Social security number Spain foreigner: how to get your NUSS online

In short: the social security number Spain foreigner applicants need is the NUSS (also called NAF, affiliation number): the number Social Security uses to identify you, which you need for employment registration, autónomo registration and the health card. You request it online in Import@ss with your NIE or TIE; without Cl@ve or a certificate, with a selfie and a copy of your document. The alternative is form TA.1 via the Registro Electrónico (electronic register); there is no in-person appointment for this procedure. Neither the Import@ss page nor the TA.1 mentions a fee.

In person or by representative? Online. According to the written reply from Social Security (buzón de consultas, 19.10.2026), this procedure cannot be done with an in-person appointment: you file it preferably in Import@ss or, otherwise, via the Registro Electrónico (electronic register). The request is addressed to the provincial office or administration of the General Treasury of Social Security (art. 21.2 of Royal Decree 84/1996). Import@ss offers the option «Solicitar NUSS como apoderado» (request as an authorised representative), but its page does not explain how. For a minor, the mother, father or legal guardian files it with form TA.1 and the family book or a document proving parental authority or guardianship.

Requirements

• If you already have one, you do not request another. Affiliation is compulsory and, under art. 15 of the General Social Security Law, single for your whole life and for the whole system. If you worked in Spain before or were covered by the school insurance, it may already be assigned: check it in your personal area of Import@ss.
• It is an identification number (art. 21.1 of RD 84/1996). It is not a residence or work authorisation: those are processed separately, see residence and work.
• For registration (not for the number), art. 42.1 of RD 84/1996 requires foreign workers, except those covered by EU rules, to provide a work authorisation or a document showing they do not need one.
• If you work as an employee: the employer must request the affiliation of anyone who starts without being affiliated, before the work begins (arts. 24.1 and 27.2). If they do not, you can request it yourself (art. 25.2). The sources we reviewed do not say whether the employer can request the number on your behalf: ask before you start.
• If you will be an autónomo: you request it yourself (arts. 21.2 and 25.1). Without a number you cannot register; follow becoming an autónomo as a foreigner and the flat rate.
• If you have no number, art. 21.2 says you must request it before asking for affiliation, registration or benefits, with your DNI or, if you are a foreigner, the corresponding identity document.

Documents

• NIE (or TIE, which carries your NIE): Import@ss asks for a DNI or NIE. If you have a NIE assigned on a provisional basis, enter that number in the request, according to the written reply from Social Security (buzón de consultas, 19.10.2026). If you do not have one yet, see how to apply for the NIE and how to get the TIE.
• Passport: according to the instructions of form TA.1, it is accepted only from citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, who must provide the NIE within 3 months of entering Spain. If you are not from the EU and only have a passport (for minors, see below), get the NIE first. We have not confirmed exceptions at the offices.
• Mobile phone, email and home address.
• Without Cl@ve or a certificate: a copy of both sides of your DNI or NIE and a selfie holding the front of the document. Social Security recommends attaching the documents in JPG/JPEG format.
• Form TA.1 («Solicitud de número de la Seguridad Social y variación de datos», request for a Social Security number and change of details): Import@ss recommends you download and fill it in before you log in. It is filled in capital letters, with no corrections or crossings out.
• Minors: a photo of the DNI, NIE or passport of the minor and of the parent or guardian, and the family book.

Where

• Online: Solicitar el número de la Seguridad Social, in Import@ss. You log in with Cl@ve Permanente, Cl@ve Móvil, DNIe or an electronic certificate. SMS login does not work if you do not have a number yet. If you have none of these methods, you use the route with a selfie and a photo of the document. No Cl@ve? See how to get Cl@ve and the certificate.
• No in-person appointment: according to the written reply from Social Security (buzón de consultas, 19.10.2026), there is no in-person appointment for this procedure. If you do not use Import@ss, the alternative is the Registro Electrónico (electronic register), with form TA.1. The appointment page does not mention affiliation either.
• The document with your number: the service «Acreditación del NUSS» gives a PDF report with your number. To see your registration periods, see how to get the vida laboral. Deadlines
• Import@ss says you can request it at any time. To work or become an autónomo, have the number before registration: the affiliation request must be made before the activity starts (art. 27.2).
• According to the TA.1 receipt sheet, the Treasury has a maximum of 45 days from the day the request is registered to resolve it. The time is suspended if they ask you to correct something, and if it passes without an answer, the request may be treated as approved. According to the written reply from Social Security (buzón de consultas, 19.10.2026), the maximum time to decide and notify is 90 calendar days from filing. The decision is usually sent by SMS to the phone number you gave.

Cost

• Neither the Import@ss page nor form TA.1 mentions a fee. According to the community, a gestoría or adviser may charge to do it for you; that is optional and each sets its own price.

Steps

1. Check whether you already have a number: in your personal area of Import@ss or with «Acreditación del NUSS».
2. Get your NIE or TIE, mobile, email and home address ready.
3. Request it online in Import@ss (with Cl@ve or a certificate, or with a selfie and a photo of the document) or, as an alternative, file form TA.1 via the Registro Electrónico. There is no in-person appointment.
4. Wait for the decision, which usually arrives by SMS, and keep the proof of filing.
5. Download the document that proves your number in Import@ss and use it for employment registration, autónomo registration or the health card.

Official source: Import@ss, Solicitar el número de la Seguridad Social and Royal Decree 84/1996. The terms NIE and TIE are in the glossary.

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