How to get a Social Security number in Spain as a foreigner

What the NUSS is (and how it differs from the NIE)

The Número de la Seguridad Social (NUSS) identifies you in the Spanish Social Security system. When you start working, that same number becomes your affiliation number (NAF). You need it to work and for many benefit procedures.

The NIE is a different number: it is your foreigner identity number, from the Policía Nacional. You need both to work. Before you apply, check that you do not already have a NUSS: if you worked in Spain before, or received health care as a family member of someone insured, you may already have one. The number is unique for life, so do not ask for a new one. Check old payslips or your informe de vida laboral (work history report).

Three official ways to apply

1. Online in Import@ss (the TGSS online portal) with Cl@ve or a digital certificate. Choose "Solicitar el Número de la Seguridad Social", identify yourself and fill in your details. This is the fastest way.

2. Online in Import@ss without a digital ID. You fill in your details, take a selfie following the instructions and upload a photo of both sides of your ID document. You need an email address and a phone or device with a camera. The TGSS first checks your identity, so it takes longer.

3. In person at a TGSS office (Administración). Bring the modelo TA.1 filled in and signed and your original ID document. Check first if the office serves people with or without an appointment. For information or a TGSS video appointment, you can call 901 50 20 50 and 91 541 02 91.

The CAISS are INSS offices (pensions, benefits, health care): they are not the usual place to ask for the NUSS.

Which documents you need

The usual document for foreigners is a valid NIE or TIE (foreigner ID card). According to the modelo TA.1, a passport is accepted for EU, EEA or Swiss citizens, who must then provide their NIE within 3 months of entering Spain. If you are from outside the EU, to work you usually need a work permit, and with it you will have an NIE: apply with your NIE or TIE. We could not confirm in official sources whether Import@ss accepts only a passport in the no-digital-ID option for people from outside the EU; if this is your case, ask at a TGSS office or on the official phone lines.

You also need the current modelo TA.1 (download it from seg-social.es), an email address and an address in Spain where you receive letters. Use your name exactly as on your passport or TIE.

If your employer applies for you

If a company is going to hire you and you have no number, the company must apply for your affiliation and can request your number through the Sistema RED. Give the company a copy of your ID and your exact details.

Having a number is not the same as being registered (estar de alta). The company must request your registration before you start working, and never more than 60 days before (Real Decreto 84/1996, art. 32). You can check it in your vida laboral in Import@ss. For domestic work, the family that hires you must register you.

Cost, timing and keeping your details up to date

Getting the number is free: neither the TGSS nor the company can charge you for it. The Social Security gives a maximum of 45 days to decide on the application; if that time passes with no answer, it is treated as accepted. This comes from an old information page, so check it in Import@ss.

The TGSS gives you your number in writing or in Import@ss. Keep it safe: you will use it for your whole working life in Spain. If your document changes (for example, from passport to TIE), or your name or address changes, report the change with the modelo TA.1 or in Import@ss. This page is general information, not legal advice.