The NIE Number in Spain for Britons: When You Need One and How

A NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is the personal number Spain gives foreigners who deal with the country for economic, professional or social reasons, and a Briton who wants to buy property, open an account or sign a contract will meet it early. It is a number, not a residence permit, and it can be requested in three different ways. Which one fits depends on where you live today and when you plan to move. The offices involved do not all say the same thing, so this guide sets their pages side by side. This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice; verify current requirements with the relevant Spanish authority or a licensed professional.

Do you need an NIE before you move to Spain?

The official pages read for this guide do not say whether a Briton moving now must hold a NIE before the move. What they do say is who receives one and how, and the answer depends on the route you take.

Royal Decree 1155/2024, the current immigration regulation, sets out three situations in article 205. A foreigner who starts a procedure for a stay document receives a NIE, as does one with an administrative file in the foreigners’ system, and so does one who relates to Spain through economic, professional, social or other interests. For a visa that lets the holder stay more than 90 days in any 180 without a separate long-stay or temporary residence authorization, the police grant the number ex officio, on their own initiative. Someone in the third group has to ask for it. The tax agency’s page lists the three cases, wording the first as a stay document other than a visa, and adds that in the third the person must meet two conditions. The police page names them: you are not in Spain irregularly, and you state your reasons.

In practice, a Briton who is applying for a long-stay visa may not need to chase a separate number first, because article 205.3 assigns one ex officio for such visas. The guide to applying for the visa from the UK covers which consulate takes the file. A Briton who needs a number sooner, for a purchase or a bank account, falls into the third group and has to ask.

The risk sits in two places. First, the Edinburgh consulate says the consulate NIE is aimed at people with economic, professional or social ties and attaches a caveat for people planning to move soon, sending those who plan to move to its visa department. Second, the consulates say a NIE does not entitle you to reside, so holding one does not replace the visa you may still need. The London page states that someone who wants to become resident may need a visa first.

The routes to a NIE at a glance

Three routes exist. The fees below come from the page of each office, so the amounts are in pounds at the consulates and in euros in Spain.

Two things in this table disagree. Manchester charges 20 pence less than London and Edinburgh, and its page carries no date, while London’s is dated January 1, 2026 and Edinburgh’s August 14, 2026. The London page says the EX-15 is not signed in advance, whereas Manchester and Edinburgh ask for it signed. Plan on the instructions of the consulate that holds your appointment, and confirm the amount when you book.

What the NIE is, and what it is not

The NIE is personal, unique and sequential, according to article 205 of the Royal Decree. The tax agency says it has nine characters, starting with X, Y or Z. The London consulate adds that the number is assigned by the Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras, part of the Spanish police, and not by the consulate itself.

A consulate NIE has limits. The Edinburgh page says plainly that it is not valid for work, residence or study. The tax agency says that assigning a NIE does not prove legal status and does not decide whether the person may work or reside.

NIE, TIE and the green certificate

The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) is the card. Article 209 of the Royal Decree makes it the document that proves a foreigner’s legal situation in Spain, unlike the NIE, and requires holders of a visa or authorization of over six months to apply in person within one month of entry or of the authorization taking effect. GOV.UK says most British citizens moving to Spain must register as a resident and get a TIE, and that the visa states whether you need one and by when. The TIE guide explains the card mechanics and the Withdrawal Agreement card guide covers the Britons who lived in Spain before January 1, 2021.

For that second group, GOV.UK describes the older green certificate, which remains valid but is not accepted as proof of residence at Schengen borders and does not exempt the holder from registration under the Entry/Exit System. The advice is to exchange it for a TIE printed Articulo 50 TUE, which shows Withdrawal Agreement rights. The police fee table lists the 12.00 euro fee for that TIE and for the EU registration certificate. None of the pages read says whether a person covered by the Withdrawal Agreement holds a NIE. The tax agency says the EU registration certificate shows the NIE, but it addresses EU citizens and does not mention Britons after Brexit, so ask the office that issued your document.

What the tax agency accepts as proof of a NIE is also specific: a TIE, a residence permit or a registration certificate, and otherwise a certificate from the Interior Ministry. A number written by hand on an application form is not valid.

Applying at a consulate in the UK

Each consulate works its own district. The London page on demarcation says that if you live elsewhere you go to Manchester or Edinburgh. The Manchester demarcation covers all of Wales, the Isle of Man and a list of English areas, and the Edinburgh demarcation, dated May 8, 2025, covers Scotland, Northern Ireland and a separate list of English areas. The consulates ask for proof that you live in their district.

