NIE no longer valid for work! You know need Residencia!

To all of you thinking of moving to Spain or who want to apply for Residencia, i have just found out some new information.

Back in the old days to get a job and have a contract it was sufficient with having an NIE number, i have now been advised by my local Asesoria when trying to help someone get this organised that if you apply for an NIE and then get a job you will be requested to get your Residencia.

Therefore no point of applying for an NIE, might aswell apply for Residencia straight away.

The reason that before it was not like this is that NIE took a lot less time to come through and residencias took about 4 months, nowadays they both take the same amount of time.

The asesoria I use only charge €100 per person if you are in Spain which seems much cheaper than many others i have found online or called.

If anyone needs an NIE or Residencia and would like the details of the Asesoria send me a pm.

Joan

Hi Joan

As far as I know NIE and Residencia are now one of the same, if you already have a NIE you will be asked to upgrade to the new residencia certificate when you want anything official doing, the couple in front of me in the queue were frantic, their bank account had been frozen until they produced the new certificate, they have lived in Spain for 20+ years.

If you are applying for your first ever NIE I feel sure you now get the full residencia certificate from the start.

As we found out NIE certificates expire, the number doesn’t that stays with you for life.

You need to fill up an EX14 form take this along with your passport and old NIE certificate to a local main police station and you should be able to queue and get the new green certificate the same day (areas differ)

The first clerk will check your papers and then give you a D90 or D95 form, take this to the local bank and pay the 10 Euros, get the receipt and then return to the police station, you may be able to get the new certificate same day or you may be asked to come back another day and collect it.

Remember to take copies with you of all the documents.

You will then be the proud owner of the new green resident of Europe (Spanish Branch) certificate that will have the same number as your original NIE

NIE and residency (by whatever name and in whatever format) are not the same thing. A non-resident property owner, for example, still needs an NIE for fiscal purposes (form ex-14), but should not be on the Central Register of Foreigners. If you are looking for work, assuming that you plan on being in Spain for more than 3 months, then you should register as a resident (of Spain, as an EU citizen - not as a resident of the EU - Spanish branch??) - if you don't already have an NIE, you can do the both at the same time. If you have a residency card, when it expires, you need to go get the new useless bit of green paper. (form ex-16) Full details: http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/pdf1/regulations-eu-citizens

If you are resident in Spain, you should also sign on you local "padrón" : http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-spain/padron 

For all sorts of things, not just employment, you may be asked to produce your residency certificate and / or padrón certificate, so best to just get both organised asap - and then get multiple photocopies ready for whatever contigency! You are also likely to need your passport (and multiple copies of course) since this is now the only officially recognised form of ID for UK citizens.

Sorry Roberto

I have to disagree, if you are  a newcomer or renewing an existing NIE and apply for  the NIE via the EX14 form you will get a new European Residencia Certtificate (Spanish Version) weather you like it or not.

It has nothing to do with whether you are on the local padron or your fiscal status, things have moved on

s

Always happy to be corrected, but how about a link to your sources?

Why would you have to "renew" your NIE? Your número de indentidad de extranjero (foreigner ID number) never changes or "expires".

Is my Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión, the infamous green certificate, now redundant, then? This is definitely the first I've heard about a "European Residence Certificate". Please post a link to some official info on this.

Should not the form be a EX16

Depends what you want - see my previous post.

NIE: National Identification number for foreigners

Residencia: Certificate that confirms you are a Spanish Resident

Yes, they are both the same numbers but and never expire,

Residencia: Once you become a resident unless youc cancel it you will stay a resident

Property owners that dont live in Spain only need and NIE

Anyone wanting to live in Spain permanently and wants work now needs a Residencia now

Joan

Just to give an exact example of my situation.

