Resident and non-resident certificates
As part of the tightening up of tax rules throughout the EU, banks are increasingly requiring new documentation to prove that their clients are not actually resident for tax purposes in Spain. NIE certificates are also now only valid for three months, even though the number itself is always valid. After three months, one has to declare oneself as either resident or non-resident for tax purposes, and get either a Certificado de Registro (green certificate) or a Certificado No-Residente (non-resident certificate), which is what the banks will now require to avoid embargoes being placed on foreigners’ non-resident accounts in Spain: the non-resident Certificates will need to be submitted every three years.
Many banks do this automatically on your behalf from an authorization you give them, often without knowing it, when you first open the account. They charge around €25 each time they resubmit it. It is essential that you check with your bank whether this is an automatic process, or whether you need to give a new authorization for it to be done on your behalf, or whether you need to apply on your own behalf, as is sometimes the case.
If you have to apply for yourself, the application procedure for a Certificado No Residente is very similar to the one for NIEs. One has to get an application form and modelo from the Comisaria in Playa de las Américas to go to the bank to pay the tasa, then return to police station, get a number, hand in the application, and then return in two to three days to collect it.
It’s quite logical, in a way. Once the three months of your NIE certificate are up, you have to get one certificate or the other, a Registro or “No-Residente”. Registros are issued while you wait, though non-resident certificates, like NIEs, are issued a few days after application, and involve a second journey to the Comisaria.
The application forms can be downloaded HERE (Registro) and HERE (no-residente); HERE is the NIE application form. Please don’t try to fill any of them in online; it won’t work because you have to apply in person or by means of someone holding Power of Attorney. For the non-resident certificate, all you need to take is:
application form plus copy
passport plus copy
NIE plus copy
Prepaid Modelo
N.B: If you now have a different address to that which is on your NIE, you may also need a Certificate of Empadronamiento plus copy.
If you are applying for a Registro, you will need the above plus a photo.
As with the NIE, if someone is collecting your certificate for you, you will need to give their details. They will need to provide proof of identity when they go to collect on your behalf. Again, as with NIEs, you will need to put your Spanish address again at the bottom of the application form.
If you have any questions on the above, please post a comment on the Being Legal in Tenerife Q&A page HERE, which is where previous questions have been moved.
