Hello everyone, I have found some information on here but didn’t really have a clear answer. I am an American living in Barcelona with my French girlfriend. I noticed when she applied for her NIE at the local police station, all that was asked was her job offer, apartment contract, and passport. My question is, if i get empadronado (which proves i am living at my current address with my girlfriend, since my name is not on the contract) and bring a job offer with me along with the passport, will I receive my NIE?
Im hopping who ever is attending me will be tired of doing the same thing all day and wont pay to much attention to my passport which doesn’t have a visa for Spain.

The reason I would like an NIE is to hopefully work without the Visa. I have been asked for the NIE but it seems like no one cares about the visa.

Let me know what you guys think.

The process for Americans or non EU citizens is much different. Because your girlfriend in French, she can live in Spain without a visa.

Jobs wont normally ask you for your visa because to get the NIE you have to have a visa so they know that you have already proven that you can live and work in the country legally and the whole process can take 4+ months provided you can qualify for a visa. If you are on a tourist visa now, you would have to go back to the U.S. to get your visa. Which would be a work visa (which if you read past posts, are not easy to get).

After being through the whole process in Italy and Spain, it is not an easy task and that is considering that I am married to a European.

Hope this helps understanding. Sorry if I was blunt.

Actually you don’t need to have a visa to get an NIE. 😊 You just need to apply for one and they will give it to you. Otherwise Jesshabz is correct; you have to return ot the US to pick up your visa (which is a pain in the butt). If you try to work just on an NIE, the income will show up and you can risk getting arrested and deported, or risk your employer’s business license.

Then again, the bureaucracy being what it is, you might get away with it too. I’d probably not risk it myself though. The other benefit to an NIE is access to health care and in case of an amnesty (which has happened twice in the last 10 years).