Talk Quesada forum

Can anybody answer these questions regarding NIE?
1. When applying for NIE do you have to be living in Spain. In other words, can we get our NIEs before we start looking for a house and before we attempt to live in Spain?
2. Is there a validity period for NIE. I've seen on some older posts that initial NIEs were valid for three months only. Is that still the case?
We're both still working but wish to retire to Spain one way or the other and I'm just trying to save time and get "ahead-of-the-game."
Thanks, BB.

Hi, when we arrived here we needed an NIE to open a bank account and purchase a house, not sure about getting one before your move to Spain. Your NIE is permanent. Hope this helps

1. No, you don't need to be living in Spain nor do you have to have a Spanish address. You can apply for one from UK (Spanish consulates in London and Edinburgh) and just need a reason, for example renting/buying property etc.

2. The NIE number is valid for life. It does not need renewing and the 3 months validity for the certificate has been scrapped. It was designed to get people to ratify their status as either residents (and get a resident card) or non-residents (and get a non-resident card). It wasn't very well advertised and was scrapped some time ago. It was only the certificate that expired, not the number.

Thanks guys, that clears that up. BB.