You can get an NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero, foreigner identity number) without travelling to Spain. You can apply at a Spanish consulate outside Spain or, within Spain, at an Oficina de Extranjería (immigration office) or a Comisaría de Policía (police station). You can apply in person or through a representative.
The NIE is an identification number for foreigners. It does not give you the right to live in Spain: the Spanish consulate in Stuttgart, for example, says so explicitly.
You apply using form EX-15, which you fill in and sign yourself. Bring the original form and a copy, your original passport and a copy, and proof of why you need the NIE.
You can fill in the EX-15 form online and download it as a PDF, ready to print and sign: EX-15 form (NIE) online.
Each consulate sets its own appointment procedure, processing time and way of issuing the number. In Stuttgart, for example, a cita previa (appointment) is mandatory, the stated processing time is around 4-5 weeks, and the number is sent by email. Your consulate's procedure may differ.
If you can't attend in person, someone else can submit the application on your behalf. Even then, you fill in and sign the EX-15 yourself, as the applicant. The representative's details go in the second section of the form, and the basis on which they act for you goes in the «título» field.
The representative needs a power of attorney that expressly authorises them to apply for the NIE. In its instructions for the EX-15, the consulate in Brussels says: «poder suficiente en el que conste de forma expresa que se le faculta para presentar tal solicitud» (a sufficient power of attorney expressly stating that the representative is authorised to submit such an application). Make sure your power of attorney states this authority expressly. If it is worded in general terms, ask the consulate or office in advance whether they will accept it.
The required form of the power of attorney also varies. The consulate in Stuttgart accepts only a notarial power of attorney (poder protocolizado notarialmente). It does not accept private powers of attorney or documents where only the signature has been certified. The power of attorney must bear an apostille and come with a translation into Spanish by a sworn translator (traductor-intérprete jurado). Another consulate, or an office in Spain, may have different requirements, so check with the authority where you will be applying.
Before applying, check the website of your consulate or office for the following: whether you need an appointment and how to get one, whether there is a fee and how to pay it, whether applications through a representative are accepted and what form of power of attorney is required, whether your documents and power of attorney need an apostille and a translation, and how and when you will receive your number.
If you're not sure which route suits you, message us on WhatsApp at +34 743 071 481. Short questions there are free of charge.
If you can go to the consulate, apply in person. If not, apply through a representative with a power of attorney that expressly authorises them to apply for the NIE. Check in advance with the authority where you will be applying what form of power of attorney is required and whether you need an apostille and a translation.
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