NIE, TIE, registration certificate and NIF: which one you need

They are four different things: the NIE is your identification number, issued on a white sheet; the registration certificate is the green paper proving an EU citizen lives here; the TIE is the physical card for people from outside the EU; and the NIF is that same number used for tax purposes.

“They told me I need the green NIE.” “Is the NIE card the TIE?” “My bank is asking for a NIF, is that something else?” Four names covering three documents and a number, confused daily. Getting it straight matters: each one has its own appointment, its own form and its own fee.

All four, in one table

The NIE: a number, not a permit

The Número de Identidad de Extranjero identifies you to the Spanish administration. It is issued on a plain white sheet, with no photo, and says nothing about your right to live or work in Spain: only that the number is yours. You need it to buy, inherit, pay tax, open an account or sign a contract. How to apply is covered in How to get a NIE number in Spain.

The registration certificate: the famous “green paper”

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen staying longer than three months, the law requires you to register with the Central Register of Foreign Nationals. What you get is a credit-card-sized green certificate with your name, your Spanish address and your NIE printed on it.

It is applied for with form EX-18, with its own fee and its own appointment, separate from the NIE one. To register, you must show that you work, that you study and hold health cover, or that you have sufficient means plus healthcare. The documents for each case are in The green NIE.

If you'd rather we handled it, our green NIE service takes care of the whole procedure online, and you follow it on your own page.

The TIE: for people from outside the EU

The Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero is a physical card, with a photograph and fingerprints, evidencing a residence authorisation. The National Police issues it to non-EU nationals: students, visa workers, digital nomads, non-lucrative residents and, since Brexit, British citizens arriving now. If you are an EU citizen, a TIE is not yours to apply for: your document is the registration certificate.

The NIF: the same number under another name

The Número de Identificación Fiscal is the identifier the tax office uses. For Spaniards it is the DNI; for foreigners, it is the NIE. When a bank, a notary or the tax agency asks a foreign national for a NIF, they are asking for the NIE. There is nothing extra to apply for.

So which one applies to you?

• EU citizen buying a house and not moving: NIE. Nothing else.
• Citizen of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland moving over to work or live for more than three months: the registration certificate (EX-18), which assigns you the NIE itself. Applying for the NIE first (EX-15) only makes sense if you are asked for it to sign an employment, rental or purchase contract before you can register.
• Non-EU citizen with a visa: your NIE is assigned inside the residence file itself, and the document you collect is the TIE.
• Anyone who simply has a Spanish tax to pay: a NIE, which doubles as the NIF.

Why getting it right first time matters

Because each document has its own appointment, and appointments are the scarce resource. Turning up with an EX-15 at a registration-certificate slot means restarting the hunt from zero, with everything that implies in the busiest provinces. NIE appointment: how to get one explains how to tell them apart in the dropdown.