with the passport. A non-EU citizen also needs an authorisation to work; the NIE on its own grants no such right.

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  1. 1 We read your message and reply by email with the procedure that fits.
  2. 2 You get the list of papers for your case, and the office in Barcelona it belongs to.
  3. 3 If you want us to, we prepare the forms with you and look for the cita previa.

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