Finding Work and Getting Your NIE in Barcelona

Moving to Barcelona is absolutely exciting, and if you are planning to start a business here, you will deal with quite some paperwork before becoming a legal resident, being able to work and get paid. That is why today’s article will shine a light on how to get your NIE in Barcelona and how to get a job in the city.

You are in luck, because with the help of ShBarcelona‘s guide you will be able to smoothen the (sometimes frustrating) proces that one normally has to go through upon arriving in the city and finding work in Barcelona.

What is a NIE?

Let’s start at the very beginning and explain what a NIE is. NIE stands for Número de Identidad de Extranjero, and it is a personal number that is exclusively connected to you, a foreigner wishing to come and live in Spain.

The document consists of a letter, is followed by seven numbers, and ends with another letter. Once you have your NIE, you will use it on each and every document with your name on it (mobile phone contract, utility services, bank account).

The NIE is issued by the Spanish Ministerio del Interior, and it is proof that you have economic, professional or social interests in Spain (family or work).

How to obtain a NIE?

The first and most important factor: your presence in the country must be legalised, and therefore you must provide the required documentation to justify the reason for your request for a NIE. Below we will give you the steps on how to obtain your NIE:

Steps on how to apply for a NIE

1) Fill in form EX-15 in duplicate. You can download the EX-15 form from the website of the Ministerio.

2) Collect all the documentation mentioned in the form.

3) Make an appointment with the Dirección General de Policía Extranjera or with the police station in the region where you live.

A) Steps for citizens from the EU and Switserland: Click on the link to make an appointment.

Field: PROVINCIAS DISPONIBLES
Answer: Barcelona

Field: TRÁMITES CUERPO NACIONAL DE POLICÍA
Answer: POLICÍA-CERTIFICADOS Y ASIGNACIÓN NIE

Field: Oficina
Answer: choose your location here

Field: FECHA
Answer: choose a date and time that suits your agenda

B) Steps for non-EU citizens or people from Switserland: Visit the Dirección General de Policía or the office of the Oficina de Extranjería on Passeig de Sant Joan.

4) Pay the requested amount for Model 012 “asignación de Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) a instancia del interesado” of 9.64 euro.

5) Take all the required documentation with you on the day of the appointment. (and at least one copy)

Required documents to apply for a NIE in Barcelona

We advise you to take the following documents with you on the day of the appointment:

• Two EX-15 forms, filled in and signed
• Passport/other ID (plus a copy)
• Your justification for applying for a NIE (economic, social or professional reason)
• If the procedure is not carried out by you, a power of attorney should be included in the documents

How long does the NIE process take?

According to the information provided by the Ministerio de inclusión, seguridad social y migración it will take “cinco días desde la entrada de la solicitud en el registro del órgano competente para su tramitación”, so five days to process your request.

For people who live outside Spain when applying for a NIE

You can start the process in your own country, and then you must go to the Spanish embassy with a request addressed to the Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras.

Related article: Best Websites For Job Hunting in Barcelona

Finding a job before applying for a NIE

We advise you to start searching for a job at the same time (or before) applying for your NIE. You could very well already have a job offer when going to your NIE appointment, and this may help during the application process for your permanent NIE.

One advice: Some banks will not accept processing the payment of your NIE, because you don’t have an account with them (which is funny, because you need a NIE to open a bank account in the first place), but don’t panic, some banks are willing to break the cycle and accept your payment.

With a stamped receipt you will then return to the branch to complete the applying process and obtain your NIE number. The document itself, however, will be ready to collect at the same office one week later. It is a small card (credit card size) that will fit in your wallet. Don’t lose the card, because you will have to pay if you need a replacement.

Related article: Careers to Start From Home

Finding a job in Barcelona

Barcelona is a bubbling and welcoming city, and more and more technologie companies are opening offices here with an increasing demand for skilled employees. It does, however, depend comletely on what kind of job you are looking for and how experienced you are if there’s a match.

A good level of Spanish and/or Catalan is helpful and increases your chances of finding work in Barcelona. If your language skills are not good enough, you can always decide to teach English, as a large number of people and schools in Barcelona are looking for English teachers.

Another popular place for newcomers in Barcelona is working in call centres. There are plenty of them, and they are all looking for English speaking employees or other European languages. This could be a good option, at least in the beginning, to work on improving your Spanish while getting paid for the hours you work at the call centre.

Other jobs – au pair, waitress/waiter, shop assistant – are relatively easy to find in Barcelona, but finding more specialised work can be complicated. You need different qualifications for this, although they do exist. It’s a matter of actively searching for them and being persistent.

Online job searching in Barcelona

There are plenty of websites to find a job in Spain. Infojobs, Indeed or Expat life Barcelona are a good start for general tasks, while Lingobongo and LinkedIn are more suitable for specialised jobs.

Recruitment agencies

If you would rather have someone else looking for a job that fits you, you can always register with a temp or recruitment agency, also called ETT. Examples of these types of agencies are Michael Page, Page Personnel and Randstad.

If you are skilled in certain digital profiles, then you could be contacted via LinkedIn by headhunters. As we already mentioned, technology start-ups are flourishing in the city and they sometimes delegate the search for digital talents to headhunters.

Contact a company directly

If you already have a company in mind, don’t hesitate to contact it directly. You can call it or send your CV. You should know that nobody frowns upon contacting a company directly in Spain, so you might as well make good use of it.

Are you looking for an apartment in Barcelona?
ShBarcelona will help you find accommodation that meets your needs.

Sources:

• Ayuntamiento de Barcelona
• Ministerio del Interior