Talk Quesada forum

We are planning to come over in February house hunting. I know that you need an NIE to open a bank account and for the purchase of a property. We live near Manchester and can easily get into the Consulate here. Is it worth while sorting out our NIE or waiting until we have found a property. My thoughts are to apply and have it in place ready as this removes another thing off the list that would need to be sorted. Also if we apply before hand there would be no need for a translator and chasing round the police stations and trying to sort out the copies of the documents required. Thanks in advance.

Def do it in the UK we went to Consulate in Edinburgh, (had to make two appointments, one for each person)
In and out of Consulate in 10 minutes. Also its much cheaper in the UK.

Good Luck

Reider wrote:Def do it in the UK we went to Consulate in Edinburgh, (had to make two appointments, one for each person)
In and out of Consulate in 10 minutes. Also its much cheaper in the UK.

Good Luck

Er. no. It's the same price in Spain as in UK. However, if you get someone to do it for you in Spain then that's where the costs add up.
We did ours ourselves at Orihuela Costa town hall. Yes, it took some time and we had to go back after a few weeks to get the certificate but it only cost around €10 (I think it's now €10.60.
However, if you are near the consulate in UK then get it done there. As you say, no hassle with interpreters.

I got mine in the Manchester consulate, took about 30 minutes.

I got mine in Edinburgh. They e mailed the forms which I filled in and after correcting a couple of errors I went to the consul and collected it in and out in 15 mins. That was over 2 years ago and the NIE says valid for 3 MONTHS but my Spanish lawyer said that is no longer the case and to ignore it?

Ron Hill wrote:I got mine in Edinburgh. They e mailed the forms which I filled in and after correcting a couple of errors I went to the consul and collected it in and out in 15 mins. That was over 2 years ago and the NIE says valid for 3 MONTHS but my Spanish lawyer said that is no longer the case and to ignore it?

No, do not ignore. You will need to re-apply and get one without the 3-month expiry on it. The one you currently have is invalid in their systems. Sorry to say but your lawyer is wrong.

Do they issue a new card with the same NIE number as this is the number on my SIP card, residencia bank account etc?

Emailed the Manchester Consulate to find out how to apply for an appointment and got an automated reply from the Consulate in Edinburgh saying the below text. So it looks like a trip to Edinburgh is on the cards.


INFORMATIVE NOTE OF THE HONORARY CONSULATE OF SPAIN IN MANCHESTER WE COMMUNICATE THAT, DUE TO THE TERMINATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE TIME CONSULATE, THE HONORARY CONSULATE OF SPAIN IN MANCHESTER, WILL REMAIN CLOSED SINCE JULY 31, 2017 UNTIL NEW APPOINTMENT OF A NEW HONORARY CONSUL (IF THE TIME IT WILL CONNECT IS NOT KNOWN). WHY FOR THE ISSUE OF FIRST PASSPORT OR RENEWAL OF THEMSELVES OF THEIR CHILDREN UNDER 12 YEARS OF AGE, THEY SHOULD CONTACT THE GENERAL CONSULATE OF SPAIN IN EDINBURGH.

Ron Hill wrote:Do they issue a new card with the same NIE number as this is the number on my SIP card, residencia bank account etc?

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You have a residency card therefore you no longer need an NIE certificate. The idea of the certificate only being valid for 3 months was to formalise your status in that time, either as a resident or a non-resident. As you have the residents card you have formalised your status. The NIE number stays with you for life and if you are required to show your NIE number for any reason then your residents card trumps the NIE certificate.

thanks marcliff that makes much more sense now