Stage 11 of 14Pamplona on foot
Starting work in Navarra: the numbers, and for non-EU workers the authorisation
Before the first payroll in Pamplona you need two numbers: the NIE, and the Social Security number (NUSS) that the TGSS assigns. Without a European passport there is a step before both, a residence and work authorisation, which the employer normally requests from the Oficina Única de Extranjería. Navarra’s plants, hospitals, universities, hotels and shops hire from far beyond the region.
Before this stage: A job in Navarra
- Who it serves
- Anyone taking a job in Navarra, with any passport.
- Paperwork
- EX-18 or EX-15 (Europeans)
- Work authorisation, then the visa and EX-17 (others)
- Stamped at
- NIE and green certificate: Personal comunitarios y regresos; authorisations: the Oficina Única de Extranjería; both at Avenida de Guipúzcoa 40. Social Security number: the TGSS, Avenida Conde Oliveto 7, Pamplona/Iruña, or Importass online
- In your bag
- The contract or the offer letter
- Passport
- Your NIE, or the paper showing it
- For non-EU workers, the authorisation and the visa
- Pilgrim’s tip
- Give your employer your NIE and your NUSS in writing on the first day: payroll waits for both.
Europeans: a contract and two numbers
An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen may start work straight away. For a job lasting more than three months, register on the EX-18 as a worker, with the contract as proof; the green certificate carries your NIE. A short assignment needs only the number, on the EX-15.
Your number with the Seguridad Social
The número de afiliación, often called the NUSS, comes from the Seguridad Social’s treasury, the TGSS (Tesorería General), once and for life. Many employers request it when they register you; otherwise you ask for it yourself, with your passport and your NIE. According to the Seguridad Social’s finder, its office in Pamplona/Iruña is at Avenida Conde Oliveto 7, with another at Calle Manresa 3 in Tudela, and its Importass portal handles registration online.
A non-EU passport: permission before the contract
Someone from outside the EU cannot simply sign and start. For a job with an employer in Navarra, the employer normally applies for the initial residence and work authorisation, which the Delegación del Gobierno lists with the Oficina Única de Extranjería at Avenida de Guipúzcoa 40. Once it is granted, you apply for the visa at the consulate, enter Spain and give the TIE fingerprints at Recogida de tarjetas. The self-employed have an authorisation of their own, on the same list.
Already living in Spain on another basis, such as studies? Moving to work is a change of situation (modificación), also on the Oficina Única’s list.
Living in France, working in Navarra
Navarra borders France, and the Oficina Única lists work authorisations for cross-border workers, employed and self-employed: the route for non-EU nationals who live on the French side and come to Navarra to work.
Tax, the Navarrese way
Navarra collects its own taxes under its foral regime, so a worker who lives here deals, as a rule, with the Hacienda Foral de Navarra for income tax rather than with the State’s Agencia Tributaria. Your NIE is your tax number there too.
Asked at this stage
My employer asks for a NUSS. Where do I get it?
From the TGSS, the Seguridad Social’s treasury. The employer usually asks for it while registering you; you can also ask yourself, at the TGSS on Avenida Conde Oliveto or online through Importass.
I am Colombian with a job offer from a firm in Pamplona. Can I start on a visit?
No. The employer applies for your residence and work authorisation first; the visa, the entry and the TIE come after.
I am European, on a six-week contract. Do I register?
No. The NIE alone, on the EX-15, covers a short contract; registration is for stays beyond three months.
Do I file my tax return in Navarra or with the State?
If you live in Navarra, as a rule with the Hacienda Foral de Navarra. Ask it, or a tax adviser, about your first year.
Checked against
- Delegación del Gobierno en Navarra: the Oficina Única de Extranjería and the police sections at Avenida de Guipúzcoa 40, with their e-mail contacts mptmd.gob.es
- Seguridad Social: office finder, TGSS included seg-social.es
- MERCURIO: filing or following an authorisation online sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es
- sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es: Cita Previa de Extranjería, the online booking sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es
Last stamped against these pages: October 2026.
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