An agreement has recently been reached between the General Council of Notaries and the Spanish Tax Office consisting of Notaries being able to request the provisional NIF (fiscal identification number) of natural persons in certain cases.
NIF´s with the letters K, L or M can be obtained. NIF´s with the letter M are provisionally granted to foreigners who do not have a NIE because they are not required to do so, as they are not going to be residents in Spain. The NIF M can also be requested on a temporary basis for foreigners who are obliged to have a NIE and have requested it, but have not yet been granted the number.
The NIF’s M, are the most frequent for people who are going to carry out some type of transaction for which they are obliged to pay taxes, such as the administration of a company, acquiring real estate, etc., but who are not going to reside in Spain. If they were to be residents, they must complete the process as established and request the residency from the National Police.
So, in order to set up a company in Spain or to acquire a property, Notaries can quickly request your NIF and be able to carry out the procedures in a reasonable time.
Once you have the provisional NIF, it is necessary to carry out the pertinent procedures with the National Police to obtain the definitive NIF. There is a maximum period of two months from obtaining the provisional NIF to notify the Tax Office of the new and definitive NIF to avoid administrative sanctions.
Gestoria department