Certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión Europea and NIE Find out how to register
The ‘Certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión’ is a mandatory document for residing in Spain. It also allows you to obtain your personal NIE number. This number appears on all public documents sent or transmitted to the foreign citizen in Spain, on all direct requests to the administration, as well as on most acts between private individuals of a socio-economic and professional nature.
The NIE without ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’ is only valid for non-residents and therefore does not concern students who will live and reside in Spain for more than 3 months.
Why do you need the ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’?
This procedure may seem annoying and unnecessary to you. However, it is compulsory for all foreigners residing in Spain for more than 3 months and, more importantly, it will also allow you to obtain the famous number commonly called NIE, ‘Número de Identificación de los Extranjeros’. It is not required by universities but is necessary to live in Spain.
Also, you must provide your ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’ when you finish your studies in Spain in order to obtain certain official documents that you will have to present in your own country to validate your Spanish diploma.
Without the ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’, you cannot open a telephone and/or Internet line, you cannot sign a gas or electricity contract, you cannot hold a bank account in Spain and you cannot obtain certain official documents validating your studies in Spain… so, make your application for the ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’ as soon as you arrive in Spain to avoid many problems later on!
Can a minor obtain a ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’?
To obtain a ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’, a minor needs a guardian, legally declared in Spain. This procedure is cumbersome and incurs administrative costs. We therefore advise underage students to wait until their 18th birthday to do this procedure. Even if you only become an adult after the end of your 3 months in Spain, don’t worry. Do the procedure once you turn 18.
How to obtain the ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’?
FOR MADRID STUDENTS ONLY, you can contact our partners
Easy Gestion Madrid
1- Easy Gestion Madrid is first and foremost concerned with putting our experience, which is our greatest strength, at your disposal.
2- EGM is first and foremost a mother who knows the constraints of sending a child abroad and can offer you services perfectly adapted to your needs.
3- Our individual student support service is efficient and nice, so that students can start their studies in Spain with complete peace of mind.
Contact us for more information.
You can also try to carry out this procedure yourself by following the instructions provided on the Spanish national police website at the following links according to your place of residence:
- You will need to fill out the form EX-18 available on their website and pay the fee by filling out this other form 790 – Código 012.
- You will have to provide information such as: your passport number, a Spanish telephone number, your personal information, your domicile in Spain (or, if applicable, your domicile in your country of origin), the address where you will receive the ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’, the reason why you are applying for the ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’, the identification of the administration that is requesting the ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’, and a justification.
To get the full information on the ‘certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE’, if you are registered with FEEDUC you can download the document at the bottom of the page.