N.I.E. and N.I.F.

The N.I.E. is the Foreign Identification Number (Numero de Identidad de Extranjero) it is issued by the immigration service after you have made your application. This is your identification number in Spain. You will require it for taxes, to purchase property, to set up a business. The N.I.E. is issued to any non-Spanish citizen EU or not.

The N.I.F. is the Fiscal Identifacation Number (Numero de Identificacion Fiscal), your individual tax number. For foreigners, it is your N.I.E. A non-resident can obtain from the tax office a N.I.F. without having previously obtained a N.I.E., this maybe alright for one off transactions, but in general a N.I.E. will be needed sooner or later so get it from the begining. For a Spanish national it is their D.N.I. National ID number with a letter on the end.

You will recognise a N.I.E. it starts with an X followed by 7 or 8 numbers and ending with a letter: X-1234567-L

A N.I.F. based on a Spanish D.N.I. does not start with a letter: 12345678-Z