How to apply for a Spanish NIE from Brazil: which consulate to use
In this article
Short answer. To apply for a Spanish NIE from Brazil, start with your registered address: five Spanish consular offices serve the country — a consular section at the embassy in Brasília, plus consulates general in Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador de Bahía and São Paulo. The office covering your address forwards your application, but the NIE itself is assigned by Spain’s General Commissariat for Immigration and Borders, and it arrives by email.
This is an independent guide by E-Residence, a private service. It is not an official website of any consulate and does not control appointments; every procedure in it links to its official source. Recheck the official page on the day you act.
For the wider picture of how consular NIE applications work, see our guide to NIE applications at Spanish consulates outside Spain. Here, the focus is Brazil and its five offices.
Which office covers your address?
The consular districts follow Spain’s official division of Brazil. Residence is the starting point — not nationality, and not the office with the most convenient appointment. The list below matches each office’s published district.
| Where you live (registered address) | Office | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Federal District, Goiás, Amazonas, Pará, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Rondônia, Roraima, Acre and Amapá (published consular demarcation) | Consular section of the Embassy, Brasília | Brasília NIE page |
| Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina | Consulate General, Porto Alegre | Porto Alegre NIE page |
| Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo | Consulate General, Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro NIE page |
| Northeast Brazil: Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão | Consulate General, Salvador de Bahía | Salvador de Bahía NIE page |
| São Paulo, Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul | Consulate General, São Paulo | São Paulo NIE page |
If your address does not map clearly to one of these lists, confirm it with the office before contacting it rather than guessing. The embassy’s official consular-office directory for Brazil is the source of these districts.
The consular NIE route: what applies across Brazil
Every office here follows the same national procedure, with local differences in how you book and what you bring. The shared points, as published by the offices themselves:
- A NIE can be requested directly in Spain or at the consular office for your country of residence. From Brazil, that is the office covering your address.
- You apply in person or through a duly accredited representative — and the physical presence of the applicant or the representative is always mandatory. Do not read the representative route as one that removes attendance altogether.
- You must state the economic, professional or social reasons that justify the application, and offices may ask for documents proving them.
- The standard document set is an EX-15 form (original and one copy), a valid passport with a copy of the data page (EU citizens may use a national identity document), proof of residence in the consular district, and a completed Modelo 790, Código 012 with the fee paid.
- The consular NIE is identification, not residence. The offices state that a NIE processed through them is not valid to reside in Spain and does not accredit residence there, and that anyone planning to settle in Spain must check visa requirements first.
- The consulate does not issue the number. It is assigned by the General Commissariat for Immigration and Borders, part of Spain’s Directorate-General for the Police. The consulate cannot speed up processing, and the NIE is sent to the applicant by email — so put a working notification address on the form.
Prefer to prepare your application with E-Residence? Start an NIE enquiry — a private service that helps you organise the paperwork before you contact the office. An enquiry does not create, confirm or replace an official appointment.
Office by office: how each one runs NIE applications
Brasília — consular section of the embassy
Brasília books through the online appointments link published on its consular page, and its page notes that most services require an appointment. Its district is the widest of the five — the Federal District plus nine states across the north and centre-west — so applicants from Amazonas, Pará or Acre may face a long trip to the capital; the page is also where the fee in reais is listed on the linked table. The section’s published general inbox is sc.brasilia@maec.es. Brasília NIE page
Porto Alegre — consulate general
Porto Alegre asks you to request the appointment by email: write to cog.portoalegre@maec.es. It covers Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, repeats the standard document set and points to the consular fees list for the current amount rather than publishing a figure. Porto Alegre NIE page
Rio de Janeiro — consulate general
At Rio de Janeiro the visa section handles NIE applications, and the page reviewed here does not spell out a separate booking route beyond its own page — check the office page before travelling, and use the visa-section inbox cog.riodejaneiro.vis@maec.es as the published contact. On payment, the page states that the fee must be paid at the moment of application, per the Consulate General’s price table. Its district covers Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. Rio de Janeiro NIE page
Salvador de Bahía — consulate general
Salvador de Bahía is the exception among the five: no appointment is needed. This service can be done in person, without an appointment, from 9:00 to 13:30 — a published walk-in feature rather than a booking model. For questions, email cog.salvador.vis@maec.es. It covers northeast Brazil (Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão) and points to the consular fees for the current amount. Salvador de Bahía NIE page
São Paulo — consulate general
São Paulo asks you to appear in person at the visa section with a prior appointment, booked through the link on its page. Two specifics are worth reading on the page itself. On residence, it asks for a utility bill in your own name (electricity, water, gas, landline or internet) or your voter ID, and it states that third-party statements are not accepted. On payment, the fee is paid at the consulate, in cash, in Brazilian reais, with the value on the linked table. Its district covers São Paulo, Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul. São Paulo NIE page
Addresses and map links
| Office | Address | Open the map |
|---|---|---|
| Brasília (consular section) | SES, Avenida das Nações, Quadra 811, Lote 44, 70429-900 Brasília DF, Brazil | Google Maps |
| Porto Alegre | Av. Carlos Gomes, 222, Conjunto 301, Barrio Auxiliadora, 90480-000 Porto Alegre - RS, Brazil | Google Maps |
| Rio de Janeiro | Lauro Muller, 116, Salas 1601/1602, Torre Río Sul - Botafogo, 22290-160 Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil | Google Maps |
| Salvador de Bahía | Edificio Farol Praia Center, Avenida Oceánica 8, piso 1 - Barra, Salvador de Bahía - BA, Brazil | Google Maps |
| São Paulo | Avenida Brasil, 948 - Jardim América, 01430-000 São Paulo (SP), Brazil | Google Maps |
These are the offices’ published addresses. The map links are navigation aids built from those addresses — they do not confirm which service a building hosts, and they are no substitute for the office’s own page. Check the address there before travelling.
