How to apply for a Spanish NIE from Mexico: which consulate to use
In this article
Short answer. To apply for a Spanish NIE from Mexico, start with your registered address: three Spanish consulates general serve the country — Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. 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 as a certificate in PDF.
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 Mexico and its three offices.
Which office covers your address?
The consular districts follow Spain’s official division of Mexico. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ciudad de México, Estado de México, Puebla, Hidalgo, Morelos, Guerrero, Michoacán, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala, San Luis Potosí, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, Quintana Roo | Consulate General, Mexico City | Mexico City NIE page |
| Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Baja California, Baja California Sur | Consulate General, Monterrey | Monterrey NIE page |
| Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas | Consulate General, Guadalajara | Guadalajara 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 Mexico is the source of these districts.
The consular NIE route: what applies across Mexico
All three offices follow the same national procedure, with local differences in how you book and what you pay. 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 Mexico, that is the office covering your registered address — Mexico City, Monterrey or Guadalajara. The three districts are not interchangeable.
- You apply in person or through a duly accredited representative — and the physical presence of the applicant or the representative is always mandatory. How far representation is accepted differs by office: Monterrey restricts it to minors or persons with disability, while Mexico City states that attendance in person by the applicant is required.
- You must state the economic, professional or social reasons that justify the application, and the office 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 here is a certificate, not a card — and it is identification, not residence. All three offices state that the route yields an NIE certificate in PDF, without validity for residence, and that the physical card is only issued in Spain. 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
Mexico City — consulate general
Mexico City runs NIE applications by appointment, requested through the link published on its own page, and states that the applicant must attend in person — there is no representative route described for this office. On payment, the fee is taken in cash at the consulate’s cashier, window 1, after you submit the documents; the amount itself is not printed on the page, so check the consular fees page it links to. The office also notes that when the procedure is handled through an honorary consulate, the payment is made by cashier’s cheque. Two points worth remembering: the result is an NIE certificate in PDF, not the physical card, and the card is only issued in Spain. Mexico City NIE page
Monterrey — consulate general
Monterrey asks you to request the appointment by email: write to cog.monterrey.vis@maec.es. On payment it is specific — 208 pesos, exact amount, at the time of the appointment — so bring the precise sum. Its page also carries the strictest representation rule of the three offices: representation is accepted only for minors or persons with disability, and the representative must show the family link. As with the other Mexican offices, the route produces an NIE certificate in PDF, and the card is only issued in Spain. Monterrey NIE page
Guadalajara — consulate general
Guadalajara also books by email: write to cog.guadalajara.citrmc@maec.es to request the appointment. Its page states the fee concretely — 276.00 Mexican pesos, exact amount, in cash, on the appointment day — so arrive with the exact money. It also restates the shared certificate caveat: the route yields a PDF certificate without validity for residence, and the physical card is only issued in Spain. Guadalajara NIE page
Addresses and map links
| Office | Address | Open the map |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico City | C/ Galileo nº 114, Col. Polanco, 11550 Miguel Hidalgo, Ciudad de México, Mexico | Google Maps |
| Monterrey | Boulevard Díaz Ordaz nº 140 Poniente, Oficinas en el Parque, Torre II, piso 7, Col. Santa María, 64650 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico | Google Maps |
| Guadalajara | Avenida Pablo Neruda 2710, Edificio Altus, piso 5, Col. Providencia 3a. Sección, 44630 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | 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
- Processing and waiting times. None of the offices reviewed here publishes a processing time for a consular NIE application, and no appointment waiting time is listed either. Treat any estimate you read elsewhere as unconfirmed and ask your office.
- The fee amount at Mexico City. Its page states where and when you pay — cash at the cashier, window 1, after submitting the documents — but does not print the figure; the amount is on the consular fees page it links to. The honorary consulate route is paid by cashier’s cheque.
- A contact email for Mexico City. The directory reviewed here lists no email address for this office, and its booking runs through the link on its own page. Monterrey and Guadalajara publish their addresses for booking.
- Representation at every office. Monterrey restricts representation to minors or persons with disability, and Mexico City requires the applicant to attend in person. Guadalajara publishes no separate rule; confirm with your office before sending anyone.
- 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 Mexico covers my address?
It depends on your registered address. The Consulate General in Mexico City covers Ciudad de México, Estado de México, Puebla, Hidalgo, Morelos, Guerrero, Michoacán, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala, San Luis Potosí, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. Monterrey covers Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Baja California and Baja California Sur. Guadalajara covers Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, Aguascalientes and Zacatecas. Confirm your district with the office before contacting it.
Consular-office directory for Mexico
Do I need proof of residence in Mexico to apply through a consulate?
Yes — the application is tied to the consular district where you live: the office covering your registered address is the one that can take it, and the standard document set includes proof of residence in that district. The NIE pages reviewed here do not itemise which Mexican documents are accepted as residence proof, so ask the office what will establish your address in its district.
Mexico City NIE page · Monterrey NIE page
Can someone else submit the application — do I have to attend in person?
The offices differ, so check yours. Mexico City states that attendance in person by the applicant is required. Monterrey accepts representation only for minors or persons with disability, and the representative must show the family link. Guadalajara publishes no separate rule of its own on this point, so ask the office before sending anyone on your behalf.
Mexico City NIE page · Monterrey NIE page
Does the consular NIE let me live or work in Spain?
No. The route through these offices yields an NIE certificate in PDF, not the physical card, and the pages describe it as without validity for residence: it is an identification number, not a residence permit. The card itself is only issued in Spain. If you plan to settle in Spain, check the visa and residence requirements first — that route starts in Spain, not at the consulate.
Guadalajara NIE page · Mexico City 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. Delivery is by email, so put a working notification address on the EX-15. None of the offices reviewed here publishes a processing time or an appointment waiting time for NIE applications.
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. Payment rules differ: Mexico City takes cash at the consulate’s cashier (window 1) after you submit the documents and points to the consular fees page for the amount, with the honorary consulate route paid by cashier’s cheque; Monterrey lists 208 pesos, exact, at the time of the appointment; Guadalajara lists 276.00 Mexican pesos, exact, in cash on the appointment day. Take the current figure from the office on the day you act.
Monterrey NIE page · Guadalajara 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 Mexico. 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 Mexico — the official district list used for the table above.
- Mexico City — Consulate General: NIE — booking link, in-person attendance, cash at window 1 and the certificate-PDF note.
- Monterrey — Consulate General: NIE — email booking, exact cash fee and the restricted representation rule.
- Guadalajara — Consulate General: NIE — email booking, exact cash fee and the certificate caveat.
- National Police — NIE assignment procedure — the national procedure behind the consular route.
Last checked: 30 September 2026.