NIE. Does it expire?
 

I got my NIE back in 2009 when I was living in Madrid. I was always under the impression that it did not expire. Have I got that wrong? When I log onto my Sabadell banking app, I get a warning to say I need to renew my NIE. Is that correct? The one I do have is green, A4 sized, with the address I was living in at the time. For information, I do not reside in Spain. I am a UK resident. Thanks for all your replies.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

Your NIE (tax number) doesn't expire until you do.
The requirement from Sabadell, or any non resident Spanish bank account, is to confirm that you're still a UK tax payer. They usually let the AEAT know this every couple of years and charge you for this.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

I think Sabadell may be asking you to scan your residency card/certificate as part of Know Your Customer.

Is it an account for residents or non-residents?

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

The green, A4 sized piece of paper is NOT your NIE. It is actually proof of being resident in Spain!

Something seems to be wrong here. Just your NIE comes on a white A4 sheet of paper. The green one (some call it a CUE) is for residents but shows your NIE as well.

Sabadell are asking for proof that you are still resident, they do this from time to time. In your case, your CUE has expired (I suspect) so you need to confirm with Sabadell that your account is a non-resident one.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

^^^ Thanks for the posts folks. Now I am really confused. I have not lived in Spain since 2009/2010 when I spent a year teaching English in Madrid. Anyhow, here is the top of the form. Bottom half has my name, name of my late (beloved parents :heart:) and the address I was living at when I got the document. Any how I have attached the top part here without any personal details. Any advice would be gratefully rec'd.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...585578014e.jpg
Top half of document. No indication of any date of expiry.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

That's your EU citizen registration certificate (residency certificate) . The very old ones were A4 size more recent ones credit card size and since 2020 for UK citizens generally TIE card.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

I'm going to assume your account is a resident's account as that's what you would have opened when resident in Spain.

You could try uploading a scan of the certificate and your passport, but they could insist on a TIE which could cause problems.

Or you could say you're not resident any more and switch to a non-resident's account if they allow it. Then they may ask you for a certificate of non-residency...

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

Your certificate shows issued as a permanent resident. I think I am correct in saying that would have allowed you to be out of Spain for up to 2 years after which time it would lapse. My understanding is that if you are leaving Spain permanent as you did you should really have re attended the police station and cancelled it? You need to speak with Sabadel as from that certificate and their request that you should obtain not a new NIE as that is forever but a TIE card means they assume you are resident and have a resident bank account rather than a non resident one which is what you should have. I don't know if there are any consequences in having a resident account when you are not resident but i would suggest better to speak with them and correct that and then seek some advice re the residency part as to whether you need to formally cancel it or if it's just now lapsed? Your NIE number will be unaffected either way.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

The issue is not what you think. The message you received is a machine translation from Spanish. If you check your notifications or messages from the bank you will find that it is a request from the bank that you ratify your details - in this case your NIE- which the bank then sends to the Spanish authorities. It is part of their control on money laundering.This happens every now and then. It will tell you you need to contact the bank ( usually in person) by a specific date or the account will be blocked. The word expiry is wrongly used because the system is unable to succinctly generate the appropriate one word message in English

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

In addition to this though the OP needs to resolve the issue that they have re type of bank account and that they registered as a resident in Spain . Is that cancelled or do they need to cancel it and get correct type of bank account?

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

As I said this very much sounds like a routine check by the bank for FATCA which is sent to AEAT. The OP should have correspondence on their banking App alerting them to this and it is showing up as a translation issue as expired NIE. The basis of the thing is to confirm if the OP is still a resident. Clearly they haven't changed their account to non resident and a period of time has passed and the check has been requested. It is highly unlikely that any of this can be done over the phone as it probably requires you to go to your branch and present passport etc ( although a phone call is the first port of call). If the OP doesn't do it the account will be blocked.

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Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

Yes agree it needs sorting

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

Yes .... Speaking from family experience Sabadell are very rigid on the blocking if you dont update your details as requested (understandably) . I tend to update mine proactively once a year or so when I go into the branch.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

If you are UK resident then do you actually need a Spanish bank A/C?

Even if you own property you don't necessarily need a Spanish bank A/C to pay your bills with, some of the online banks (N26, Revolut) offer Spanish IBAN's and you'll get none of the nonsense you're getting from Sabadell with them!

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

Revolut dont offer a Spanish IBAN to UK residents and you cant open an N26 account as a UK resident (unless anything has changed). Wise gives you an EU IBAN but some entities wont accept it in Spain although many will.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

In that case how do Revolut hold your euro account to do exchanges from £.? I have Revolut and find it great I have sterling and euro account but am resident . Sterling account has Sort code etc Euro account has Spanish IBAN. My son in law who is UK based and resident has just opened a Revolut account for travelling he has a sterling and euro account ?

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

I have just checked the Revolut site and it confirms exactly as you say. They do have a Spanish branch in Madrid and if Spanish resident ones euro account is under that branch with Spanish IBAN. If UK resident you can't be assigned that branch or get a Spanish IBAN . You can have a euro account but not the Spanish branch or IBAN. So UK residents with euro account must operate differently and be attached to the UK account. Being Spanish resident it just automatically got set up for me when I opened the account. I find Revolut excellent I just have the standard free accounts , I don't have a physical card I just use it via my phone and Google pay to make payments. So far good rates and instantaneous transfer between my UK account to Spanish and vice versa. Before this I had used Currency Fair for years but Revolut exchange rates are better and the app is very easy to use

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

Well Revolut and others can hold many currencies for you but you dont get an IBAN or account details for all of them.

Apologies I should have expanded on my earlier post. With Revolut (for a UK resident) associated with your EU pot you get a Lithuanian IBAN but this is for domestic (EU) transfers only and you get a GB IBAN for cross border transfers.

For your son in law none of that really matters if he is using it just for travel. I presume he will top it up in £ from a UK bank and he can then either exchange the funds within the app to Euro to spend or what many people do is just leave funds in the £ pot and let Revolut exchange on the fly as you spend Euros.

I was referencing IBAN earlier in relation to paying Spanish bills.

(just seen our posts crossed)

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

Yes sorry that was my fault I should have researched before making my first comment.

Re: NIE. Does it expire?
 

I know we have strayed OT, but I echo your experience with Revolut (and also with Wise). Super exchange rates and very easy to use for anyone who has more than one currency in their life.