DaveIsNigh

Hello, I am looking into moving to spain shortly, but the primary problem I run into is that I work freelance online and have no set employer or work.

I need a phone line and internet installed before I am actually living in the property. But to do this via telefonica I need a spanish bank account.

To get a spanish bank account I need "proof of occupation or status" which includes "employment contract/payslip, letter from accountant/lawyer, pension or disability payment confirmation, student card".

I have none of these and even when living in spain I will not have any of these.

Does anyone know how a non resident would be able to apply for a bank account so that it was active before the person had emigrated?
Is there a way around this? If a phone line is already installed can I simply have it activated without the need for a spanish bank account?

Is there a guide to emigrating to make sure I have completed all the paper work that needs to be done before and after moving?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
Dave

Mitzyboy

Not sure where you heard that from
You can get a bank account in Spain easily with an address .... some banks need an NIE. SOL Bank is one that jumps to mind. We opened an account 2 years before we moved here and were not residents for some time after we got here.

jeanc

When we opened our accounts, for one we just had our passport and for the other one, we used for the purchase of our house ,we had an nie number, no-one has ever asked for a proof of income from either country.

jojojojojojojojojojojojo

I opened my accounts with just a passport, before I´d even moved here. No one asked me for proof of occupation cos I didnt have one in the UK at the time and I dont have one here!!!

Jo

bigglesworth

We tried to open accounts when we were out last week, and the bank and the gestoria said we had to have the NIE numbers first

Mitzyboy

Yes, for me too originally, but I have heard people on here say they opened them without an NIE, just with a passport

jo-ann

We opened ours with just the passports, when we started the purchase of our house, didn't get the NIE until 5 months later when we moved.

mikelincs

Bancaja will let you open an account with only passport, you can even have a UK address.

jdr

I opened a Bancopopular Spanish bank account from UK with a passport number before we moved here.

Casa Santo Estevo

I think your biggest worry is to get Telefonica to install a new phone line plus obtaining ADSL. But that does depend on where you are going to live and if the house already has a line.

DaveIsNigh

Hello, I found the information here: http://spain.angloinfo.com/countries/spain/banking.asp under the "Opening an Account" section where it says the following.
"proof of occupation or status (employment contract/payslip, letter from accountant/lawyer, pension or disability payment confirmation, student card). This is an extra requirement introduced in 2007 by the Bank of Spain as a measure to combat money-laundering".

I assumed the bank of spain rule was a set rule for all spanish banks.
Did everyone who applied without an NIE do so before 2007 or after?

I also need my NIE number to get my internet activated with telifonica, so providing I can apply for it and receive it quickly I should be fine. This is my main concern because if I can not get my internet activated before moving in I will be unable to start work until I have both NIE and net installed.
Almost every property I have seen has a phone line already installed, so I am assuming they can activate broadband without requiring access.

Thanks again
Dave

Mitzyboy

Well Dave just shows you should speak to the people who live here to see what actually happens!!

Dave, apply to the Spanish Embassy in the UK ..... you can get an NIE issued by them I believe.

jojojojojojojojojojojojo

I opened my bank account with Sol bank in Jan 2008 with my passport, I opened it with 1€, I also opened two savings accounts one sterling and one euros. They took a photocopy of my passport, my UK address (I didnt have a spanish one at the time), a copy of a utility bill from the UK house (?) and the name and ac number of my UK bank.

To get a phone line? well we used the landlords which was already laid on, but I believe once we had our NIE numbers, we took over the line, same number but our name not the landlords. Getting ADSL was a little more difficult, altho it was available at the house, there was some confusion and delay over passwords (if memory serves, the landlord had forgotten it?) ??? summat like that!! It took about two weeks and a bit of chasing before we were up and running, altho I´m fairly sure we had internet before we had NIE numbers.. I dont think we had those til the beginning of march cos we couldnt buy a car without em

Jo

rachelk

When I got my telefonica line in, I used my passport. I had my NIE but still didn't have the plastic card and wasn't carrying the sheet of paper with me.

telefonica still only have my passport number, not my NIE.

DaveIsNigh

When I tried to apply online, telifonica was asking for my NIE number, although it was not stated as being required. My prime problem was that it was stating a spanish bank account was required. I will be checking the banks everyone has mentioned to see if I can get an account before moving to spain.