I am an EU citizen and when applying for my NIE I asked if there is anything else I need, like the residencia. The lady at the Estepona Police said NO, EU citizens don´t need anything else, just NIE and if you will be resident here you should register under the padrón and pay your taxes here, which I did. She said that other clauses apply for non EU citizens. I am registered autónomo (self-employed) and nobody asked me for anything else. I pay my social security and taxes and all is fine. For official identification I have my passport, I am registered with an NIE, for tax, etc. and I don´t have any problems in getting a job or invoicing, or anything.

To be honest I stopped trusting "asesorias", "gestorias" some time ago when almoust everything they said was not correct, or not researched correctly. I am not saying that all are like this, but the majority I have met were. Now, I double check everything and I have an accountant that I know does a good job and that is it.

Also another thing I have noticed when getting your NIE: the staff there speaks English, so I never understood why pay someone to get your NIE for you, especially when being in Spain. 

Hope this helps and in my opinion if you want to be sure, just call in directly to the police department in your area.

Regards

Valentina

Joan  said: "NIE: National Identification number for foreigners

Residencia: Certificate that confirms you are a Spanish Resident

Yes, they are both the same numbers but and never expire,

Residencia: Once you become a resident unless youc cancel it you will stay a resident

Property owners that dont live in Spain only need and NIE

Anyone wanting to live in Spain permanently and wants work now needs a Residencia now"

Just a couple of points. Your residencia (or the certificate of residence) will have your NIE number on it, but you do not have a "residence number" as such, so to say they are "both the same number" is a bit confusing. And  anyone wanting to live in Spain permanently was always supposed to register as a resident - that's not new. Whether or not it's always been checked or not is another matter entirely.

Valentina, when you applied for your NIE, which form did you use? If you used ex-16 you would have had to specify your address in Spain, which implies residence. If so, were you not issued with a registration certificate with your NIE, confirming your registration as a resident? Do you have a green certificate titled Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión? If so, you are registered as a resident whether you realise it or not. This is what we are referring to when we say residencia.

Another minor point; just because they speak English in the Estepona police station, doesn't mean they do in every one, and even if they can, doesn't mean they will! I agree with what you say about gestors in general, and paying "professionals" to do tasks which you can accomplish yourself, but sometimes it is worth it, even if just to avoid the stress and hassle, or to avoid queuing in the cold at 6am.

 Hi Roberto

I haven't had time to look for links today yet., Im going to look at the uk - spain embassy site when I get a mo

You said

Do you have a green certificate titled Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión? If so, you are registered as a resident whether you realise it or not. This is what we are referring to when we say residencia.

The point I was making is that I'm pretty sure(not 100%) that  now this is all they issue if you are applying for a NIE in Spain for whatever reason.

S

I thought I already posted the relevant link for the UK embassy in Spain? Here's the Spanish embassy in the UK if that helps.

I honestly don't know what you get if you apply for NIE as a non-resident (using ex-14), but I'm pretty sure (not 100% !!) that it's not the same green certificate, which specifically states that you are registered as being resident in Spain.

  Totally confused now ....doesn't take much  i have to admit.

But this is important to us and the more you read the more confusing it seems to get.

Jeanie 

Yes have to agree Jeanie I am trying to get me head around it . I do not think it effect's us but know a lot of people that it will effect.

Pat

Talk about making hard work!! To quote the meerkat - "Simples".

If you plan to be in Spain for more than three months you are required to apply for residency - as Roberto has pointed out, this means to be included in the register of EU citizens resident in spain - Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión.  For that you need, among other things, a tax identification number - your NIE.  So to make life easier, you apply for both at the same time on form EX-16.  If you are not going to be in Spain for three months, you are not allowed to go on the Register but if, for example, you are buying a property, you still need a tax number.  So they have form EX-14 for applying for the NIE only.

Just to complicate things though, being on the Register under the new arrangements does not make you tax-resident in Spain.  For that you still have to have your feet on Spanish soil for 183 days in the calendar year. 

Jeanie, don't read any more then! I tried to make my posts as clear as poss., but Jek has summed it up nicely. There's nothing "new" here really, and it is in fact quite "simples".