How to apply for a Spanish NIE from China: which consulate to use
In this article
Short answer. To apply for a Spanish NIE from China, start with your registered address: four Spanish consular offices serve the country — the consular section of the embassy in Beijing, and consulates general in Shanghai, Chengdu and Canton (Guangzhou). 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 China and its four offices.
Which office covers your address?
The consular districts follow Spain’s official division of China. 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 two published lists overlap, confirm the right office with the consulate before you contact it.
| Where you live (registered address) | Office | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing, Chongqing and Tianjin municipalities; the provinces of Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Sichuan; the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Tibet | Embassy consular section, Beijing | Beijing NIE page |
| Shanghai municipality and the neighbouring provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Zhejiang | Consulate General, Shanghai | Shanghai NIE page |
| The provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou; Chongqing municipality | Consulate General, Chengdu | Chengdu NIE page |
| Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Yunnan and the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi | Consulate General, Canton (Guangzhou) | Canton 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 China is the source of these districts.
The consular NIE route: what applies across China
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 China, 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.
- Across China, the offices run NIE appointments by email. Beijing and Chengdu ask for a prior appointment by email, Shanghai asks for it by email at least two days ahead, and Canton publishes no booking system at all — there, the published route is to contact the office by email.
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
Beijing — embassy consular section
Beijing handles NIE applications through the consular section of the embassy, and it books by prior appointment by email: write to cog.pekin.nac@maec.es. Its NIE page sits inside the embassy’s consular-services index (the page is reached with the scd=225 reference), and it states that appointments run during public hours Monday to Friday, 9:30–14:30. The page restates the standard documents and lists Form 790, code 12 as the fee form, with the amount per the office fee page. Beijing NIE page
Shanghai — consulate general
Shanghai requires an appointment, requested by email with the subject “Solicitud cita”: write to cog.shanghai.nac@maec.es, state the procedure and your preferred day and time, and send it at least two days in advance. Attention hours are Monday to Friday, 09:00–14:00. For the fee, its NIE page shows the 2021 fee as an example (9.74 euros) and directs you to the office fee list for the current amount. Shanghai NIE page
Chengdu — consulate general
Chengdu books by prior appointment by email: write to cog.chengdu.nac@maec.es and indicate the procedure, your full name and your preferred date and time. Its fee note follows the same pattern as Shanghai — the NIE page shows the 2021 fee as an example (9.74 euros) and points to the office fee list. Chengdu NIE page
Canton (Guangzhou) — consulate general
Canton’s NIE page publishes no booking system for the NIE. The published route is to contact the office directly: for NIE procedures, the page gives cog.canton.nac@maec.es. It also links an English translation of form EX-15 to help you fill it in, and it carries the same 2021 fee example (9.74 euros) with a pointer to the office fee list. Canton NIE page
Addresses and map links
| Office | Address | Open the map |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing | Chaoyang Qu, Sanlitun Lu, 9, 100600 Pekín (Beijing) | Google Maps |
| Shanghai | 88 Century Avenue, floor 12, room 1201, Jinmao Tower, Pudong District, Shanghai 200121 | Google Maps |
| Chengdu | CCEC, Rooms 1004-1006, 1577 Middle Section of Tianfu Avenue, Hi-tech Zone, Chengdu | Google Maps |
| Canton (Guangzhou) | Office 501, 5th floor, R&F Center, Huaxia Road nº10, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District, 510623 Guangzhou | 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
- Appointment waiting times. No office reviewed here publishes current waiting times for an appointment, and none of the four publishes a processing time for the NIE itself. Treat any estimate as unconfirmed and ask your office.
- Current fees for every office. Beijing points to its fee page and lists Form 790, code 12; Shanghai, Chengdu and Canton show the 2021 fee as an example (9.74 euros) and direct you to the office fee list. Take the amount from the office or the payment form on the day you pay.
- A booking channel for Canton. Its NIE page publishes no booking system; the route it gives is to contact the office by email. Write to the office first.
- Overlapping districts. The published districts are not perfectly mutually exclusive — for example, Chongqing appears in both the Beijing and Chengdu lists, and Guizhou and Yunnan appear in both the Chengdu and Canton lists. Where a list overlaps, ask the offices which one corresponds to your address.
- Walk-in service. No page reviewed describes accepting NIE applications without an appointment. Presence is mandatory, but arrange the channel first.
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 China covers my address?
It depends on your registered address. The consular section of the embassy in Beijing covers the Beijing, Chongqing and Tianjin municipalities, the provinces of Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Sichuan, and the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Tibet. Shanghai covers the Shanghai municipality and the neighbouring provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Chengdu covers the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou and the Chongqing municipality. Canton (Guangzhou) covers Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Yunnan and the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi. Some published lists overlap, so confirm your district with the office before contacting it.
Consular-office directory for China
Do I need proof of residence in China to apply through a consulate?
Yes — the offices reviewed for this guide ask for evidence that you live in their consular district, and the standard document set includes proof of residence in the consular district. The district is fixed by your registered address, so proof that ties you to that address is what the office asks for. If your situation is unusual, ask the office what will establish your residence.
Beijing NIE page · Chengdu NIE page
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 every office here states. If you use a representative, the office asks for the representative’s identity document plus a power of attorney that expressly authorises them to file the NIE application — and the formalities differ by office, so check yours.
Shanghai NIE page · Canton 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.
Beijing NIE page · Chengdu 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. The four offices reviewed for this guide do not publish a processing time for NIE applications, and delivery is by email. Put a working notification address on the form and treat any estimate you see elsewhere as unconfirmed.
Shanghai NIE page · National Police — NIE assignment procedure
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. Beijing lists Form 790, code 12 and points to its fee page; Shanghai, Chengdu and Canton show the 2021 fee as an example (9.74 euros) and direct you to the office fee list. Take the current figure from the office or the payment form on the day you act.
Canton NIE page · Shanghai 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 China. 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 China — the official district list used for the table above.
- Beijing — Embassy consular section: NIE — email booking, public hours, documents and the 790-012 fee form.
- Shanghai — Consulate General: NIE — email booking with a fixed subject, attention hours and the fee pointer.
- Chengdu — Consulate General: NIE — email booking with full name and preferred date, and the fee pointer.
- Canton — Consulate General: NIE — no published booking system, EX-15 translation and the fee pointer.
- National Police — NIE assignment procedure — the national procedure behind the consular route.
Last checked: 5 October 2026.