What this guide does not confirm
- Current fees for any office. None of the five publishes an amount in the material reviewed here. São Paulo states the fee is paid at the consulate in cash in reais, Rio de Janeiro states it is paid at the moment of application, and the other three point to a fee table or list. Take the figure from your office on the day you pay.
- Processing times. No office reviewed here publishes how long the NIE takes. Treat any estimate you see elsewhere as unconfirmed and ask your office.
- A booking channel for Rio de Janeiro. Its page says the visa section handles NIE applications but does not set out a separate booking route; use the published visa-section inbox and check the page again before travelling.
- Document specifics beyond the standard set. Only São Paulo publishes an explicit residence-proof rule for this guide, and it is stricter than a bare statement of address. The other offices repeat the standard document list without local detail.
Want a second pair of eyes on your document set before you email the office? Send your situation through a short NIE enquiry. We flag gaps before the office does — an enquiry does not replace or speed up the official procedure.
Frequently asked questions
Which Spanish consulate in Brazil covers my address?
It depends on your registered address. Brasília, through its consular section, covers the Federal District, Goiás, Amazonas, Pará, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Rondônia, Roraima, Acre and Amapá. Porto Alegre covers Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Rio de Janeiro covers Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. Salvador de Bahía covers Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão. São Paulo covers São Paulo, Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul. Confirm your district with the office before contacting it.
Consular-office directory for Brazil
Do I need proof of residence in Brazil to apply through a consulate?
Yes — the offices reviewed for this guide ask for evidence that you live in their consular district. São Paulo is the most explicit of the five: it asks for a utility bill in your own name (electricity, water, gas, landline or internet) or your voter ID, and states that third-party statements are not accepted. If your situation is unusual — a recent move, a shared address, a bill in someone else’s name — ask the office what will establish your residence before you travel.
São Paulo’s requirement · Porto Alegre’s document list
Can someone else submit the application — do I have to attend in person?
The applicant or a duly accredited representative must attend; the physical presence of the applicant or the representative is always mandatory, as the offices state. If you use a representative, expect to supply the representative’s identity document plus a power of attorney that expressly authorises them to file the NIE application, and check the formalities with your office. One office here departs from the appointment model: Salvador de Bahía accepts this service in person without an appointment.
Brasília NIE page · Salvador de Bahía NIE page
Does the consular NIE let me live or work in Spain?
No. The NIE issued through a consulate is an identification number: the offices state that it is not valid to reside in Spain and does not accredit residence there. If you plan to settle in Spain, check the visa and residence requirements first — that route starts in Spain, not at the consulate. Treat the consular NIE as what it is: a tax and identification number for dealings with Spain, not a residence permit.
National Police — NIE assignment · Rio de Janeiro NIE page
Who assigns the NIE, and how long does it take?
The number is assigned by the General Commissariat for Immigration and Borders, under Spain’s Directorate-General for the Police — not by the consulate, which cannot shorten processing. None of the five offices reviewed here publishes a processing time for NIE applications, so this guide cannot confirm one. The NIE is delivered to the applicant by email, so make sure the notification address on the form works.
National Police — NIE assignment · Consular-office directory for Brazil
Where do I get the EX-15 and how do I pay the fee?
Open the forms from your office’s NIE page: EX-15 for the application and Modelo 790, Código 012 for the fee. Payment practice differs: São Paulo states the fee is paid at the consulate, in cash, in Brazilian reais, with the value on its linked table; Rio de Janeiro states the fee must be paid at the moment of application, per the Consulate General’s price table; Brasília points to the fee in reais on its linked table; Porto Alegre and Salvador de Bahía direct you to the consular fees list. No office here publishes a figure, so take the amount from your office on the day you pay.
São Paulo NIE page · Rio de Janeiro NIE page · Brasília NIE page
Choose your next step
You can run the whole process yourself through the official channels above — it costs the official fee and, in most cases, one appointment in Brazil. Recheck your office’s page on the day you act, because document lists and fees change.
Prefer to prepare with E-Residence? Start an NIE enquiry and describe your purpose in one or two sentences. An enquiry does not replace the official procedure; it helps you arrive at it prepared.
For the full service picture, see NIE in Spain.
Editorial note: procedures, forms and local practice can change. Recheck the official links on the day you submit your application.
Official sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Spanish consular offices in Brazil — the official district list used for the table above.
- Brasília — Consular Section of the Embassy: NIE — appointments link, wide district and fee table in reais.
- Porto Alegre — Consulate General: NIE — email booking and consular fees list.
- Rio de Janeiro — Consulate General: NIE — visa section handles NIE, fee paid at application.
- Salvador de Bahía — Consulate General: NIE — walk-in service, 9:00 to 13:30, and query inbox.
- São Paulo — Consulate General: NIE — appointment link, residence proof and cash-in-reais fee.
- National Police — NIE assignment procedure — the national procedure behind the consular route.
Last checked: 30 September 2026.