EX-18 form: how to fill it in for your EU registration

EX-18 form: interactive example

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What is the EX-18 and who uses it

The EX-18 form registers you in the Registro Central de Extranjeros (Central Register of Foreign Nationals): you get the EU registration certificate with your NIE, often called the green NIE certificate. It is for citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland staying more than three months, and also to update your details or deregister.

From outside the EU, you apply for the TIE with the EX-17; a non-EU family member uses the EX-19 for the EU family member card; for a NIE without living here, the EX-15. Moving for good? Start with the moving to Spain checklist.

Download the EX-18

The EX18 form, as it is also written, comes from Spain's Ministry of Inclusion (version 03). It cannot be filled in on a computer: print it and complete it in CAPITALS, with a black pen and block letters, or typed. You hand in an original and a copy. The form is free.

Download the EX-18 (official PDF)

How to fill in the EX-18, box by box

The form is in Spanish, so write your answers in Spanish too.

1) Datos de la persona solicitante (applicant)

As in your passport or ID card: PASAPORTE (passport number), names, dates as dd/mm/yyyy, X for sex only if your country recognises it and marital status S, C, V, D or Sp. Domicilio en España is your address in Spain. With no NIE yet, leave that box blank.

2) Representative

Only if someone else submits the application; registration is in person, so check first whether the office accepts this.

3) Address for notifications

Where notifications should go; if blank, they go to the applicant. Tick CONSIENTO (DEHú, the online notification inbox) only if you have a digital certificate or Cl@ve.

4) SITUACIÓN EN ESPAÑA (status in Spain)

How long you plan to stay, the date your residence began and how many family members come with you.

4) RESIDENCIA TEMPORAL (temporary residence)

On arrival, tick Trabajador por cuenta ajena (employee), Trabajador por cuenta propia (self-employed), No activo con recursos suficientes y seguro de enfermedad (not working, with enough resources and health insurance), Estudiante con recursos suficientes y seguro de enfermedad (student) or the family member box, with the DNI/NIE/PAS of that EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and your relationship.

4) Permanent residence

After five years of continuous legal residence, or earlier in specific cases of retirement or incapacity.

4) MODIFICACIÓN (changes)

A change of personal details, address or passport.

4) BAJA POR CESE (deregistration)

Removal from the register, with the reason.

Declaration and signatures

Tick the truthfulness box, add place and date, and sign. If you register as a family member, the EU citizen signs too.

DIRIGIDA A (addressed to)

The office receiving it, its DIR3 code and the province; if you don't know them, ask when you hand it in.

How to submit the EX-18

1. Pay the fee. Fill in the modelo 790 código 012 and pay 12,00 euros at a bank, where you don't need an account. The tasa 790 012 guide explains it.
2. Book an appointment. The cita previa (appointment) is free. Book it on the official immigration appointment website, in your province; the steps are in the extranjería appointment guide.
3. Hand in the application in person. Within three months of entering Spain, bring the signed EX-18 (original and copy), the fee receipt, your valid passport or ID card and proof for your box in section 4: a registered contract, an employer's certificate or Social Security registration if you work for someone else; registration in the Censo de Actividades Económicas (tax census) or with Social Security if you are self-employed; health insurance and proof of funds if you do not work; enrolment, health insurance and a declaration of sufficient resources if you study.
4. Collect the certificate. If everything is in order, you get it on the spot, with your NIE and the registration date.

Common problems

I can't fill in the PDF on my computer

The official EX-18 has no fillable fields: print it and fill it in by hand, in CAPITALS, as explained under Download the EX-18.

I don't know which box to tick

The one for your situation today: with a contract, cuenta ajena; self-employed, cuenta propia; enrolled at a recognised education centre, student; not working or studying, no activo. If you come with an EU family member who meets one of these, you can tick the family member box.

I don't work in Spain: what resources do I need

Health insurance, public or private, with cover in Spain like the public health system, and resources for you and your family. More than the non-contributory pension, 8.803,20 euros a year in 2026, counts as sufficient, but it is not a fixed minimum: the Orden PRE/1490/2012 requires your personal and family situation to be assessed. Pensioners can use a certificate of healthcare cover paid by their own country.

Three months have passed

Book the appointment anyway. Under article 15.8 of RD 240/2007, not applying for the certificate can lead to a fine like the one Spaniards face in similar cases with their DNI (national ID card).

Updated 29 October 2026