NIE/NIF number for the Canary Islands

[amgrieman]

Hi there! I am moving to the Canary Islands (Lanzarote) in a few weeks with my UK boyfriend. We have been told by people living there that it is easy to get an ID number to work there. However, all of these people have EU passports. I could not find any info on the internet, so was just wondering if there are any Canadians in the Canaries with a NIF number and did you have any problems getting it?

Thanks

[carebrennan]

Are you in Europe on a visa or are you here on a basic 90 day tourist visa? This might have an impact on whether you can apply for some sort of ID number or temporary residence card from the government in Spain. My family is here on a student visa. The Government has allowed us to register as temporary residents and has provided us with a certificate however we were not given an NIF, we always must present our passport in place of this. If you are here on a work visa then it might be more likely that they would provide this number to you.

[Bluesky]

Hi! I'm here living with my UK boyfriend in Barcelona. I'm sorry to say, but there is no actual way of you getting a NIF/NIE number in Spain. The governments of Spain and Canada do not have any sort of agreement for working visas and without a EU passport you will be unable to receive a working number. However, I've been here for the past 7 months (obviously overstaying my tourist visa) and working under the table. I hear that some bars and clubs will hire servers under the table, but I know that a lot of them are quite nervous about doing so. I teach English here in BArcelona and I go into people's homes and offices and give private lessons through an agency in the city. I'm not too sure about the demand in the Canary's but you might be able to do something like this. Also, some families like to hire English speaking baby-sitters to take care of their children for a few hours each day and speak English to them. Check out the website "loquo" for some job opportunities. Hope you have a good move to the Canary Islands.

[canaries13]

Hi amgrieman,

I've been living in Tenerife about 3 years now and have an NIE...let me know if you are still on this message board and I'll give you the run down if you are....or for anyone else that needs to know, just ask! Thanks.