Documents each consulate names

What the office is really checking is two things: who you are, and why Spain needs to know you. The London consulate asks for:

• the EX-15 form, preferably completed online and printed, stating the economic, professional or social reasons;
• documentary proof of the need to obtain a NIE;
• the original valid passport and a copy of the biographical page;
• a document proving residence in the consular district.

Manchester asks for the EX-15 in original and one copy, signed, the passport original and copy, proof of residence in its area and the stated reasons. Edinburgh splits it in two. You request an appointment by email with PDFs of a passport valid for more than six months, a Council Tax document as proof of address in the district, and proof of the need for the NIE, which is mandatory. On the day you bring the signed EX-15 original plus a copy, the passport with a photocopy, and Form 790 code 12 completed on a computer and printed.

The pages do not list what counts as acceptable proof of need beyond Edinburgh’s definition. The tax agency says some foreigners’ offices ask for documents showing the reasons, such as tax-relevant transactions, so bring the paper behind your purchase or job.

Appointment, fee and waiting time

London takes appointment requests by email, at the address its page provides. Manchester and Edinburgh print no appointment address for the NIE in the text read, so use the consulate’s contact page. London also announced that information appointments ended on March 30, 2026, with a walk-in information service on weekdays from 8:15 to 14:30; the notice does not say that the NIE appointment is walk-in, so do not turn up without a booking.

London and Edinburgh take the fee by card on the day; Manchester’s page gives only the amount. The number is sent by email after about two to four weeks, and the London page says the consulate cannot shorten it. A representative may apply for you with their own ID and a power of attorney that expressly covers the NIE application. For a minor, London asks for a family record book, birth certificate or guardianship document and the parent’s passport or ID.

Applying in Spain

Inside Spain you apply in person at a foreigners’ office or a police station, or directly to the police, according to the police page. You complete the EX-15, fill in Form 790 code 012 and pay at a bank, savings bank or credit cooperative, with no account needed, then present the proof of payment with the form. The fee is 9.84 euros.

The police page and article 205.4 give five days as the maximum resolution time and say that silence means refusal. That is the legal ceiling, not a forecast, and it sits next to the consulates’ two to four weeks. If you are refused or ignored, the police page gives one month to file a reposición appeal and two months for a contencioso-administrativo appeal. The Spain-side NIE guide walks through the same Spanish office mechanics.

Where you will be asked for the number

The NIE is the tax number for foreigners, so every transaction that touches tax asks for it. The Ley General Tributaria requires anyone depositing funds with or borrowing from a credit institution to give a tax number beforehand, and the Banco de España adds that EU citizens may be asked for a passport or ID with the NIE, and non-EU foreigners must give the TIE. Its page is dated March 9, 2021. The bank account guide for Britons covers what the banks ask in practice.

For property, the Ley del Notariado requires the parties to show their tax identification numbers to the notary, recorded in the deed. GOV.UK’s buying page, last updated May 13, 2021 and described there as under review, says a NIE is required for any fiscal transaction such as opening a bank account or buying property, and that a buyer outside Spain can apply at a Spanish consulate in the UK or through a representative. The same page says a written rental agreement must give each party’s ID number, the NIE or passport for foreigners. The property guide for Britons takes the purchase from there. Social Security also asks for it: the Seguridad Social page says requesting the Social Security number needs your DNI or NIE data, a mobile, an email and an address.

If you need a tax number before the NIE arrives, the tax agency describes a temporary NIF M, valid three months, for a foreigner who must hold a NIE but does not yet and can prove the application was filed.

Your next step: match the route to your move date

You can handle the NIE alone when it is a number for one purpose and you live in the district of a consulate. The steps are short: check the district, request the appointment, prepare the EX-15 and proof of need, and pay the Form 790 fee. Start early: the consulates quote two to four weeks from the appointment and say it can run longer.

If you plan to move for more than 90 days, start with the visa instead, since article 205.3 has the police grant the NIE ex officio for such visas and the consulate NIE is not valid for residence. Get help when your reason for the number is hard to prove, when a power of attorney is involved, or when you were resident before 2021 and your documents do not show a NIE. The Spain Navigator puts every step of your move to Spain in order, from the visa to settling in.