Floor 01 · EU, EEA & Swiss passports
The NIE: what it is, and who in Benidorm needs one
NIE stands for Número de Identidad de Extranjero, the identity number Spain gives to foreigners. The Policía Nacional, Spain’s national police force, assigns it, and it stays the same for the rest of your life. Sooner or later a bank, a landlord, an employer or a notary will ask you for it. Here is what it is, who needs it and how it is requested in Benidorm.
One number for life, on different papers
A NIE is a reference, not a document in itself. It starts with a letter, carries on with digits and closes with a control letter. Once assigned, it never changes, even if you leave Spain for years and return.
The paper that carries it is what varies. A buyer or a visitor living abroad is given a certificate showing the number alone. A European resident finds it on the green registration certificate. A resident from outside the EU has it printed on the TIE, the residence card.
Who will ask you for the number
- Signing the deed for a flat or a house before a notary
- Opening a bank account or taking out a mortgage
- Starting a job, since your employer registers you with Social Security
- Putting electricity, water or internet in your name
- Paying Spanish taxes, including those of a non-resident owner
- Buying a car, or inheriting property in Spain
Resident or visitor: two different requests
If you live in Benidorm, or soon will, you rarely ask for the number by itself. Europeans register as residents with the green certificate, on form EX-18, and receive a NIE as part of it. People from outside the EU are given theirs with their residence permit and the TIE card.
The number by itself is for people who are not resident: a buyer who still lives in Leeds or Utrecht, an heir, a seasonal worker on a short contract, someone with a business reason. They request it with form EX-15.
Form EX-15, in plain words
The EX-15 is the official request for a NIE. It asks for your personal details, an address and the reason you need the number. You sign it and take it to the appointment along with your passport and a photocopy, a document that shows the reason (a reservation contract or a job offer, for instance) and the paid fee, the Modelo 790 código 012.
Where it is requested in Benidorm
The Comisaría de Benidorm, the Policía Nacional station at Calle Apolo XI 36, lists NIE certificates and NIE assignment among its procedures for foreigners. Appointments are booked through the cita previa system for the province of Alicante, and your confirmation says which office to go to. If you live abroad and cannot travel, you can also apply through a Spanish consulate.
Questions on this floor
Does a NIE expire?
Never. A non-EU resident’s TIE card has its own expiry date and gets renewed, yet every new card shows the number you were first given.
Is the NIE a residence permit?
No. It identifies you, nothing more. Living in Spain rests on the green certificate for Europeans, and on a residence permit and a TIE for everyone else.
Can I ask for one just in case?
Not without a reason. The EX-15 asks why you need the number, and the officer expects a document that shows it: a reservation contract, a job offer or a letter from a lawyer or notary, for instance.
Will I need to speak Spanish at the comisaría?
Expect Spanish: officers work in it. When the folder is complete the conversation is short, and we tell you beforehand what you are likely to be asked.
Official sources for this page
- Policía Nacional: directory of offices and their procedures for foreigners (province of Alicante)
- The administration’s cita previa system
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