NIE (blanco)

It is worth clearing up a very common confusion: the NIE is not a card. It is only an identification number before the Administration. What you receive when it is assigned to you as a non-resident is a paper sheet —the “NIE assignment”— that the National Police or the consulate issue with your number, your details and the reason for the application. Because of the document’s colour, it is popularly known as the “NIE blanco”.

With that number you can carry out almost any operation with effects in Spain without needing to live here: buy or sell a home, accept and settle an inheritance, set up or take part in a company, open a bank account, sign up for utilities, buy a vehicle, sign before a notary or meet your tax obligations, such as the Non-Resident Income Tax.

What the NIE blanco does not do is prove that you live legally in Spain. It is neither a residence permit nor an identity document: if your goal is to settle here, the document you need is a different one —the NIE verde for EU citizens or the TIE for non-EU nationals—.

The procedure starts with an official form, the EX-15, in which the applicant is identified and the economic, professional or social reason for needing the number is justified. Without a justifying cause, the Administration does not assign the NIE.

Once the file is ready, the form 790-012 fee is paid (a small amount, around €9-10) and an appointment is booked. The assignment can be requested in two ways: in Spain, at an Immigration Office or an authorised National Police station; or from your country, at the Spanish Consulate or Embassy.

On the day of the appointment you submit the EX-15, your valid passport (with a copy), the fee receipt and the documents proving the reason —for example a deposit contract if you are buying, or the inheritance papers—. If you cannot travel, by granting a power of representation we handle it: you do not need to be present.

Timeframes vary depending on the office and the time of year, but the assignment is usually resolved quickly once the appointment is obtained. Getting that appointment is precisely the bottleneck we manage for you.

In Mallorca we offer a complete, in-person service. As a firm based in Palma, we prepare your file, get the appointment, go with you to the Immigration Office or the police station and, if you prefer and sign the representation, carry out the procedure for you from start to finish. We know the offices, the criteria and the timings in the Balearics, and that saves mistakes and trips.

In the rest of Spain we work online. We prepare the EX-15 form, generate the 790-012 fee, find and book the appointment in your province and guide you step by step through the submission, online or in person. The support is entirely remote: we do not travel to other provinces, but we leave the procedure solved and ready to sign.

In both cases we review your situation before starting, we tell you exactly which documents you need and we make sure the reason is well justified so your application is not rejected.