Moving to Spain: what to do first
The administrative side of moving here is not difficult so much as order-dependent. Do the steps in the wrong sequence and you will find yourself queueing twice. This is the order that actually works, and the traps at each stage.
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Not legal advice. This page explains the usual sequence of registration steps for someone moving to Spain in general terms so you know what to expect. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice, and it cannot account for your situation. Immigration procedure varies by nationality, by province and sometimes by individual police station, and it changes without much notice. Confirm anything that matters with the official body or a qualified gestor or abogado before you act on it.
Before you start
Two things determine almost everything about your route through this process.
Your nationality. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens have freedom of movement and a comparatively light process: a NIE and a registration certificate. Everyone else — including, since Brexit, British citizens — needs a visa or residence authorisation appropriate to why they are here, obtained before or alongside the steps below, and receives a physical TIE card. The steps on this page are the common administrative core; they do not replace the visa route that applies to you.
Where in Spain you are going. Appointment availability, document requirements at the town hall, and processing times are genuinely different in Madrid, Alicante and rural Galicia. Anyone who tells you the Spanish system works identically everywhere has not moved twice.
The order to do things in
Assuming you have your visa position sorted and somewhere to live, this is the sequence:
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Start weeks ahead
Book a NIE appointment (cita previa)
This is listed first not because it happens first but because it is the bottleneck. Appointments in busy provinces are released in batches and disappear within minutes, and there is no queue to hold your place. Start checking well before you need the appointment, check at different times of day, and consider a nearby province if you can travel. Third parties sell appointment-finding services; the appointments themselves are free.
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At the appointment
Get your NIE — and, if non-EU, your TIE card
You attend in person with your passport, the completed application form, proof of why you need the number, and the paid fee form. The NIE is the number itself and is issued once. Non-EU residents are additionally issued a TIE card, which involves fingerprints and a second collection visit. EU citizens receive a green certificate instead — small, papery, easily lost, and genuinely important.
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Once you have an address
Register at the town hall (empadronamiento)
Go to your local Ayuntamiento with your passport, your NIE, and proof of where you live — usually a rental contract or a recent utility bill. The certificado de empadronamiento you receive is required for a surprising number of later steps: healthcare, schools, exchanging a driving licence, some residency renewals. Requirements for proof of address vary noticeably between municipalities.
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After the NIE
Open a Spanish bank account
Straightforward once you have a NIE, and awkward before it. Bring your NIE, passport, padrón certificate and something showing your income situation. Note the distinction between resident and non-resident accounts: non-resident accounts usually carry higher fees and require a periodic certificate proving your status, so tell the bank when your situation changes.
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Only if you will work
Register with Seguridad Social
You need a Social Security number to be employed or to register as self-employed. If you are taking a job, your employer normally handles the affiliation. If you are going self-employed you register as autónomo yourself, which also brings you into the monthly contribution system — see the calculators section for what that costs. Registration is also what gets you into the public healthcare system.
NIE and TIE: getting the terms right
Worth its own heading because the confusion causes real problems, including people turning up at appointments for the wrong procedure.
| NIE | TIE | EU certificate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A number | A physical ID card | A green paper certificate |
| Who gets it | Any foreigner with Spanish administrative dealings | Non-EU residents | EU/EEA/Swiss residents |
| Proves residency? | No — it is only an identifier | Yes | Yes |
| Expires? | No | Yes — renewable | No, but must be exchanged after five years |
The short version: a NIE identifies you, a TIE or a certificate authorises you to be here. Having a NIE does not make you a resident, which is why property owners who live abroad can hold one without any residency status at all.
Where people lose time
- Leaving the appointment until the last moment. Every other delay in this process compounds from this one.
- Arriving with photocopies instead of originals, or without the fee already paid on the correct form. Officials are generally not able to make exceptions, and you will be sent away.
- Assuming online information applies to your province. Much of the English-language advice online describes one city's process as though it were national.
- Not registering the padrón after moving house. It follows your address, not you, and an out-of-date padrón quietly breaks later procedures.
- Treating a gestor as an unnecessary expense. For a straightforward EU case, probably. For a complex visa route, a good gestor costs less than the time and the repeat trips.
Frequently asked questions
What is a NIE number and do I need one?
The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is your foreigner identification number in Spain. It is the reference that ties together everything you do administratively: signing a rental contract, opening a bank account, paying tax, buying a car, getting a phone contract. If you are going to live here, or in many cases even own property here without living here, you need one. It is issued once and does not expire.
What's the difference between a NIE and a TIE?
This is the single most common confusion. The NIE is a number. The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) is a physical card that non-EU residents are issued, and your NIE number is printed on it. EU citizens generally get a NIE and a green residency certificate rather than a TIE. So: everyone who deals with Spanish administration needs a NIE; only non-EU residents get a TIE card. Being told "you need your TIE" when you are an EU citizen usually means someone wants to see your green certificate.
How do I book a cita previa for the NIE?
Through the national appointment system on the Ministry of the Interior electronic office, choosing your province and the relevant procedure. Be prepared for this to be the hardest part of the whole process: in high-demand provinces appointments are released in batches and are taken within minutes, and it is common to spend days checking before one appears. Start looking earlier than you think you need to, check at different times of day, and remember that a neighbouring province may have availability if you are able to travel.
Do I need to register at the town hall (empadronamiento)?
Yes, if you are living somewhere in Spain. The empadronamiento is your registration on the municipal roll at your local Ayuntamiento, and the certificate it produces is required for a great many other things — healthcare registration, school places, exchanging a driving licence, some residency procedures. It also determines which town hall receives central funding for you, which is why they generally want you to register. You will normally need proof of address such as a rental contract or a utility bill.
In what order should I do all this?
Broadly: appointment first, NIE second, empadronamiento third, bank account fourth, Social Security last and only if you are working. The ordering matters because several steps require the output of an earlier one — you will struggle to open a bank account without a NIE, and several residency procedures ask for your padrón certificate. The exception is that you may need an address before you can register, which is why finding somewhere to live sits before all of it.