Getting your NIE on the Costa Blanca: offices, fee and appointments

You can barely do a thing in Spain without it: open a bank account, sign a lease, start a job, buy a car or a house. The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is your foreigner's identification number, the administrative thread that follows you everywhere. Good news for the Costa Blanca: the province of Alicante has seven counters spread right along the coast, from Alicante up to Dénia. Bad news: with so many foreign residents, the slots go fast. Here is the step by step.

NIE, EU certificate, TIE: don't mix them up

This is where a lot of people get lost, so let's lay it out clearly:

• The NIE is a number, not a card. It doesn't prove that you live in Spain, it simply identifies you across every procedure.
• The EU registration certificate (the "green certificate") is the resident's document you get when you settle in for more than three months. If you are an EU/EEA citizen (Irish included), your NIE appears directly on it, not two separate procedures. We walk you through it in our guide to becoming a resident on the Costa Blanca.
• The TIE (a plastic photo card) is for non-EU nationals, Britons (post-Brexit), Americans, Canadians and anyone outside the EU. If that's you, the TIE is your card; if you're an EU citizen, you can forget the word.

In short: if you only need the number (for a property purchase, say), you apply for the NIE on its own. If you're an EU citizen settling in for more than three months, you go straight for the green certificate, which carries the NIE. If you're non-EU, the NIE comes bundled with your visa and TIE process.

How to get it, in practice

The NIE on its own is requested with form EX-15; the EU green certificate with form EX-18. Either way, the machinery is the same:

• Book an appointment (the cita previa) on the official government portal (sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es, "extranjería" section), selecting the province of Alicante.
• Pay the fee (the Modelo 790 código 012) at a bank before your appointment: around €9.84 for the NIE alone, €12 for the EU certificate (2026 figures, updated yearly).
• Show up with your documents: the form filled in twice, passport or ID card plus photocopies, proof the fee is paid, and, depending on your situation, evidence of work or sufficient means.

Once you have the appointment, the number is often issued on the same day. The real obstacle is landing the slot.

Where to do it on the Costa Blanca

The province lines up the Oficina de Extranjería in Alicante and authorised Policía Nacional stations all along the coast. The exact office depends on the slot you land: the address that counts is the one on your cita confirmation.

Slots are released in waves and vanish within minutes, especially in Benidorm and Torrevieja where demand explodes in summer. Log on early in the morning, try again over several days, test several offices across the province, and never pay a middleman who "sells" appointments: the cita is free, and reselling it is illegal.

And from your home country?

Yes: you can apply for the NIE on its own at a Spanish consulate in your home country before you leave, with a stated reason. Allow four to five weeks. Note that this consular NIE is for preparing practical steps (a bank account, a property purchase) but is not a residence permit: to actually settle in, you'll still complete the green certificate (EU citizens) or the visa and TIE process (non-EU) in Spain.

The most common pitfalls

• Applying for the wrong document: EU citizens want the green certificate (EX-18), not the TIE; non-EU citizens get the TIE via a visa, not an EU certificate.
• Paying the wrong fee: double-check code 012 and the reason ticked.
• Forgetting proof of means and health insurance if you're not working, retired or a student: it's the number-one reason for being turned away at the counter.
• Turning up without photocopies: always bring originals and copies of everything.

Once your NIE is in hand, move on to the empadronamiento, then the green certificate: that's the rhythm of your first weeks, summed up in our guide to your first 90 days.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the NIE cost? Around €9.84 in fees (Modelo 790 code 012, 2026 figure) for the NIE alone, roughly €12 for the EU certificate. The appointment itself is always free.

Is the number issued the same day? Usually yes: once you have the cita and a complete file, you walk out with your number. It's landing the slot that takes time.

Does the NIE expire? The number, never: it's yours for life. The paper NIE certificate issued to non-residents does, however, show a three-month validity, according to the Policía Nacional, so some bodies may ask for a recent document.

Can I do it at any office in the province? Yes. The cita previa system offers you the offices in the province of Alicante where slots exist, nothing forces you to pick the town where you live for the NIE alone.

Sources

• Official cita previa portal for extranjería (province of Alicante)
• Policía Nacional: official police-station locator
• Policía Nacional: NIE assignment (EX-15)
• Policía Nacional: immigration fees (Modelo 790-012)
• Alicante city council: cita previa extranjería

Information verified in July 2026. Procedures, office addresses, taxes and prices change fast: before you travel anywhere, always check the official source (links above) and the address shown on your appointment confirmation. The Daily Costa Blanca is an AI-assisted publication with human review. Spotted a mistake? Drop us a line and we'll fix it. How we work.