Opening a Bank Account in Spain as a Foreigner: Rules and Documents

Yes, a foreigner can open a bank account in Spain. The bank must identify you with an official document before it opens anything (Ley 10/2010, art. 3), and it needs your tax number, the NIE, within 15 days. If a bank refuses and you legally reside in the EU, you may have a right to a basic payment account that costs at most €3 a month.

Resident or non-resident account

“Resident” and “non-resident” accounts are a banking practice rather than two legal regimes: the bank classes you by your tax residency. The anti-money-laundering rules set what every account holder needs:

• An ID document. For foreign nationals, the regulation lists the residence card, the foreigner identity card (TIE) or the passport; EU and EEA citizens can also use their national ID card (RD 304/2014, art. 6).
• A tax number. Anyone doing business with a Spanish bank must give it their tax identification number (RD 1065/2007, art. 28.1). For a foreigner, that is the NIE (art. 20). See the NIE guide.

Beyond that, the product labels, fees and requirements are set by each bank. If you do not live in Spain yet, a bank may offer a non-resident product or may refuse to open one; that is a commercial choice, not a rule I can cite. Whether you are a tax resident is a separate question, answered by Spanish tax residency, and opening an account does not decide it.

What the bank must check

Banks are “sujetos obligados” under Ley 10/2010, the Spanish anti-money-laundering law. In practice that means the following, and none of it is the bank being difficult:

Duty	Rule
Identify you with a reliable document before opening	Art. 3.2; documents listed in RD 304/2014, art. 6
Identify the beneficial owner (the real person behind the account)	Art. 4
Ask the purpose and expected nature of the relationship, and check what you say about your activity	Art. 5
Monitor transactions afterwards, including the origin of funds	Art. 6
Apply enhanced checks to higher-risk clients, such as people with public responsibilities (politicians, senior officials) and links to countries on the EU high-risk list	Arts. 11 and 14

The bank can adjust how deep these checks go to the risk of the customer, but it must be able to prove its approach in writing (art. 7.1). If it cannot complete the checks, it must not open the account, or must close it, and it carries no liability for refusing (art. 7.3).

The practical result: expect questions about where your money comes from and what you will use the account for. Salary slips, a pension letter or the document behind a large incoming transfer are the kind of thing that answers them. The law asks the bank to verify; it does not list which papers you must bring.

Documents to bring

The regulation fixes the ID side. The rest varies by bank, so ask before you go.

1. Passport (or the residence card/TIE if you already have it). This is the document the law recognizes.
2. NIE. You can open an account without it, but the NIE must be given within 15 days and no movement is allowed until you provide it (RD 1065/2007, art. 28.3). Banks also have to report to the tax authority any account whose holder did not provide a tax number (art. 40).
3. Proof of where your income comes from, as above.
4. Proof of address. Banks commonly ask for it, but no rule names a specific document, so the exact paper (padrón certificate, lease, utility bill) is the bank’s choice. For the town hall registration, see empadronamiento.

The right to a basic payment account

Real Decreto-ley 19/2017 obliges banks that offer payment accounts to also offer a “cuenta de pago básica” to people who legally reside in the EU, asylum seekers, and people who cannot be expelled for legal or practical reasons (art. 3).

What the account must include, with unlimited operations (art. 8): opening, use and closing; cash deposits; cash withdrawals at branches and ATMs in the EU; and, in the EU, direct debits, debit or prepaid card payments including online, and transfers and standing orders.

The bank can refuse in a few cases (art. 4), including:

• you did not provide the information it needs under the anti-money-laundering law,
• you already hold an account in Spain that offers those services, or
• opening it would go against national security or public order, as decided by the Council of Ministers.

It cannot make the account conditional on buying other products (art. 4.2). A refusal must come in writing, free of charge, with the concrete reasons, within ten working days of a complete application (art. 5.2), together with how to complain through the Banco de España (art. 5.3).

The fee cap: €3 a month

Order ECE/228/2019, art. 4.2, lets the bank charge one joint monthly fee of no more than €3 covering the services above, with up to 120 annual payment operations (direct debits and transfers) inside the EU. Beyond 120, charges cannot exceed the entity’s average fee for that type of operation, which the Banco de España publishes quarterly (art. 4.3). The Banco de España may update the €3 every two years (art. 4.4); the consolidated order still shows €3, but check the Banco de España’s Portal del Cliente Bancario before relying on it.

For clients in vulnerable situations the account is free (RD 164/2019, arts. 2–3). The income test uses the IPREM in twelve payments: twice that figure for a person on their own, so 2 × €600 × 12 = €14,400 a year gross, and you must not own real estate other than your main home. Check the decree for family thresholds.

If you are turned down

Ask for the written reason. A refusal over a basic payment account, or an unjustified cancellation, can be taken to the Banco de España complaints procedure (Orden ECE/228/2019, art. 6). Keep in mind the banks may close a basic account for reasons including 24 months with no activity, or if you stop providing documents they request under the anti-money-laundering rules (RDL 19/2017, art. 6).

This guide does not rank or recommend banks.