Floor 12 · Special cases & Benidorm guides
The NIE from home: applying through a Spanish consulate
Being in Spain is not a condition for getting a NIE. If you live abroad, the Spanish consulate that covers your home area can receive the request. For a buyer who cannot fly out for an appointment, or an heir dealing with an estate from abroad, it is often the calmer route.
Good for, and not for
- Good for buyers who will go on living abroad
- Good for heirs, and for anyone with a business or legal reason to need the number
- Good for planning ahead, before a viewing trip
- Not for people moving to Benidorm to live: residence is registered in Spain
How a consulate handles it
Each consulate organises its own appointments and lists its requirements on its own website. In general you bring form EX-15, your passport and a copy, a document showing why you need the number, and the fee, paid in the way the consulate tells you.
The consulate passes the request to Spain, where the number is assigned, and lets you know when the certificate is ready.
The same number wherever it is issued
A NIE assigned through a consulate is the number that will later appear on your green certificate or your TIE, should you move to Spain. Nothing has to be done twice.
Or start it online
If no consulate appointment fits your calendar and you cannot travel to Benidorm, you can also start the NIE online with Gestoraz, an independent firm that takes on the request at a distance.
Questions on this floor
Is a consulate quicker than an appointment in Spain?
Not reliably. It varies from one consulate to another and from one season to the next, and neither route is always the faster one.
Which consulate should I use?
The one that covers the area where you legally live, which is not always the one for your nationality.
Will the consulate give me a residence card?
No. A consulate can issue a residence visa, but the card itself, the TIE, is made in Spain after you arrive.
Official sources for this page
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