Before you start

A visa or residence authorisation appropriate to your situation, granted before travel for most non-EU nationals
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
Proof of address in Bilbao — a rental contract, a utility bill or an owner's authorisation
Passport photographs to Spanish specification and the paid Modelo 790 tax form

Step-by-step

1
Obtain the NIE number
The Número de Identidad de Extranjero is the foundational identifier and everything downstream needs it. If you arrived on a residence visa the number is normally assigned as part of that process; otherwise you apply through the Oficina de Extranjería or a Spanish consulate.
In personWho: YouBefore or immediately on arrival
2
Register on the padrón at the ayuntamiento
Take your passport and rental contract or proof of address to the Ayuntamiento de Bilbao. The certificate unlocks the TIE, Osakidetza, school places and driving licence procedures — and it is what establishes you as a Bizkaia taxpayer rather than a state one.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
3
Book the TIE appointment as early as you can
You have a limited window after entering Spain to apply for the residence card, and the appointment queue is the binding constraint everywhere in Spain. Bilbao's office is under less pressure than Málaga's or Madrid's, which is a genuine practical advantage of arriving here.
OnlineWho: YouWithin the first month
4
Attend the TIE appointment with fingerprints taken
Bring the completed Modelo EX-17, the paid Modelo 790 code 012, passport photographs, your passport and copies, the padrón certificate and your residence authorisation. Fingerprints are taken at the appointment and the card is collected several weeks later.
In personWho: You
5
Register with social security and get a NUSS
Social security remains a Spanish state system even in the Basque Country — this is the part that is not devolved. Employment triggers registration by your employer; self-employment means registering as autónomo. The NUSS is what converts into healthcare entitlement through Osakidetza.
In personWho: You
6
Find an adviser who works in Bizkaia, not in Spain generally
Because the Basque Country administers its own income, corporate and wealth taxes, a gestor or asesor practised in Madrid or Valencia will be working from the wrong rules, forms and deadlines. Ask explicitly whether they file with the Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia. This is the single most consequential local difference in the whole move.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and photocopies of every used page
Residence visa or authorisation
Padrón certificate from the Ayuntamiento de Bilbao
Modelo EX-17 for the TIE and the paid Modelo 790 code 012
Passport photographs to Spanish specification — white background, 32×26 mm
Rental contract or proof of address

Things most newcomers don’t know

Immigration is Spanish; your tax authority is Basque. Both are true at once.

The Concierto Económico gives the Basque provinces the power to set and collect income, corporate, wealth and inheritance taxes themselves. Your visa, your right to work and your route to settlement are administered by the Spanish state exactly as in Madrid. Your tax return goes to the Diputación Foral de Bizkaia. Newcomers reliably get one half of this right and are surprised by the other.

Source: Diputación Foral de Bizkaia

A Spanish tax adviser is not automatically a Basque tax adviser.

The forms, rates, deductions, filing platform and deadlines in Bizkaia differ from the state system. An asesor who works in Valencia or Andalusia is competent at a different regime. Ask directly whether they file with the Hacienda Foral, and treat a vague answer as a no — a first filing made to the wrong authority is a genuinely difficult thing to unwind.

Source: community-reported

Bilbao's appointment pressure is milder than the Spanish average, which is worth something.

The cita previa bottleneck is the defining frustration of Spanish bureaucracy, and it is worst where arrival volumes are highest — Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Alicante. Bizkaia's offices serve a smaller and more stable incoming population. It does not make the process pleasant, but timelines here are consistently shorter than what you will read in advice written about the Mediterranean coast.

Source: community-reported

Social security stayed Spanish, and that separation matters.

The Basque Country administers tax but not social security, which remains a state system. So your contributions, your pension record and your healthcare entitlement run through the Spanish Seguridad Social, while your income tax runs through Bizkaia. The two are genuinely separate administrations with separate portals and separate credentials, and conflating them is a common source of first-year confusion.

Source: Seguridad Social

Common mistakes to avoid

Hiring a tax adviser who works with the Agencia Tributaria rather than the Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia.
Delaying the empadronamiento and blocking the TIE, Osakidetza and school places behind it.
Assuming the NIE alone gives you healthcare — social security registration is a separate state process.
Reading Spanish tax guidance written for Madrid or Málaga and applying it here.
Booking flights or a start date around a cita previa that has not yet been secured.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.