Opening a bank account
You will know what to bring, which route fits your status, and what to do if the bank says no.
A Spanish bank account is the key to getting paid, paying rent and utilities, and using Bizum. This topic covers how to open one as a newcomer: the documents and tax-residency declarations banks ask for, opening a non-resident account before you arrive, what to do if a bank refuses you, and how to…
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Routes to your first Spanish bank account and what to expect
Spain has three routes to a first bank account: branch, online, or a non-resident account before you move.
What documents a Spanish bank asks for to open an account
Explains why Spanish banks ask for each document and declaration when you open an account, and what they accept if one is missing. For newcomers, whether resident or non-resident, who want to arrive at the bank prepared.
Opening a Spanish bank account before you move
A non-resident Spanish bank account can sometimes be opened before you arrive, but it depends on the bank, your NIE, and the fees and limits.
If a bank won't open your account, what are your options?
Explains why Spanish banks refuse or stall new accounts, what rights you have, and the fallback routes: another bank, a basic payment account, and complaints. For newcomers who have been turned away or kept waiting.
Banking as a student, au pair or short-stay resident
For students, au pairs and other short-stay residents who need a workable bank setup without long-term residence or a fixed address. It explains which account types fit, what each can and cannot do, and which paperwork banks tend to accept.
Resident or non-resident account: what changes after your move
Explains what to tell your Spanish bank when you become a resident, change address or renew your NIE, TIE or ID, how to report it, and what can happen to your account if you don't. For anyone with a Spanish account who is moving or has moved.
About this topic
You will know what to bring, which route fits your status, and what to do if the bank says no. No law requires an NIE or a padrón to open an account, but most banks ask for the NIE.
Start with Routes to your first Spanish bank account and what to expect, then read What documents a Spanish bank asks for to open an account so you arrive prepared.
Opening a bank account: the whole process, step by step
- Choose your route (branch, online or pre-arrival non-resident account) and gather your passport or ID and NIE: Before you contact any bank
- Collect your documents: ID, NIE, proof of address and the reason for the account: Before your appointment or online application.
- If you are still abroad, open a non-resident account: Before you move, or on a visit
- Sign the tax-residency self-certification, declaring every country where you are tax resident and your tax number in each: When you open the account
- If the bank refuses or stalls, complain to its customer service and ask for a basic payment account: The bank must reply to a complete basic payment account application within 10 working days, and to a complaint about it within 15 business days
- If you complain and the reply is a rejection or never comes, take it to Banco de España with the bank's reply: After the bank's reply or the end of its reply deadline
- Tell the bank when your residency, address, nationality, tax residence or NIE/TIE changes: Within 30 days of the change
Documents you may need
Identity and residence
- A valid passport — What documents a Spanish bank asks for to open an account
- Your NIE — What documents a Spanish bank asks for to open an account
- Your ID — If a bank won't open your account, what are your options?, Resident or non-resident account: what changes after your move
- A tax residence self-certification form — Resident or non-resident account: what changes after your move
- A padrón certificate (not required) — What documents a Spanish bank asks for to open an account
Income and work
- Proof of income — What documents a Spanish bank asks for to open an account
The home and the lease
- Proof of address — What documents a Spanish bank asks for to open an account
Payments and receipts
- A signed declaration that you hold no other payment account in Spain giving the same services — If a bank won't open your account, what are your options?
Other documents
- The bank's complaint reply — If a bank won't open your account, what are your options?
- EU registration certificate — Routes to your first Spanish bank account and what to expect, Opening a Spanish bank account before you move
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Need certainty before you act?
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