You arrive in Madrid with a job contract and, in the same week, your employer, the bank and your landlord each ask you for different papers. Get two acronyms clear from the start: the NIE (foreigner identification number) is a number that identifies you, comparable to a tax ID number, and not a residence permit; the TIE (foreigner identity card) is the physical card that comes later. Knowing what each of them is really asking for makes the first weeks in a new city much easier.
Your employer on day one: what they register you with if you don’t have a card yet
Your employer will ask you for a document to register you with Social Security, that is, to enroll you as a worker in Spain’s public system of contributions and benefits. Which document works depends on the route through which your permit was processed.
If your permit falls under Law 14/2013, the Spanish law that groups together the international mobility permits, the rule is specific: during the first six months, your passport is enough for registration even if you don’t have an NIE yet (Art. 76.5). That family includes the highly qualified professional, the EU Blue Card, the intra-company transfer, the entrepreneur, the researcher and the international remote worker.
Take, as a hypothetical example, an engineer whose group transfers her from London to its Madrid subsidiary with an intra-company transfer permit: if the subsidiary has to register her, it can do so with her passport, without an NIE, during those six months. Her residence visa exempts her from the TIE while it is valid (Art. 75.4) and, if the permit she is granted afterwards is valid for more than six months, the card is processed at that point (Art. 76.2).
That passport rule does not extend to the general regime under the Immigration Regulations (Royal Decree 1155/2024, which implements Spain’s immigration law). There, the initial residence and work permit for employed work (as an employee) is requested by the employer itself at the Immigration Office of the province where you will work (Art. 77.1), which is the central government office that processes these permits. If that is your case, check with your employer, before you arrive, which document they will use to register you.
The bank: a number that identifies you, not a permit
At the bank, the first question is usually whether you have an NIE. The NIE is a personal, unique and sequential number assigned by the Directorate-General of the Police for identification purposes (Art. 205 of the Regulations). It is not a residence or work permit and, on its own, it does not prove either.
In English-language forums, the NIE often appears, wrongly, as a “residency permit.” A paper with your NIE proves that the Police have assigned you a number; it does not say whether you can live or work in Spain, or until when.
Which documents each bank asks for to open an account depends on the bank. What helps is knowing that, if someone needs to check your status in Spain, the number is not enough: bring your NIE to the appointment together with the document that does prove your status.
The landlord: what proves your status while the card hasn’t arrived
The landlord (the owner of the apartment) or their agency wants to see a card you don’t have yet. The Regulations provide for that wait: your status in Spain is proven, depending on the case, with your passport, your visa, the decision authorizing you to remain in Spain or the TIE (Art. 206). The card is only one of four options.
If you entered with a residence visa, that visa proves the status for which it was granted from your arrival until you obtain the card (Art. 208). If your permit was granted while you were already in Spain, the document is the decision granting it. And the TIE adds no time: its validity is that of the permit it reflects (Art. 209.7).
If the Immigration Office has sent you a request for additional documents (cure of defects), the deadline to reply is the one set in that letter, in many procedures fifteen days at most, counted in working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays), and any extension must be requested before it expires. When it is unclear whether you should show the visa or the decision, or the wait drags on because of an unanswered request, it is the immigration lawyer Madrid relocating professionals work with who reviews the file to identify the valid document in your case and the deadline that is running.
After the first week: police station, city council and Tax Agency
With your job, bank account and apartment under way, three desks remain.
When it applies to you, the TIE is applied for in person, at a police station, within the month following your entry into Spain or the granting of your permit: you need form EX-17 and must pay fee 790-012, which is updated every year (check the amount on the Police’s official online portal).
Registration with the municipal census (padrón), the register of residents kept by the city council (Ayuntamiento), the city’s administration, is not a tax and is not the equivalent of British council tax. It has its own rule: if you are a non-EU national, for example American, Canadian or Australian, and do not hold long-term residence, you must renew your registration every two years or it expires, and you can be removed from the register without a prior hearing (Art. 16.1 of Law 7/1985); requirements and appointments are on the Madrid city council’s website.
The Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) looks at something else: one of the criteria for tax residency is spending more than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year, and tax residency is different from immigration residency, so you can be tax resident while your card is still being processed, or hold your permit without having reached those days; your obligations in your home country are outside the scope of this guide.
Each desk asks a different question
Your employer asks what to register you with; the bank, who you are; the landlord, whether your residence is authorized. Carrying your passport, your visa or decision, and your NIE together answers all three from the first week.
