NIE Residency Card and Barcelona, Spain work visas (Part 3)
NIE for European citizens living in Spain
Until a month ago, after you went to the police office with the required documents, they would send you the NIE to your home address after about a month. Now things have changed, as they will give you the NIE straight away. The bad part is, however, the long queue you now need to do outside the police office in Barcelona. The office opens at 9am, but people start queuing from 7am. Also, the office, even though they close at 14.00, only admits up to 250 people a day. All the others will be sent home and asked to queue on another day, so make sure you are there quite early.
The DNI
The DNI is the Spanish ID, equivalent to a residency card for foreigners. Nowadays it is no longer necessary for EU citizens to have one. If you want, however, you can still apply for one, after you have obtained the NIE, by asking for information in the same office where you obtained the NIE (Calle M. L’Argentera 2-4, Barcelona).
Documents required for living in Barcelona to non-EU residents.
Non-EU citizens who wish to stay in Spain for more than three months, need to get a residency permit. They need to apply for a residency permit within 30 days of their permanence in Spain at the local police station. In alternative, they can apply for a residency visa in the Spanish Embassy in their country.
Social Security (Seguridad Social) in Barcelona and Spain. When moving to Spain it is useful to get a Social
security number, especially if you are 
going to
be self employed. You can find all the information you need and the addresses of the Social Security
Offices in Barcelona and Spain on http://www.seg-social.es
Police office location - click on map
Update: From Martin Tozer: "Europeans do not need to have empadronamiento to get the NIE. They can get it directly from the police station. At least this was the case for myself and numerous other colleagues in October 2007."
New Update: From Jura Zymantas: "Sometimes bureaucracy does get better. It's only a 1-step process and as was mentioned earlier, you don't need to be "empadronado". In September 2008, in Barcelona, students with EU nationality only needed to go to the police station in Joan de Borbó, submit the filled application for the "certificado de registro de residente comunitario" and go pay the "tasas". (It seems the banks and "caixas" going in towards the sea are more amenable than the ones on Joan de Borbó which only allow this transaction on fixed days.) When you return to the police station, your certificate is printed up and includes your NIE.
Page 1 NIE Residency card, Spain
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