Using your paper EU registration certificate with banks and landlords

There is no residence card for EU citizens, so staff who ask for a TIE are asking for something you cannot get. Cards exist only for non-EU family members.

What to show

The certificate has no photo, so it never works alone. Show it with your valid passport or national ID card. The certificate states your NIE, which is the number most institutions need.

Banks, landlords, telecoms and notaries

Spanish law does not oblige a private business to accept one particular document, so acceptance depends on the bank, branch or landlord. Passport plus certificate is what most banks accept, and notaries usually accept it too. Some branches and landlords are unfamiliar with it and ask for a card.

Say plainly that EU free-movement law gives you the right to live here without holding a card, and that the certificate is the document Spain issues to prove it. If the person still refuses:

1. Ask for the refusal in writing; this often changes the answer.
2. Ask to speak to the manager or try another branch.
3. Complain to the institution itself. For a bank, you can complain to the Bank of Spain.
4. You can also contact the Defensor del Pueblo, SOLVIT or the Oficina de Extranjería.

A landlord who still refuses is within their rights, so you may need another property or other proof such as payslips.

Can you get a card instead?

Some offices issue a card-format certificate, but you have no right to one. Ask your local Oficina de Extranjería or police station.

If you are a non-EU relative

Once you hold the family card, this page does not apply to you. While you hold only the resguardo (the receipt for your application), it does: show it with your passport, since it proves you may stay and work while the card is pending.