Applying for N.I.E. from the U.K. - this is good to know:

I've found several people that have commented on blogs and in forum posts that they have been able to give their U.K. address for the DOMICILIO A EFECTOS DE NOTIFICACIONES (Notification Address) on EX-14, which means the N.I.E. will be sent to you here.
Bear in mind that there are delays in sending the N.I.E. so if it is close to your final departure better to apply in person in Spain.

I'm working on a full English translation of EX-14 as a web page which I'll post later (jdr: have you got somewhere on this site to host it so I don't need to maintain it on one of my servers?)

Mercedes - that's great information, thanks! Its another of those things I mentioned previously; the things we just expect in the U.K. which seem like they would be universal standards but aren't.

Your suggestion as to location (slightly inland) is very much what I'm thinking.

I figure to get a short-term rental (say 3 months) whilst I figure things out and have a chance to explore and find somewhere more suitable, check out this vital Internet connectivity, and so forth.

Is a car essential as it is in the U.S.A. ? I've always had to have one here (living in the sticks on a farm) but I'm thinking it'd be nice to ditch the reliance.

We live inland not near the Costas and we had no bother getting a land line we have adsl and wifi conections. We live in a rural area really.

gallerie9 - From these recent comments I get the feeling that some new build estates maybe have less facilities than more established locations? Is this typical, common, or the odd one that needs watching out for?

What speed of ADSL do you get? In the U.K. its generally 8Mbps if the line will support it, although effective speed is often 2Mbps due to length of the copper wires (attentuation, SNR, etc.)

We live in a older type of place we have I think it is 5 I am not sure, i have no problems with images films any thing that is sent is quick ???? I am not a tech can use one but well Dont know all the connection stuff.
There is also a good bus service and where we live I dont need to use a car for every day living as everthing is on the door step.

This is an initial draft of an English translation of the March 2007 version of form EX-14, Application for N.I.E.

I think I've managed the basic translation reasonably well, but could those of you who understand the short-coded answers such as Civil State S C V D Sp let us know what those are short for?

I'm guessing something like Single, Married, Divorced, Widow(er), Civil Partnership?

Also, in the notes at the end some literal translations work, but the resulting English phrase doesn't make sense.

Finally, does Name of the father: Name of the mother: ask for 'maiden' names? I remember reading recently in some U.S.A. Dept of State briefings about different name-forms and I think this is an example of that.

I've marked all the bits that need further translation in colour.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE STATE

FOREIGNERS

Request for N.I.E. (Number of of registry Identity of Foreigner) (L.O. 4/2000 and Regulation approved by R.D. 2393/2004)


- Spaces for seals of registry -

PASSPORT Nº

1) PERSONAL DATA OF THE FOREIGNER

1st Name: Middle name:
Family Name: Date of Birth1:
Birthplace: Sex2: Man Woman Civil State2: S C V D Sp
Country of birth: Country of nationality:
Name of the father: Name of the mother:
Address in Spain, the country of origin or legal residence: Nº: Piso:
Tel: Town: Postcode: County:

2) PLACE WHERE THE N.I.E IS ASKED FOR2
Spain: Outside Spain: Embassy/Consulate_________________________________________ __________

3) DATA RELATIVE TO THE REQUEST
2.1 REASON YOU REQUIRE N.I.E.2
Economic: Social: Professional:

Detail of the reason3:

4) DATA OF THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE APPLICANT, IN THE CASES OF EXCEPTUACIÓN OF THE OBLIGATION OF PERSONAL PRESENTATION OF THE REQUEST

D. /D.ª: DNI/NIE:
Title on the basis of which the representation is shown:
Company/signature:

5) ADDRESS FOR NOTIFICATIONS


1 using 2 digits for the day, 2 for month and 4 for the year and in this same order.
2 mark with an X
3 Detail the reason for which you need allocating a N.I.E specifying, in each case, the organization, institution or individual that needs it (Public Administrations, financial organisations, etc.), and contributing documentation that credits it.

According to art. 5,1 Ls. Or. 15/1999, inquire that the data that provide the interested ones necessary to solve their request will incorporate to a file whose adressees will be organs of the Admón Gral of the State with competitions in extranjería, being responsible for he himself the D. Gral. of the Police and the Civil Guard and the Delegations or Subdelegations of the Government. The interested one will be able to exercise its right of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition before the mentioned organisms.

