Hello everyone,
I came to Spain 3 weeks ago with the intension to buy property in the country. It took me 2 and a half weeks to take an appointment for NIE. I submitted all the documents that were required: a completed EX-15 form in multiple copies, a copy of an identity document, a document proving the reason for issuing the number and the paid fee “Tasa 790 012”.
Paying the number fee was a bit of a nightmare. This is not new information, I expected it. In order to be issued a NIE number I need to have a NIE number to pay with. Luckily I found a Cajamar ATM and solved the problem. Now I have a positive view of AI, when no human can help you, the machine becomes your new best friend.
Before the appointment I was told that the number would be issued immediately on a white piece of paper (NIE blanco)
I went to the appointed meeting time at the local police headquarters and after about 30 minutes it was my turn.
I submitted all the documents I had prepared. The clerk asked me to sign the EX-15 form in front of her, which I did without hesitation.
But after a few minutes she told me there was a problem with my 3rd (last) name. I asked what the problem was and she said she couldn’t enter two names that were identical. I come from a country where all people have 3 names and some of them very often have 2 identical name. So, in practice, my third name, turned out to be unnecessary, and I have been using it for 37 years without knowing it.
The last thing I could think of that would fail my NIE appointment out of all the prepared documents turned out to be my third name. How can it be that in a country where there are people with 3-4 or even more names, they cannot recognize foreigners with 3 names? There is no logic.
I tried in every way to convince the lady that she was wrong, but she wouldn’t listen. I also showed my European driving license, but that didn’t help either. She asked for my passport, which is absurd for members of the European Union. No one in the European Union travels with a passport in the Schengen area.
So, most unceremoniously, she took the form I signed earlier and crossed out my third name. She must have thought she was doing me a favor by relieving me of the heavy burden of having a redundant third name :D
Unfortunately, evil does not come alone. I couldn’t even get the wrong document that day. Turns out their system is down and I have to come in a few days.
I decided to seek legal help. I contacted a lawyer who wasn’t sure how much it would cost to fix the whole mess. He only said that prices would be high and it would take a long time. He was supposed to text me with details of the exact amount today but never got back to me. I was on hold all day and despite my attempts to contact him I was unsuccessful.
Good news for a person who has signed a preliminary contract for the purchase of a property in a country with a term expiring in just over a month. I am on the verge of losing several thousand euros due to someone else’s mistake.
I thought of scheduling another appointment for the NIE where I want it edited but who to go to. There is only one counter in the police station where the employee made the mistake.
I decided to write to the Spanish consulate in my country. My logic is that if it doesn’t work here, I can go back to the country I come from to try to solve the problem from there. (Kind of like restarting Windows. When things get stuck you log out and log back in). I’m still waiting for a response from the consulate, hopefully I’ll have a result soon.
If anyone has any other fun ideas, I’m willing to give them a try. Contacts with the King or other high-ranking figures will be beneficial.