NIE to buy property in Spain: from your consulate or in Spain, EX-15 and fee (2026)

In short: the NIE to buy property in Spain is requested with form EX-15 and the fee modelo 790, code 012, which costs 9.84 € on the official Policía form. If you are outside Spain, you file the application at the Spanish consulate where you live; if you are in Spain, at an Oficina de Extranjería or a Comisaría. Without the NIF of everyone who signs, the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) does not register the deed, and a foreigner's NIF is their NIE.

In person or by representative? Mixed. From abroad, the official pages of the consular offices in Bogotá, Lima and Kyiv accept a representative with a sufficient power of attorney. Bogotá asks for the power to be apostilled; Lima asks for it signed before a notary and apostilled if the notary is not Spanish. All three pages add that the physical presence of the applicant or their representative is always required. In Spain, art. 205.4 of RD 1155/2024 says the NIE is requested “personalmente” (in person), and the EX-15 has a section for the representative who files the application. If you plan to use a representative, first confirm with the office or the consulate that they accept it and which power of attorney they ask for.

What the NIE is and is not. It is a personal, unique number that identifies you before the Administration. It is not residence or a work permit, and buying a home does not give residence either (see buying a home as a foreigner). For the NIE in general, see how to apply for the NIE.

Who has to apply. People who relate to Spain through economic, professional or social interests do not get the NIE automatically (de oficio): they have to apply for it (art. 205.3). The rule sets two conditions: not being in Spain in an irregular situation, and stating the reason for the request.

Two routes, depending on where you are.

• Outside Spain, at the consulate where you live. The application goes to the Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras through Spain's consular offices (art. 205.4). All three consular pages say it is requested at the consular office of the applicant's place of residence. Each consulate publishes its own procedure on the Consular services page, category “Pasaportes y otros documentos”, service “Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE)”. The pages of Bogotá, Lima and Kyiv ask for an appointment, the EX-15 with a copy, the passport and the fee paid by their method. Bogotá and Lima also ask for proof of residence in their area.
• In Spain, at the police. You file the EX-15 “personalmente” with the Dirección General de la Policía, directly or through an Oficina de Extranjería or a Comisaría (art. 205.4). A cita previa is usually needed, and it is free.

Which reason to give and which proof they ask for. In section 4.2 of the EX-15 you tick “Por intereses económicos” and describe it under “Especificar”; for a purchase, you state there that you are going to buy a home. The rule requires stating the reason but lists no documents, and the EX-15 refers to the information sheets (hojas informativas) of each procedure. Consulates do not ask for the same. Lima asks you to prove the reason with documents and gives as examples a certificate from the requesting entity, a contrato de arras or a property deed (escritura de propiedad). Bogotá and Kyiv ask you to state the reason and list no proof. Ask your consulate what it needs before you book.

Fee. It is the fee modelo 790, code 012, line “Asignación de Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) a instancia del interesado”: 9.84 € according to the official Policía form, checked on 7 October 2026. At a consulate, each office says how to pay; Bogotá, Lima and Kyiv charge in local currency.

Timing. Art. 205.4 sets a maximum of 5 days from when the application enters the register of the competent body; if there is no reply in that time, it is deemed rejected. The consular offices of Bogotá, Lima and Kyiv say the NIE is issued on average in two weeks and may take longer. If you already have a signing date, allow for that margin.

What the Registry and the notary require. The notary identifies the parties with a valid DNI or passport and records how and when the home was paid for (notariado.org). The Registro de la Propiedad does not register the deed of a purchase if any NIF is missing, whether of those who appear or of the people they represent (art. 254.2 of the Ley Hipotecaria). It also refuses if the deed records that someone declined to identify the means of payment (art. 254.3). This is a defecto subsanable, a defect that can be fixed: you fix it with a deed that includes all the NIF and the means of payment (art. 254.4). For a foreigner, the NIF is the NIE (art. 20.1 of RD 1065/2007). Art. 20.2 also provides that someone without a NIE asks the AEAT for a NIF of their own, starting with the letter M, when they are about to carry out operations with tax relevance. That is a separate procedure, explained in Modelo 030 for foreigners.

Documents (based on the pages of the consular offices in Bogotá, Lima and Kyiv and the EX-15; the list may be incomplete, so the one that counts is the one published by the consulate or office where you file):

• Form EX-15, original and copy, filled in and signed by you or your representative.
• Valid passport: original and copy of the page with your details. If a representative files, a certified copy (copia compulsada) of the passport is enough (if the original is not shown, Kyiv asks for a recent notarised copy of all pages).
• Fee 790, code 012, filled in and with proof of payment (in Bogotá the 790 form is not filed: you pay via PSE and bring the printed receipt).
• Proof of residence in the consulate's area, if it asks for it (Bogotá and Lima; Kyiv asks anyone who is not Ukrainian for a residence permit in Ukraine).
• If a representative files: their ID or passport, original and copy, and a sufficient power of attorney that expressly authorises them to file the NIE application (apostilled in Bogotá; in Lima, signed before a notary and apostilled if the notary is not Spanish).
• If the applicant is a minor or has a legal representative: family book, birth certificate or the document proving the representation, plus the valid passport or ID of the parent or guardian.
• Proof of the reason (for example, a contrato de arras or a property deed), only if your consulate asks for it, as Lima does.

Steps:

1. Check where you are. Outside Spain, the consulate where you live; in Spain, an Oficina de Extranjería or a Comisaría (art. 205.4). The rule asks that you are not in Spain in an irregular situation.
2. Fill in the EX-15. Tick “Por intereses económicos”, describe under “Especificar” that you are going to buy a home, and tick the place of filing (Oficina Consular, Oficina de Extranjería or Comisaría).
3. Pay the fee 790, code 012, line NIE at the applicant's request. In Spain, with the Policía form; at the consulate, as its page says.
4. Book an appointment and ask what they need. Book at the consulate or the office and confirm whether they ask for proof of the reason (for example, arras) and whether they accept a representative with a power of attorney.
5. File the application with the EX-15 (original and copy), the passport and the proof of payment. The legal limit is 5 days from entry in the register; consulates speak of about two weeks.
6. Take the NIE to the notary. It must appear in the deed, like the NIF of everyone who appears, so that the Registry registers it (art. 254.2).

After the NIE, continue with buying a home as a foreigner and the purchase taxes; once you own, see IBI and Modelo 210. What each EX form is, in EX forms; the terms, in the glossary.

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Official sources: art. 205 of RD 1155/2024 (BOE), form EX-15 (Inclusión), fee 790-012 (Policía), Consular services (Exteriores), Ley Hipotecaria, art. 254, RD 1065/2007, art. 20.

Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.