COMPLETE FORM BY PRINTING OR WITH BLACK BALL-POINT PEN AND CAPITAL LETTERS. DO NOT WRITE IN THE SHADED SPACES.
PRESENT ORIGINAL AND COPIES OF THIS FORM.

----

APPLICATION FORM EX 14

PRESENTATION PLACES:
- Request of N.I.E from Spain: one will appear personally before the Office of Foreigners or in their absense in the Police station of Police of the place in which you have a fixed address. This on the basis of article 11 of Statutory law 1/1992, of 21 of February, on protection of citizen security.

- Request of N.I.E from outside Spain: one will appear personally at the diplomatic mission or the Spanish consular office corresponding to your place of residence.

DOCUMENTATION (the original documents will have to be presented, and will be given back once copies have been made):

In all cases request of N.I.E are on official form (EX- 14), original and copies

• Common documentation to present in all the cases:

1. Complete passport or title of trip or, in its case, certificate of inscription in vigor.
2. In case of applying for the N.I.E. in Spain, documentation proving you are not in Spain illegally.
3. Documentation that justifies the reasons for the request.

Why do you need the NIE before you get here ?
We got ours as soon as we rented a house to live in we only needed it to buy the house.
We went to the local place and we got it in the week. Easy

gallerie9 - thanks for that information, its very useful for me. I'm starting to get a feel for how things work thanks to everyone here

I had a few other questions occur to me overnight based on what I've read in various places - can anyone answer them?

1. Are public swimming pools common, and are they available at all times, or are they restricted by time or season?
2. Is swimming in the sea common, safe, the usual place to swim?
3. Are public sports centres common for things such as squash, badminton, tennis, football, etc. ?
4. Is running/jogging the 'done thing' or are you liable to be pulled over by the cops as in some places in the U.S.A. ?
5. What kind of unexpected bye-laws are there (the case of the British professor in Atlanta, Georgia who was locked up for 'jay-walking' (not crossing the road at a designated crossing point) springs to mind!) ?
   

1. I'm thinking of opening a bank account before I move
2. I might be living out of hotels for a while as I move around exploring the area before I look for a house
3. I like to be prepared

OK
You can open a spanish bank account in the Uk with the Sol bank in Pall Mall no NIE needed We did
We lived in a Hotel for 2 weeks
we have a public pool open through out the summer
Yes football and other sports we have in our town a new sports facility being built
Most places have a Gym, we do ( our town is 8000 people)
In the major city Jerez, we have all the above, they have gyms like "Cannon" or David Lloyd in the UK.

Thanks, can`t see a lot of changes apart from the date, oh and changed part 4 ;-)
I will put your link in the free beer thread. ;-)

I can put it in the free beer sticky thread. ;-)

gallerie9 - thanks for all that info, very useful

I guess another couple of reasons I (or anyone) *might* apply for the N.I.E. from the U.K. are to avoid the queues and language issues I've read several novice immigrants mention when going to police stations, and also I'll need it to work (which I might be doing whilst still using hotels).

I'm not fixed on this approach but once I learned its possible I wanted to ensure I knew precisely how it is done.

My situation is very fluid - I have no fixed intentions except to make the move - so being prepared before I arrive appeals to me as it means I can act impulsively without having to chase forms and local bureaucracy

Getting a NIE is a royal hassle, I think they want to punish you for moving to Spain. You can surive quite fine without the NIE, I've been here almost a year and still haven't got mine (wife has here's thought) Main reason for getting your NIE is you can then open a resident bank account and apply for credit and for self employment.

for regular employment you need a Social Security number which takes all of 5 mins to get.

Plus with the influx of eastern europeans has made getting your NIE far more time consuming that it was. The stupid thing is as I said they've all come here for work and you don't require the NIE for work but your social security number.:curse: they've made getting your NIE a real nightmare (at least in madrid anyways)

Thanks for that - the self-employment is a particular issue for me because I have royalty income and as a resident will be taxed in Spain not the U.K.

Its amazing how many fragments of conflicting advice are floating around. I'm gathering them together and then going to make a written enquiry with the Spanish Consulate to get the 'official' version