Opening a bank account in Spain with a foreign passport: what the law says

Yes: in Spain a passport is a valid document for opening a bank account, under Royal Decree 304/2014, although each bank may ask for more documents, such as proof of address, and will ask about your professional activity. If you are legally resident in the EU, you are entitled to a basic payment account with a maximum fee of 3 euros a month.

If you come to Barcelona to live for a few months, sooner or later someone will ask for your account number. The good news is that a passport is, by law, a valid document to identify yourself to a bank. What follows is not a bank comparison or financial advice: it is what the BOE, the Bank of Spain and the City Council's welcome service say about what they can ask you for, what you are entitled to and what to do if the answer is no.

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Your passport is valid ID

Law 10/2010, on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, requires banks to identify anyone who wants to open a business relationship with them, and bans anonymous accounts. The regulation that develops it, Royal Decree 304/2014, lists the valid documents: for foreign nationals, the foreigner identity card (TIE), the passport or, if you are from the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area, your country's official identity document. Exceptionally, the bank may accept other government-issued identity documents, if they have adequate guarantees of authenticity and carry a photo.

In other words, the NIE is not, by law, the only valid document. Barcelona International Welcome, the City Council's welcome service, says the same: you will be asked for a government-issued identity document, such as a passport, or your NIE. And it adds the small print: the bank may ask for more documents, such as proof of address, and requirements vary from one bank to another.

What else they will ask

Identifying yourself is not enough. The same law requires the bank to ask about the purpose of the account and about your professional or business activity, to record it before starting and to check it according to risk, with documents related to that activity or with information from other sources. If you do not provide what they ask for, the bank cannot open the account: in fact, it is the first ground for refusal in the basic account rules. It helps to have thought through how you will explain what you live on while you are here.

Resident or non-resident

Barcelona International Welcome distinguishes two types of account. If you are going to live in Barcelona, a resident account may be more convenient; to be a tax resident you have to meet certain conditions, such as spending more than 183 days a year in Spain. If you are coming for a short period, you can open a non-resident account, and then you will have to prove you are not a tax resident with a certificate of non-residence.

If your situation changes and you become resident, you have to tell the bank. The account can be in euros or another currency; accounts in another currency may require a minimum deposit. And look at the fees before signing, because some operations and cards carry charges.

Your right to a basic payment account

Since Royal Decree-law 19/2017, banks that offer payment accounts must offer a basic payment account to anyone legally resident in the EU, including people with no fixed address, to asylum seekers and to people without a residence permit who cannot be expelled for legal or practical reasons. They cannot make it conditional on buying other products. They may only refuse it if you do not provide the information the money laundering law requires, for national security or public order reasons, or if you already have an account in Spain that lets you do the same.

It lets you open, use and close the account, pay money in, withdraw cash at the bank's branches or at ATMs in the EU, and pay within the EU by direct debit, debit or prepaid card (online too) and transfer. Order ECE/228/2019 sets the maximum fee: no more than 3 euros a month, single and all-inclusive, which also covers up to 120 payment operations a year in euros within the EU between direct debits and transfers. The Bank of Spain may update that cap every 2 years; its Bank Customer Portal still speaks of a maximum of three euros a month. For people in a vulnerable situation, Royal Decree 164/2019 makes it free for two years, extendable.

The Bank of Spain advises applying in writing, with the date and the list of documents you hand in, and keeping a stamped copy. If you are refused, the bank must tell you in writing, free of charge, with the specific reasons and within ten working days at most of receiving your complete application, and explain how to complain.

You may not need a Spanish account

If you already have a euro account in another EU country, the SEPA rules are on your side. The Bank of Spain points out that refusing payments or direct debits from an account because its IBAN does not match the payee's country is illegal and breaches article 9 of Regulation (EU) 260/2012. If it happens with a company and you are a consumer, the complaint goes to the consumer authorities of the autonomous community.

In Barcelona

The Barcelona International Welcome website has a page on banks and payments, and its Welcome Desk helps people arriving to live and work in the city free of charge, by appointment. Another task for your first days is registering on the padró; and if you are coming to work remotely, the guide to teleworking in Barcelona saves you hunting for somewhere to sit.

Checked

Checked in October 2026 in the BOE (Law 10/2010, Royal Decree 304/2014, Royal Decree-law 19/2017, Order ECE/228/2019 and Royal Decree 164/2019), on the Bank of Spain's Bank Customer Portal, including its post on IBAN discrimination, and on the Barcelona International Welcome banks and payments page.