Number, booking, Europeans
Portuguese and other Europeans: moving to Vigo, or crossing the Miño to work
Where you live decides it. A European who moves to Vigo files form EX-18 as a new resident; one who keeps their home in Portugal and works in Spain asks only for a non-resident NIE on form EX-15. Galicia and northern Portugal share a border that many people cross every working day, so this guide takes both cases in turn.
Who it concerns
Portuguese and other EU citizens choosing between a life in Vigo and a Spanish job with a home across the border.
The forms
- EX-18 if you live in Vigo
- EX-15 if you live in Portugal
- Modelo 790 código 012
Where it is done
Named on the cita previa confirmation you receive; policia.es lists both procedures in Tui and Pontevedra, among others
Put these in your folder
- Cartão de Cidadão or passport, with a copy
- The job offer or the contract
- Your address, in Vigo or in Portugal
- Receipt of the 790-012: bank-stamped copy, or proof of online payment
- The printed booking
Home in Vigo: register as a resident
A Portuguese citizen who moves to Vigo, Redondela or Nigrán has the same right to live and work here as any other European, and the same duty: once three months have passed, registering on form EX-18. The certificate carries the NIE, and your Cartão de Cidadão or passport is the identity document that goes with it. Registering on the padrón at the Concello completes the picture.
Home in Portugal: the non-resident NIE
If you sleep in Valença, Viana do Castelo or Porto and work for an employer in Vigo or O Porriño, you are not a resident of Spain and do not register as one. What the employer needs is your NIE, to draw up the contract and to register you with Spanish Social Security, which then gives you a Social Security number. The request goes on form EX-15, made as someone who does not live in Spain, giving the job as the reason and attaching the offer or the contract; the police appointment is booked for the province of Pontevedra.
Social Security and tax, in outline
The EU rules that coordinate Social Security generally insure people in the country where they work, so a Spanish employer registers you with the TGSS. Healthcare and income tax for people who live in one country and work in another follow rules of their own, set by the EU and by the agreements between Spain and Portugal. Take those questions to an adviser who knows both systems; we handle the Spanish identity papers.
When home changes sides
Plans change. A commuter who later moves to Vigo keeps the same NIE and simply registers as a resident with the EX-18. Someone who leaves Vigo for Portugal keeps the number too, ready for any later contract, sale or tax matter in Spain.
The same rule for every European
All of this applies to any EU, EEA or Swiss national with a Spanish employer and a home in another country: the EX-15, and the number. The border with Portugal simply makes the situation more common around Vigo than almost anywhere else in Galicia.
In Vigo
Tui, on the Miño facing Valença, has a police centre on the policia.es list of units for foreigners: the Centro de Cooperación Policial y Aduanera, C/ Párroco Rodríguez Vázquez 3 (986 600 316), which lists NIE assignment and EU registration among its procedures. The office you are actually given is the one on your confirmation.
Questions people ask about this
I live in Valença and start a job in Vigo next month. Green certificate or NIE?
The NIE alone, on the EX-15. Your home is in Portugal, so you do not register as a resident of Spain.
Will my Cartão de Cidadão do instead of a passport?
For an EU citizen, a national identity card in force is a valid identity document for these procedures. Bring it with a photocopy.
Can I book in Tui, near the border?
On policia.es, the Centro de Cooperación Policial y Aduanera in Tui includes both the NIE and the registration of Europeans. Whether the system offers it for your procedure, the booking screen tells you.
I am moving to Vigo for good after a year of commuting. A new number?
No. Register on the EX-18; the certificate will show the NIE you already hold.
Checked against these official pages
Re-read for this guide in October 2026.
- Policía Nacional, policia.es: the units for foreigners in the province of Pontevedra, each with its procedures
- Delegación del Gobierno en Galicia: the Oficina de Extranjería in Vigo and Pontevedra, and what it leaves to the police
- Your Europe (European Union): working in one country while living in another
- The State’s cita previa service for foreigners’ procedures
Which raft are you tied to?
A few lines are enough: your nationality, where around the ría you live or will live, and what has to be ready by when. We answer by email with the route that fits.