The abbreviation N.I.E. means Número de Identificación de Extranjeros = identification number for foreigners.
If you live in Spain for up to 3 months, you should consider applying for a N.I.E. number. In addition to being legally required to do so, the number can be extremely important and even indispensable to you when applying for services or documents. This is e.g. when opening a bank account, concluding a water, electricity or telephone contract, when renting or buying a car or a property, when concluding employment contracts, paying taxes, etc. Foreign identity card or passport numbers are not sufficient in all these cases.
In addition, the N.I.E. number also allows you to register at the town hall at the registration office, the "Padrón". This application has nothing to do with the tax office, but it ensures that the city gets more money from Madrid for more people staying here, thus providing them with more and better services.
In addition, there are various benefits / discounts not only in city services, even partially in the tax payment. For example, depending on the city, there may be a discount on the annual property tax "IBI" on property if you are registered in the Padrón.
Another example is that there may also be a 95% discount on the Plusvalia of the Town Hall (capital increase tax on the value of the ground that belongs proportionally to your house or apartment) in the event of inheritance, should both the parent and the heir Child be registered at the same address / property. These, and more examples, can save a lot of money for you.
Our Legal Department will be pleased to inform you about the possibilities of such savings in the city you have chosen as residence and to help you to apply for the N.I.E. number.
