CUE in Spain: EU citizen registration and form EX-18

CUE: what it is and who needs it

CUE is the everyday name for the certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión Europea. Policía Nacional describes it as the document confirming that a citizen of an EU state, another European Economic Area state or Switzerland who stays in Spain for more than three months has been entered in the Registro Central de Extranjeros [2]. In Barcelona it is often called the “green NIE” (the Ajuntament calls it that too), but in substance it is a certificate with a number, not a TIE card and not a permit [6].

For readers from the CIS, the topic mostly concerns people with a second, EU citizenship: for example, citizens of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria or Romania moving to Spain. Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine without an EU passport follow other routes, described in the article NIE, TIE and residence permit: what’s the difference.

If you stay for less than three months, the passport or identity card you entered with is enough, and such a stay does not count as residence (article 6 of Real Decreto 240/2007) [3]. CUE registration becomes compulsory once your stay goes beyond three months.

On what grounds the CUE is issued: four options

Article 7 of Real Decreto 240/2007 sets out four grounds for the right to reside for more than three months [3]. The documents are chosen to fit your specific ground, not “just in case”.

In every case you file your passport or national identity card (if it has expired, you need a copy and the application for its replacement) and the documents proving your chosen ground [3]. For example, proof of genuine work and proof of funds answer different questions, and attaching a bank statement instead of a contract would be a mistake.

How to get the CUE in Barcelona: step by step

1. Identify your ground from the table above and gather the documents for it: passport or identity card and the evidence under article 7 [2][3].
2. Fill in form EX-18, “Solicitud de inscripción en el Registro Central de Extranjeros, residencia ciudadano de la UE” [2].
3. Pay the fee with modelo 790 código 012. Policía lists the certificado de registro on the same line as the EU citizen’s family member card: €12.00 as of October 2026 [1]. Check the amount and code against the form before paying.
4. Book a cita previa. The portal distinguishes appointments at the Oficina de Extranjería from those at the Policía, so check the name of the procedure [7]. More: cita previa at extranjería.
5. Attend in person. The regulation requires the citizen to file the application personally at the Oficina de Extranjería of the province or, where there is none, at a police station [3].
6. Collect the certificate. Policía states that it is issued immediately [2]. Check your name, nationality, address, NIE and date on it.

In Barcelona the Oficina de Extranjería has two addresses: Passeig de Sant Joan 189-193 and calle Murcia 42 [8]. Which of them, or which comisaría, the system offers on the day of your appointment is shown by the portal when you book.

Sufficient funds and insurance: what to prove

For the ground most common among people relocating, living on your own funds, the law does not name an amount. Article 7.7 of Real Decreto 240/2007 states expressly that no fixed amount may be set: the applicant’s personal situation is taken into account, and in any case the amount may not exceed the level below which Spanish nationals become eligible for social assistance, or the minimum pension [3]. The insurance must cover all risks in Spain [3]. This is a difference from most permits for non-EU citizens, where amounts are tied to the IPREM or the SMI.

Exactly what will be accepted as proof of funds, and what insurance your office will consider sufficient, is not spelled out in public sources. We covered the authorities’ general requirements for an insurance policy in the article health insurance for a residence permit: the wording for non-EU citizens is different there, but the logic of the check is similar. In practice, ask the authority for a written list of documents for your ground.

CUE, NIE and passport: which is which

The NIE is a foreigner’s identification number; the CUE is the certificate that contains this number [3]. Getting a CUE does not replace your passport: the application requires a passport or national identity card specifically, and its validity is checked [3]. If you already have an NIE, for example after buying a home, that does not mean you have completed registration as an EU citizen: the number can be obtained without a permit and without registration [9].

Once you have it, check the details and keep a copy of both sides of the document. Do not laminate it or correct it yourself; if there is an error or you lose it, ask the office that issued it about the procedure for a correction or a duplicate. We did not find in the sources what exactly applies when a CUE is lost.

If your family moves too: tarjeta de familiar de ciudadano de la Unión

Family members who do not hold EU citizenship do not get a CUE. They are registered under a different procedure: the tarjeta de residencia de familiar de ciudadano de la Unión, form EX-19, with the fee paid on the same modelo 790 código 012 [4]. The law includes here the spouse, a registered partner, descendants (under 21 or dependent) and dependent ascendants (article 2); other relatives and a stable partner are covered separately (article 2 bis) [3].

The application is filed within three months of entry. The filing receipt proves lawful stay until the card is issued, and the authority must issue it within three months; a favourable decision takes effect from the date of entry [3]. The application includes your passport, documents proving the family link with an apostille or legalisation and a translation, the EU citizen’s certificado de registro, proof of dependency where required, and three photographs [3][4]. The first card is valid for up to 5 years [3][4].

A condition people often forget: the family member card ceases to be valid after an absence from Spain of more than six months a year, unless an exception applies (pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, studies, a work posting of up to 12 consecutive months) [3]. More about family: EU citizen’s family member card. If the link is through a Spanish citizen, a different regime applies, covered in the article residence permit for a relative of a Spanish citizen.

After the CUE: padrón, taxes and permanent residence

Registration in the Registro Central de Extranjeros does not replace empadronamiento: the padrón, the municipal register of residents, is compulsory for everyone who lives in the city [6]. The Ajuntament de Barcelona recommends that EU citizens obtain a certificado de registro and notes that they need to be registered in the padrón to take part in local elections [6]. EU citizens with a certificate renew their padrón entry every five years; residents not recorded as EU citizens, every two years [6]. More: empadronamiento in Barcelona.

A CUE neither gives nor takes away tax resident status. Under article 9 of Ley 35/2006, a tax resident is a person who has spent more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year or whose main centre of business or economic interests is here [5]. These criteria are independent of immigration status and are checked by the tax authority. If you stay for the long term, registration opens the way to permanent residence: after five years of continuous lawful residence, an EU citizen is entitled to a certificado del derecho a residir con carácter permanente (article 10) [3]. Changes of nationality, marital status and address must be reported to the Oficina de Extranjería or a police station (article 14.2) [3].

Common mistakes when registering an EU citizen

• Missing the three months. The period runs from the day of entry, not from the day you found housing or work [3].
• Relying on the NIE from a transaction. It does not satisfy the EU citizen registration requirement [9].
• Attaching random statements. The documents are chosen for the ground: work, funds with insurance, studies or family [3].
• Booking with the wrong authority. Oficina de Extranjería and Policía are separate appointments; check the name of the procedure on the confirmation [7].
• Paying the wrong fee. For the CUE and the tarjeta de familiar these are lines in the 790-012 table, not the residence permit fee for another ground [1].
• Expecting one document for the whole family. Relatives from third countries go through a separate procedure with their own documents [3][4].
• Filing family link documents without an apostille and translation. The regulation requires them in the proper form [3]. What an apostille is, is explained in the article what is an apostille.

When you need an individual review

An individual review makes sense if you combine several grounds (for example, you work and study), if you have a mixed family with citizens of different countries, if your funds come from abroad and you are not sure how to show them, if you have already been living in Spain for more than three months without registering, or if you hold citizenship of one EU country but a passport of another country. In those cases the general procedure may not fit.

How we can help

The ReloVictory team in Barcelona can identify your ground, put together the set of documents for it, prepare form EX-18 and the fee, and choose the right appointment. For a family we draw up separate lists for the EU citizen and for each accompanying member. The legal side is handled by the team’s lawyer. You can book through the consultation form; the service is described on the page documents and appointments with the authorities.

Frequently asked questions

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ReloVictory · Sources reviewed 02.10.2026 · Not a substitute for individual legal advice.