Skip past the menus
NIEGranada Begin your file

Régimen comunitario

The number and the Union

Régimen general

From beyond the Union

En Granada

Granada on the ground

NIE Granada
Begin your file

Número de Identidad de Extranjero

The NIE: one number, issued once, asked for everywhere

Spain gives every foreigner it deals with a personal number, the NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero), which the Policía Nacional assigns a single time and which never changes. In Granada it is requested on form EX-15, with a cita previa, when the number is all you need, and it is asked for early: by a landlord in the Realejo, a bank, a language academy, a notary.

Begin your file

A narrow cobbled lane between whitewashed houses with lanterns and plants in the Albaicín
A lane in the Albaicín. Photo Øyvind Holmstad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized.

How the number reads

A NIE begins with a letter, X, Y or Z, continues with seven digits and closes with a control letter. It is personal and permanent: once assigned it follows you through every later card, renewal or change of status, and it comes back unchanged if you leave Spain and return years afterwards.

The number is not a document in itself. It is printed on the paper that fits your situation: a white certificate when the number is all you asked for, the green EU registration certificate when you are a European resident, the TIE card when you live here on a residence from outside the Union.

Asking for the number alone, with the EX-15

When you need the number for a particular act rather than to settle, the request goes on form EX-15. The usual reasons are buying or selling property, an inheritance, a contract signed before you register as a resident, or a short course of study. The form asks for that reason, and the file carries the paper that proves it: a reservation contract, a letter from the notary, an offer from the employer.

The fee is paid beforehand with Modelo 790, código 012, at a bank or online, and the stamped receipt joins the file. Still living abroad? Spanish consulates accept the same request from residents of their district; and when a trip to Granada for the appointment is out of reach, you can request the number online through Gestoraz, an independent gestoría.

What the desk will ask to see

  • The passport or ID card you travel on, plus one photocopy
  • Form EX-15, completed and signed, with a copy
  • The receipt of the 790-012 fee, already paid
  • The document that explains why you need the number
  • The appointment confirmation, on paper or on screen

The two addresses in Granada

Two official pages, two addresses. For the Delegación del Gobierno, numbers, European registrations and cards are a matter for the police unit of San Agapito 2; for the police directory, for the Brigada on Calle La Palmita. The University of Granada sends its students to San Agapito 2. No date on either page settles it, so let the confirmation decide: whichever office it prints is expecting you.

  • Calle San Agapito 2

    Oficina de Extranjería de Granada, Dependencia del Cuerpo Nacional de Policía

    Address
    Calle San Agapito 2, corner of Ribera del Beiro, 18071 Granada
    Hours
    Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 14:00

    According to the Delegación del Gobierno page: TIE cards, NIE certificates and assignment, residence certificates, the EU citizens’ regime, return authorisations, stay extensions and Brexit procedures.

    The police unit sits inside the Subdelegación del Gobierno’s Oficina de Extranjería, which also decides residence and work authorisations and the EU family member card. Email for documentation: documentacionextranjeria.granada@correo.gob.es.

    Open in Google Maps Delegación del Gobierno page

  • Calle La Palmita s/n

    Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras de Granada

    Address
    Calle La Palmita s/n, 18014 Granada
    Hours
    Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 14:00 (Delegación del Gobierno page)

    According to the police directory: TIE issue, NIE certificates and assignment, the EU citizens’ regime, travel documents and cédulas, stay extensions, invitation letters, return authorisations, students, non-lucrative residence and asylum.

    The Delegación del Gobierno page lists a narrower set at this address: statelessness, stay extensions, cédulas, travel documents, invitation letters, and asylum and refuge.

    Open in Google Maps Police directory (policia.es)

Neither official page gives public transport directions to these offices, and we print none we cannot source. Plan your route the day before.

Official sources for this page

Checked against these sources in . If a source and this page disagree, the source prevails.

Questions

Does the NIE expire?

The number never does. The white certificate it was printed on is another matter: some banks and notaries ask for a recent one, even though the number on it has not changed.

Can I work in Granada with the number alone?

A European citizen can. For anyone else the number is only an identifier: the right to work comes from a residence or work authorisation, which is a separate procedure.

Is the NIE a kind of DNI?

No. The DNI is the identity card of Spanish nationals. The NIE plays a similar part in records for foreigners, but it does not identify you on its own: you still show your passport or your national card.

Régimen comunitario

Other trámites of the Union court

Solicitud

Your case, set in order

Tell us your passport, your reason for being in Granada and your dates. We reply by email with the procedure, the documents and a plan for the appointment.

Begin your file