Yes, remember that you only have to give a valid spanish address for the area you are applying in when doing it in Spain, but it must be for the area you are applying in, else you will be sent away. Also remember that in Sapin they usually ahve a quota each day for NIE numbers etc, and you need to be early in the queue. We had to turn up at 6 am to ensure we got one of the dockets that meant we would be dealt with, and they were given out at 9am when the queue was about 1 km long, but those queueing were doing so for many reasons, not just NIE numbers. At that time Alicante was only issuing about 100 NIE numbers a day, even though it only took a couple of minutes to process each application. It was a bit unnerving when armed police arrived to control the queue, but necessary as there were a number of people trying to queue jump. A policeman with his hand on the butt of his gun did a lot to ensure that they finished up at the back

It was similar for us - turned up to the office in Jerez mid morning. Only one person in the queue in front of us. Friendly staff (but non english speaking). I had to provide proof of address (but that was for Tarjeta de residencia). We didn't have to go back to get our number because I called a couple of days later and they gave it to me over the phone. All very easy really!

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the forum and this topic caught my eye.

Most of what has been said is correct, although the official form makes no mention of photos you will need to take 2 with you.

Getting the NIE number should only take a week at most, in my experience anyway. The fastest way to get it is probably from Hacienda (IRS), you can apply with them even if you don't have your house yet, as long as you can take them a deposit contract or something for the future purchase detailing the correct address. Here in Valencia it takes them 3 days with little or no cueing. The down side to the NIE issued by Hacienda is you can only use it for house purchasing, if you want it to buy a car you need to get it from the Policia Nacional.

I dont know anyone in Spain who has needed photo`s yet, the squares on the form are for official stamps not photo`s, the person at the desk holds your passport and stares over the top to check the likeness the time is more like a month than a week, and you only get one NIE number no matter where or who gets it for you.

Trust me on this, at least in the Valencia area, the Police will want 2 photos, and I know what the form says

As for how long it takes I guess it depends on where you go and who you know And yes, you're right you do only get 1 NIE number, but you can have it certified by 3 different Government bodies.

In general *nod*.

Take the photo's just in case, but they really don't need them. The NIE number is the NIE number, wherever you get it from and serves for all purposes once you have it.

If you get it from somewhere out in the sticks, you'll probably get it there and then, otherwise you may have to return for the reasons I stated previously (administrative/personnel).

Finally, in my opinion, Hacienda love to make people jump through hoops (they are worse than that Simpson's episode ) just to justify their jobs-worth. They would probably ask you for a DNA sample if they thought they could get away with it.

Certified, no. Entered into their disparate computer systems yes. The extra procedures that they will put you through they will attempt to justify with bleats of "a high level of forged documents", etc.

If you always have your passport and original documents (never let go of these) with you and some level of Spanish and are proficent in the "Hispanic art of arguing" (maybe I should write a book ), you can convince these bureaucrats to just get on with it.

If only it was possible to just stay away from Hacienda!

I agree with you that they don't need the photos for anything (as far as I can tell) but since January 2006 all the presentations for NIE's I've done have had to attach the 2 photos. Although you are correct in saying that the NIE will always be the same whoever it is certified by, in some cases (i.e. buying a car) Spanish bureaucracy demands it be certified by the Policia Nacional

I don't hold any love for Hacienda either believe me but they are the quickest way to get your NIE number here in Valencia.