Simplification ID number for non-residents
The Spanish tax agency has signed an agreement (dated October 15th 2013) with the Spanish Consular Offices to simplify the procedure of obtaining a Spanish tax ID number (NIE or NIF) for non resident persons and companies.
This new service, which will have a first pilot testing phase in eight consulates and the intention of extending by mid-2014 to other consular offices, will allow non-residents to obtain their Tax ID in a quick and simple way without moving, nor sending a representative, to a Spanish Tax Agency's office.
This on-line service in the consulates, which is part of the group of simplification measures to be carried out by the Commission for the Reform of the Public Administration (CORA), will imply advantages for non-residents in terms of comfort and saving compared to the on-site formality alternative, favoring the attraction of foreign investments in Spain.
From this year and up to 1 July 2014, pilot tests of the new system will be carried out in Spanish consulates in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Lyons, Naples, Oporto and Washington. By the middle of next year the extension of the service to a bigger number of offices will be considered, prior agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tax Agency.