Applying for a NIE from abroad: Canada and the UK

The legal route

The regulation gives two ways in. In Spain, you apply to the police directly or through a foreigners’ office or police station. If you are not in Spanish territory when you apply, article 205.4 says you “solicitará la asignación de NIE a la Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras, a través de las Oficinas Consulares de España en el exterior”. Your consulate takes the file and the police decide. For what the number is and why a buyer needs it, read the NIE number for property buyers.

The consulates read for this guide state the same points: the physical presence of the applicant or of the representative is mandatory, and an appointment is required.

Which consulate for which resident

Spain assigns each consulate a district, and you apply to the one covering your address.

• Canada. Three offices publish a NIE procedure. The Embassy in Ottawa covers only the capital region, which its page defines as Ottawa and Gatineau. Elsewhere in Canada, the page tells applicants to use the Consulate General in Toronto or Montréal, according to their districts. The Montréal page names Québec (except Gatineau) and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as its district. The Toronto page lists as proof of residence a study or work permit, permanent resident card or a Canadian passport, or a Canadian driving licence or identity document.
• United Kingdom. The Consulate General in London publishes the procedure. A document proving residence in the consular area is part of the file.
• United States. The pages of the US consulates were not read for this guide. Check the website of the Spanish consulate that covers your state on exteriores.gob.es.

Documents, as the consulates list them

The pages are close to each other. Always follow the version on the page of your own office, because they differ on details.

• EX-15 standard application form. London asks for it completed “but not signed”; Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa ask for an original and one copy, completed and signed. All say to complete it online preferably, then print it. The form must state the economic, professional or social reasons for the request.
• Passport: the original and a copy of the biographical page.
• Proof of the need for a NIE. Ottawa gives an example directly relevant to a buyer: written communications with a real estate agency for buying a property.
• Proof of residence in the district.
• Form 790, code 12, completed, with the fee.
• If you use a representative: his or her passport or ID (original and copy), and a power of attorney expressly authorising the NIE request. London adds that the power of attorney must be apostilled.

The steps

1. Choose the right office by your address.
2. Prepare the documents. Fill in the EX-15 online and print it.
3. Book the appointment by email, using the address on your consulate’s page. The Ottawa page requires an in-person appointment and says that online applications are not accepted; the Toronto page says an appointment must be requested by email first.
4. Attend, pay the fee and hand over the file.
5. Wait. The consulate cannot shorten the police processing time. London says “normally issued within three weeks”, Montréal and Toronto say two weeks on average. The NIE is sent by email, so give a valid address.

The five-day legal term of article 205.4 runs from the entry of the file in the competent body, and silence means refusal. The consulates’ times are longer because they describe delivery.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with a Spanish bar association (colegio de abogados) can file the request through a representative, within what your consulate accepts. A notary does not issue it. A property agent can supply the written communications that prove your reason, as the Ottawa page suggests.