NIE

OR

NÚMERO DE IDENTIDAD DE EXTRANJEROS

If non Spanish people have an immovable property in Spain, or even just a bank account, they need an NIE or Foreigners Identification Number. On the relevant form it says Número de Identidad de Extranjeros. Elsewhere NIE stands for Número de Identificación de Extranjeros. An NIE doubles up as an NIF or Número de Identidad / Identificación Fiscal.

Anglo-Spanish Law does not get NIEs for people as a stand-alone service.

What tends to happen is that NIEs are needed as part of a larger transaction, for example, people inheriting a property in Spain will need an NIE, and Anglo-Spanish Law then gets the paperwork together in England that will allow people in Spain to get the NIE at the local police station that handles NIE applications, and instructions will be given to the people in Spain to get the NIEs. The people in Spain actually going to the police station are not employees or agents of Anglo-Spanish Law. In addition to the fees and disbursements of the people in Spain, Anglo-Spanish Law charges £75.00 in fees for our services in England for each NIE obtained. No VAT is added on top because Anglo-Spanish Law is currently not registered for VAT. The time-scale for getting NIEs is beyond the control of Anglo-Spanish Law in England. Each Spanish lawyer or other person getting the NIEs has their own turn-around times and each police station has its own turn-around times. It is, therefore, simply not possible to give a general time-scale for getting an NIE.

The rules for getting NIEs vary from place to place in Spain, and change over time. Currently, some places in Spain are asking for a certified copy of every page of a British citizen's passport, plus a legalisation / apostille. The total cost in fees and disbursements is £150. This sum is instead of the above sum of £75.00 which means that the cost of getting an NIE is charged at either £75.00 if no certified copy of every page of a passport is required or £150.00 if a certified copy of a person's passport is required.

Spanish powers of attorney signed in front of Mr Wagner acting in his capacity as a notary public is work that is regulated by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The rest of the work done here in getting an NIE is not regulated by either the Faculty Office or the Solicitors Regulation Authority / Law Society. If all attempts at mediation / dispute resolution fail it is open to clients to sue Anglo-Spanish Law in the County Court or the High Court of England & Wales.