Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
My husband got a post doc position with a 2 year contract at a University in Catalonia. He is trying to open a bank account in Spain (the university admin keeps reminding him to do it asap to, obviously, be able to get his salary) – yet all the banks (either in person or the online versions – the latter was suggested to him) demand either already having a different Spanish account / would consider his (EU) passport OR his Spanish NIE invalid …
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
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Start the Moving to Spain Hub →“By law any European bank account should be supported (iban format). Thus he can open a wise.com account to receive his salary for example.”
“I opened my bank account in Sabadell Bank with my passport. It was an account for a non-resident as they did not accept my residency document (with the NIE on it) as proof that I am a resident. Once I got my TIE (the actual ID card which I must have as I am non EU) I went to the bank and changed the account to resident one.”
“There are some options to try: Rebellion Pay will give a Spanish bank account and card (very basic account though) and they have minimal requirements. You just download the app to open the account. Another option is N26, another app option. Both of these will give Spanish IBAN numbers (once they’ve verified identity etc). Try N26 first then if that doesn’t work try Rebellion Pay which verifies your address by posting a code to it.”
“I opened mine at sabadell as a non resident account with only my passport, once I got my NIE (some weeks later) they simply converted it to a resident account. Important to convert it to resident asap as the non-resident account has very high fees.”
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Explore Cities →“Open a non-resident account in any of the big banks. Indeed, the ones with branches in Diagonal tend to know the process for foreigners. When you get your NIE card, remember to update your account information… And yes, ask about commissions for the non residents accounts. Sometimes is different/higher”
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