Spanish paperwork, step by step

Step-by-step guides to the paperwork people moving to Spain run into: the NIE, the padrón in Barcelona, a digital login, registering as autónomo and the digital nomad visa.

Start with the NIE guide

A common order

Get a NIE, the number every later step asks for.
Register on the padrón where you live.
Set up Cl@ve or a digital certificate so you can file online.
If you will work for yourself, register as autónomo before your first invoice.

Each guide follows the official page for the procedure, shows the date it was checked and links to that page. Nothing is guessed, and where an amount changes every year we do not print one.

Read how the guides are checked and what they do not cover before you rely on one.

Start here

NIEForeigner identity number: fee, documents and steps
Empadronamiento in BarcelonaRegister on the city's population register
Cl@veOne login for Spain's online public services
Digital certificate (FNMT)Who can get it and what it needs
Register as autónomoDocuments, steps and what the contributions cover
Autónomo: starting before you registerFines and the contribution base for late registration
Autónomo and employee at oncePluriactividad and contributions in both regimes
Digital nomad visaWho it is for, documents and steps