Getting your NIE before you move to Madrid

This route suits people who need the number for one precise reason while they still live elsewhere: a hiring company drafting the contract, co-founders incorporating in Spain, a buyer reserving a property, a student whose landlord wants a NIE on the lease.

It gives you the number, not residence. EU citizens who then settle in Madrid continue down the line to the EU registration certificate, which carries the same number. Non-EU citizens switch to Line N for the visa and the card.

• Form EX-15, completed and signed
• Passport: the original and one copy
• Evidence of the reason the number is needed: offer letter, draft deed, reservation
• Payment of the Modelo 790, código 012, in the way that consulate indicates
• An appointment with the consulate itself: each one keeps its own calendar

If you are already in Madrid, or will be soon, a police appointment in the city is usually the more direct line. If the date that matters falls before your move, the consulate removes the dependency. Consulates get busy too, so look at their calendar the week you decide.

When neither suits your dates, you can begin the NIE remotely through Gestoraz, a partner service built for people who want to start before they travel.