# NIE and Bank account



## leelfc1911 (Apr 16, 2015)

Does anybody know if it's possible to get an NIE number and Spanish bank account before you arrive in Spain.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Yes, I believe you can go to the Spanish consulate and arrange for an NIE - I'm not sure about banks, altho maybe on line or of course maybe a bank such as Santander ??? 

They'll be others along who will give you more definitive answers. When we opened our bank account it was when we had our second viewing on our property, so we were in Spain

Jo xxx


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## Simon.J (May 1, 2015)

leelfc1911 said:


> Does anybody know if it's possible to get an NIE number and Spanish bank account before you arrive in Spain.


We've been in touch with a lawyer there and she is arranging this for us. We had to get paperwork signed and notarised but it's all very painless.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Simon.J said:


> We've been in touch with a lawyer there and she is arranging this for us. We had to get paperwork signed and notarised but it's all very painless.



If you can afford to and want to go thru the hassle of arranging a lawyer to do it for you, then thats one way I guess - but not the cheapest or easiest by any means. You can get and NIE yourself once you have arrived. You simply go to the local foreigners office/national police station with your passports. You need to be there anyway to sign for it

Jo xxx


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

jojo said:


> Yes, I believe you can go to the Spanish consulate and arrange for an NIE - I'm not sure about banks, altho maybe on line or of course maybe a bank such as Santander ???
> 
> They'll be others along who will give you more definitive answers. When we opened our bank account it was when we had our second viewing on our property, so we were in Spain
> 
> Jo xxx


Remember, Santander UK is not the same as Santander ES. Having an account in UK will not help you much if you need one in Spain.


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## Simon.J (May 1, 2015)

snikpoh said:


> Remember, Santander UK is not the same as Santander ES. Having an account in UK will not help you much if you need one in Spain.


Is there any connection at all, would you get better rates than two random banks?


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## leelfc1911 (Apr 16, 2015)

Thanks for the advice guys. 
I might pop in to my local santander and see if it would make things easier to send our savings to a Spanish santander account and also see if they know if it's possible to open a Spanish account in the UK through them. Which is probably doubtful


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Simon.J said:


> Is there any connection at all, would you get better rates than two random banks?


There is a connection, of course, but none that really matter. No, I think you get the same rates as anyone else.




leelfc1911 said:


> Thanks for the advice guys.
> I might pop in to my local santander and see if it would make things easier to send our savings to a Spanish santander account and also see if they know if it's possible to open a Spanish account in the UK through them. Which is probably doubtful



You can send funds from one bank in UK to any bank in EU via SEPA (same day transfer) - with the exception of Santander who haven't signed up to SEPA!


As stated previously, you can not open a Spanish Santander account from a UK Santander bank - or so they tell me.


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## Easyday (Apr 19, 2015)

Hi, 
We looked into that a couple of weeks ago, found a company online that charged €229 for two people and once paid would email a power of attorney which we would have to get signed by a notary and they were charging £75 for the first document and £10 for each additional one. They also wanted us to send two photographs, a copy of each passport and the original but we were not comfortable in sending the originals so decided against it.
A family member recommended a lawyer in Torromolinos and as we are on holiday close by and decided to go see them yesterday. The lady was really helpful and spoke perfect English. She took a copy of our passports and walked us around the corner to the notary, within half hour we had gone through all of the documents to give her power of attorney which allows her to proceed with the NIE numbers and open us a bank account with Sabadell. She has advised not to apply for both of these until we have found a suitable property and she is awaiting our instructions. This cost €50 for the notary which we have paid and €50 for her when we decide to go ahead.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Easyday said:


> A family member recommended a lawyer in Torromolinos and as we are on holiday close by and decided to go see them yesterday. The lady was really helpful and spoke perfect English. She took a copy of our passports and walked us around the corner to the notary, within half hour we had gone through all of the documents to give her power of attorney which allows her to proceed with the NIE numbers and open us a bank account with Sabadell. She has advised not to apply for both of these until we have found a suitable property and she is awaiting our instructions. This cost €50 for the notary which we have paid and €50 for her when we decide to go ahead.


Sounds extremely reasonable - but then it's an extremely easy thing to do.

Any one can open a bank account with just a passport.

Getting an NIE is also, generally, very easy.


When getting a power of attorney (if you feel that you really have to), PLEASE make sure that it stipulates what it is for - don't make it open ended.

Be careful.


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## Easyday (Apr 19, 2015)

Yes we went through it very very carefully and its for opening the NIE, opening the bank account and organising the services for the property. It was a family member who has several apartments there and has used her for the past twenty years so gave us a bit more confidence. The POA ends once we have bought a property and all the services sorted out.


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## leelfc1911 (Apr 16, 2015)

Is the cheaper option to do it all when we arrive. We are trying to keep the costs down as much as possible just incase the work options are limited and our savings don't get swallowed up unnecessarily


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

leelfc1911 said:


> Is the cheaper option to do it all when we arrive. We are trying to keep the costs down as much as possible just incase the work options are limited and our savings don't get swallowed up unnecessarily


Yes


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## WeeScottie (Mar 17, 2015)

We did our NIEs personally a couple of weeks ago, very easy, there was a big queue but it moved pretty quickly. Also opened our bank account with Sabadell, we did the application online so just had to pop in, sign a few documents and pick up our cards. All very simple. Very impressed with the bank. Great customer service so far.


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## director1 (Dec 28, 2013)

I'd recommend going with BBVA's "cuenta online" account. I got a NIE from the consulate in London, then opened the account online, then once I got to Spain, signed all the paperwork in a branch and had them scan my passport and NIE. Then a week or so later, I received my bank card im the post and all the other documentation I needed for the account. Easy and friendly and relatively helpful customer service - and that's with the U.S. as my benchmark, not the UK. 

That said, you don't need a NIE to open the account - just a passport. Them logistics of opening an account are easy enough that paying a notary or gestor or other agency to do it for you seems like a waste of money. Unless you need help with translation and communicating with bank folks in Spanish - in which case it might be much easier to have a proxy. 

My two cents...
Dir


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## sharon288 (Jul 12, 2014)

hi, i wonder if you could send me a PM with the details, we are heading to this area in 3 weeks to view properties and could really do with some recommendations,


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## fcexpat (Sep 25, 2014)

Why waste all the cash on a lawyer, we've just got our NIE and opened a bank account, no problem at all as long as you have all the paperwork right.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

fcexpat said:


> Why waste all the cash on a lawyer, we've just got our NIE and opened a bank account, no problem at all as long as you have all the paperwork right.


.... and the only paperwork that you'll need (for bank account and NIE) are your passport and form EX15 (?)


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