A number of changes have been made in the way in which the NIE number (Number Identification de Extranjeros) is awarded by the provincial Police Station (Comisaría de Policía Provincial).

Up until very recently the NIE certtificate did not need to be renewed as it did not expire, however they will now expire after 3 months and have to be renewed personally - It will no longer be possible to get a Gestor or Lawyer to do this for you by means of obtaining power of attorney from you.

This follows similar changes implemented some months ago, whereby the process of applying for a first NIE Certficate must now also be applied for in person.

Please also note the changes to Capital gains tax and the transport strike on 29th March 2012   :'( Full details below.

http://www.tumbit.com/news/news.html

I would be very suprised if this is actually true/accurate.  The tax office use your NIE number to reference you for any tax matters.  Also it is used by the social security people for pensions etc. If you are Autonomo (self employed) it is also the equivalent to your VAT number.

Can you imagine the chaos it will cause if you have to change it every 3 months!

Nigel

A bit more digging - as often occurs only half the story is there..

NIE NOW EXPIRE AFTER 3 MONTHS

The police have changed the system regarding NIE Certificates.

Up until now they did not need to be renewed, however they will now expire after 3 months and have to be renewed personally; no longer can someone else apply for your certificate with a power of attorney.

For those of you that are spending more time in Spain than your home country we highly recommend that you apply for a certificate of residence. This does not need to be renewed.

The certificate referred to is the 'worthless' green piece of paper that costs 10 euros, has no signature, photo or any other identifying details and replaced the Residencia a few years ago.
Interestingly the company that released this information will be happy to get the certificate for you for a fee of 100 euros + the 9.90 for the certificate......

Nigel

Does this apply to existing NIE Certs?  I have had mine since 1999,it would be a nightmare having to update it regularly if any "powers that be" were to need up to date proof of its issue, before recording the number on official docs etc....   I thought my days queuing at that damned Tortosa Police office were in the past!   :(

Hi, I have just been informed by my Solicitor in Spain that the N.I.E. No's are for life and do not have to be renewed.

We were at the Police dept yesterday with clients applying for NIE numbers, and will be again on Thursday, there was no mention of this by the 2 ladies who see us there regularly, but will make a point of asking on Thursday for clarification.

Just out of curiousity: what is the need for a NIE Certificate?

I have a NIE number and did use it sometimes (buy poroperty, open bank-account etc.) but nobody ever asked me for a Certificate. Most of the time i'm under the impression it doesn't bother wich number you give at all, as long as it looks like a NIE-number ;-). They love paperwork in spain so why not give them a random number when buying a new stove  ;D

Mark

Do you still have to get a number from the Police station or do you queue at the nie office? I was told they only give 30 numbers a day. A friend went there at 9am and was given a date about a month away.The system keeps changing dont know why.

Cariad, In Tortosa it is the Police Office by the river which will issue the NIE.Not sure if any other main National police stations in the region issue from the station itself or from a separate office?

The last NIE document I got for a client (about 3 weeks ago) clearly states that it expires after 3 months. This was the first time I'd seen this and I didn't notice until I'd left the police station. I will ask next time I am there.

Note that the useless and inconvenient green A4 residency document for citizens of EU countries has been replaced by a new and much handier card (no photo, same size as a credit card). As far as I know, this doesn't expire.

But it smudges very easily so if you get one, get it laminated quick!