The N.I.E. is simply a registration required for foreigners who have assets in Spain, both residents and non-residents. You need this number for many procedures, including opening a bank account (resident or non-resident), buying a car, even, on occasions, accepting a package through the postal system. The number is individual and will remain with you.

DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED

a) Passport or recognised official identification.
b) Form EX-14: Solicitud de N.I.E. (Número de Identidad de Extranjeros)

APPLICATION PROCESS

OFICINA DE EXTRANJEROS DE DENIA
C/ Avinguda del Marquesat, 53
03700 Denia (Alicante)
Tel: 96 642 68 86
Open: Mon-Fri 9am to 2pm

Application is made through the National Police Documentation Office in Denia. Two visits are required to the police station in Denia. First of all, you need to arrange an appointment for your application to be considered and processed. This can be time-consuming; appointments are ONLY issued on a Friday morning for the following week only and you will need to queue to make the arrangement. The queues can be very long and it would be advantageous to get to the office as early as possible; don’t hope to arrive in Denia at 9pm (when the office opens) and expect prompt service for the queue may already be a couple of hundred strong, perhaps even longer. When we applied, we arrived shortly before 8am and there were already 50 or so people in front of us. Listen carefully for the policeman at the front of the queue because he may well call out “Extranjeros!” and call forward all foreigners to try and reduce the line of those who simply wish to make an appointment. Inside the office, a chap sitting behind a small desk will ask for your passport and may ask you what you would be applying for (N.I.E. or Residencia). He will then allocate you with a date and a time for the appointment and hand you a small piece of paper with those details. DO NOT LOSE IT!

Download and complete “Form EX-14: Solicitud de N.I.E. (Número de Identidad de Extranjeros)”. It is in PDF format with the ability to fill in your details on the screen; if the required fields are not highlighted, click on the button in the top right (‘Highlight Fields’ | ‘Resaltar Campos’). When completed, click on the [IMPRIMIR] button at the bottom of the form to print it.

On the day of the appointment, return to the police station in Denia; it will be a totally different to the chaos of Friday and you should be able to walk straight in. If there is a queue, show your appointment slip to the police officer and he should allow you to enter straight away. Check in with the front desk and then take a seat to wait for your turn, but don’t expect to be seen promptly according to your allocated time especially later in the day.

When called forward, hand over all the relevant documentation to the police clerk. He or she will ensure that all is in order and then hand back an official receipt which you will need to take straight away to the nearest bank to pay a small fee. (A branch of Banco Pastor is about five minutes walk; turn right when you leave the office and continue along Avenida Del Marquesado and across a small square; the bank is on the left on the far side of the square.)

Return to the police station – you should be allowed straight back in, especially if you wave the form around – and the police clerk should call you forward straight away, even if dealing with another person, to take the form and give back a copy of the receipt of payment and a blue-stamped copy of the application form, evidence that your application is being processed; keep these two pieces of paperwork together. The N.I.E. is not issued straight away and you will be informed when to return to the office to collect the official paperwork; times vary but, on average, it can take about 3 – 4 weeks.

DOWNLOAD FORM EX14 (PDF FORMAT)