Hello,
I’m hoping to move to Barcelona in Summer 2010 depending on getting a job that I’ve applied for. I’ve looked at the various checklists on this website and I’m still not sure of the things I need to do legally and the order in which to do them. Most of the checklists on moving seem to be a bit contradictionary to me, with lots of circular references.
About me, I’m a UK citizen who is hoping to work for a company based in Barcelona. I currently rent a furnished flat in the UK and I would plan to rent a furnished flat in Spain, so I do not plan on moving furniture. The company I would work for arranges private medical insurance. I’m not planning on driving in Spain at least in the short term.
So far my plan is if/when I get the job offer to go over to Barcelona and stay in a hotel/hostel for a week or two in order to get everything arranged before I move for good a month or two later; here’s the list of things I think I need to do and the order in which I need to do them:

1. Get an NIE card - in person at a Police station
2. Arrange to rent a flat - with NIE number
3. Open a bank account - Using NIE number and new address
4. Apply for a Residencia card - Using new address

Have a I missed anything obvious out? Have I listed things in the correct order? Also is it possible to do all of the above within 1-2 weeks? Do I have to wait for things like the NIE number to come through or do I get it on the day?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Even if I don’t get this job I want to move to Barcelona so I hope to find another job and move there withing the next 2 years.
Thanks
Gary

Hi Gary,

I am making the big move at the end of this year. I still don’t know everything I need but I have friends in Spain and I have asked them about the NIE card.
My friend told me that you must go to a police station with identification etc to apply. They require that you are able to speak Spanish to them or you must be accompanied by a fluent SPanish speaker to translate for you. Apparently a lot of the police CAN speak english but don’t!
They will ask you to return a week or two later to collect the card.

Good luck

Jen

Hello,
I found this link:
http://www.roughguidetospain.com/nie-numero-de-identificacion-de-extranjeros/#more-59

A NIE number is essentially a tax number for foreigners in Spain.

  * You need one if you are going to buy a house or a car.
  * You need one if you are going to work for a Spanish company.
  * You need one if you are going to work self-employed.
  * You need one if you want to apply for the ?residencia? (residency card).

If you are an EU-citizen, you no longer have to apply for your NIE number separately. You will be given one when you register as a foreign resident.

Can anyone confirm if this is correct? EU citizens don’t need to apply for an NIE number first, you get it when you register for your residents card.

Also is it possible to rent a flat without an NIE card? And finally can I open a Spanish bank account without an NIE number? If I can’t how do I pay for my residents card?

Any advice appreciated

Gary

Hi Gary

As far as I’m aware the info that you pulled off the internet is true - you now get an nie number when you apply for a residents card (which is now just a sheet of paper actually!)

You do need an nie / residents document to open a bank account in Spain. There’s no reason why you can’t pay for the residents document / nie number with a foreign bank account though.

Good luck with the move here 😊

Keidi

Thanks for the replies Keidi and Jen.

I found a page on this website that I hadn’t seen before:
http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/information/eu_residency_in_spain_for_eu_citizens_and_their_family_members/

Note that getting your NIE is automatically incorporated into the registration process now and that since April 2007 the registration certificate replaces the old requirement for a residence card among EU citizens.

You?ll then have to go to a bank to pay the 6.70 euros and have the form stamped for confirmation.

I thought that meant I had to go to a branch of a bank where I had an account and pay it there. But on re-reading it I think it means I can go to any bank and pay in cash and get them to stamp the form for me and then go back.

Cheers
Gary

Yeah - we dashed around getting our NIE’s as soon as we arrived at the end of 2008, as everyone convinced us our lives depended on it and we wouldnt be able to do anything without it etc.  A few months later when we filed up to get our Residencias, our daughters were just given their NIEs in passing, as it were, not even a separate form to fill in!

Welcome to the joys of Spanish bureacracy, you just learn to go with the flow in the end,

Mx

I transferred from UK to Spain, same company.

I was given a Hostel (Small Hotel) to live in by the company, on my first day I registered with Seguridad Social then looked for a rental apt in the 1st week.

I then arrived at my new place of work and that first day was spent going to the National police for NIE, then to BBVA bank for an account.

I should have done NIE first, then social, then bank account.

My one regret was not arriving before the job was offered and finding out cost of living etc in real life, the net is full of misinfo.

It may be wise to visit Barcelona first, actual property prices can differ to internet prices and Barcelona is an expensive place to live.

I would also ask why are they offering you a job and not a local, I found out the hard way that my job had been on offer and several people had been successful, only the job was so bad that they all left, the main reason was the boss was an idiot and a bully, it didn’t get better when a guiri arrived.

Labour laws are very different to the UK, I’ve only been sweared at in Spain, one day the boss even ripped out the telephone and threw it at a guy.

I wished it was possible to work there for a week or so before leaving the UK job, I only stayed because I had no choice, I would have returned to UK unemployed.

“As a footnote there are lots of people out there without the certification or an NIE, they use their passport to do legal stuff - but its not the right way.”

Yes and No - if you are acquiring property, cars etc (ie items you have to pay tax on) or earning a salary you must have an NIE for tax purposes you cannot do it with a passport.

The cost of getting NIE and residencia has gone up from 6.70? to around 12?

And you don’t have to pay a “foreigner fee” if you open a bank account with your NIE.

Not another new bank scam….......

How much are people paying for their debit cards - Caja Murcia charged me 40? this week which I think it outrageous, given their is no real alternative but to have a card. (But maybe with another bank)

Scam? The foreigner fee? It only happens if you open your account with a passport instead of a Spanish identity document. This was with La Caixa, who’ve been really good to me.

My debit card is 20/yr. My boyfriend has to pay 20/debit and 15/credit per year. Both with La Caixa.

Santander was a ridiculous situation, both of us cancelled our accounts. I wouldn’t recommend them at all.