NIE and TIE to hire a domestic worker in Spain: a guide for foreigners

It is usually the first question foreign families ask us: which papers do we need before our housekeeper or nanny starts? The answer depends on who you are, where you live and where she comes from, so this guide takes the cases one at a time.

The NIE and the TIE are not the same thing

The NIE is a number, not a document. The Immigration Regulation describes it as a personal, unique and exclusive identifier that must appear on every document issued to you (article 205 of Royal Decree 1155/2024). Foreigners in an immigration procedure receive it automatically; anyone else with economic, professional or social interests in Spain, such as owning a home or employing someone, applies for it.

The TIE (tarjeta de identidad de extranjero) is the card. Every foreigner with a visa or authorisation to stay in Spain for more than six months must apply for it in person within one month of arriving or of the authorisation taking effect (article 209). It shows the NIE, proves the holder's legal situation in Spain and is valid for as long as the authorisation behind it.

Citizens of the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland do not get a TIE. If they are going to live in Spain for more than three months, they must register in person with the Central Register of Foreigners within three months of arriving, and they receive a registration certificate on the spot, with their NIE on it (article 7 of Royal Decree 240/2007). British citizens are no longer in that group: British residents covered by the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement are documented with a TIE of their own.

Do you, as the employer, need an NIE?

Yes, if you are not Spanish. To register a domestic worker, Social Security asks for the employer's identification (a DNI, an NIE or a Social Security number) and assigns you an employer code the first time you hire (Social Security's guide for household employers). Without that identification you cannot be registered as an employer, and the registration has to be in place before she starts work.

If you already live in Spain, your NIE is on your TIE or on your EU registration certificate. If you own a home in Spain but live elsewhere, you apply for it as someone with economic or social interests in the country, on form EX-15: in Spain, in person at an immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) or a police station, and from abroad, through a Spanish consulate. The police must decide within five days.

With the NIE you can register her online. We explain how, and what changes if you do not live in Spain, in our guide to Social Security for foreign employers.

Does your housekeeper or nanny need one?

If she is Spanish, her DNI is enough. If she is not, Social Security's guide for household employers sets out what to check before you hire her:

• From the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland: she can work as long as she has an NIE. If she does not have one yet, she must apply for it first.
• From any other country: she needs a temporary residence and work authorisation, or long-term residence, in force. Her TIE tells you which one she holds.

Her Social Security number is the other piece. If she does not have one yet, the Social Security portal can create it during her registration, provided she has her NIE.

At Maids & Co we interview every candidate in person and check her documentation and references before we present her. Whether you need a live-in housekeeper, a nanny in Madrid or a housekeeper in Marbella, the first profiles arrive in under 3 hours and you only pay if you hire.

Where to apply and what it costs

• NIE (form EX-15): in person at an immigration office or a police station in Spain, or through a Spanish consulate if you are abroad. Fee: €9.84.
• EU registration certificate (form EX-18): in person at the immigration office of your province or, failing that, at a police station, within three months of arriving. It is issued immediately. Fee: €12.
• TIE (form EX-17): in person at an immigration office or a police station, within one month of arriving or of your authorisation taking effect. Fee: €16.08 for a first temporary residence card.

The fees are paid with form 790, code 012; these are the amounts on the Policía Nacional fee table in October 2026. Allow time: the forms are short, but everything has to be ready before her first day, because by then she must already be registered with Social Security.

If she has no NIE or no work authorisation

If she is from the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, she applies for her NIE, or for her registration certificate if she is going to live in Spain, before she starts. Until she has it, you cannot register her, and without registration she cannot start work.

If she is from outside the EU and has no authorisation, you cannot employ her legally for now. Employing a foreign national without a prior residence and work authorisation is a very serious infringement of the Immigration Act, with a fine of €10,001 to €100,000 for each worker (articles 54.1.d and 55.1.c of Organic Law 4/2000). The lack of an authorisation does not cancel her rights under the employment relationship (article 36.5), but it does leave you exposed.

There are legal routes. In the arraigo sociolaboral, for example, she must have been in Spain continuously for at least the previous two years, and her application includes one or more employment contracts that add up to at least 20 hours a week and pay at least the minimum wage (articles 126 and 127 of Royal Decree 1155/2024). We explain the routes in our guides to hiring a foreign domestic worker and to the arraigo sociolaboral. When her first residence and work authorisation is granted, it only takes effect once you register her with Social Security (article 36.2 of the Immigration Act), and from then she has one month to apply for her TIE.

Checklist before her first day

• Your NIE (or DNI) and a way into the Social Security portal: SMS, Cl@ve or a digital certificate.
• Her NIE or DNI and, if she is from outside the EU, her TIE with the authorisation in force.
• The signed employment contract, with her hours, her pay and, for a live-in, the overnight arrangement.
• Her registration with Social Security, done before she starts.
• The bank account for the monthly contributions, with a bank on the Social Security list.

If you prefer, our labour and legal team can register her and draft the contract for you. Tell us what you need.

This content is for information only and was updated in October 2026. It is not a substitute for personalised legal advice.