Spain's Número de la Seguridad Social, also called NUSS, identifies a person in the Social Security system. When work begins and affiliation applies, the number also functions as the Número de Afiliación. It is not your NIE, tax number, health card, or proof that an employer has completed your job registration.
How do you request or recover the number?
First check whether Spain has already assigned one. A past job, internship, family-beneficiary record, or earlier administrative process may have created it. Importass lets an identified user view and download accreditation of the existing number.
If no number exists, use the Solicitar Número de la Seguridad Social service in the official TGSS Importass portal. Enter identity, contact, and Spanish address information and provide the documents requested for your nationality and status.
Importass supports recognised electronic identification methods and also provides a submission route for people who cannot use them. A TGSS office can handle eligible in-person or submitted applications. The traditional TA.1 affiliation form may appear in assisted or representative procedures.
An employer can request the number when hiring someone who has never had one. Do not assume the employer has done so until you receive the number and can check your Social Security status.
What happens when you start work?
For an employee, the employer must complete the alta before work begins under the applicable Social Security regime. The NUSS identifies you, while the alta records the active employment relationship.
A self-employed person uses Importass to register the activity and provide tax, activity, contribution, mutual-insurance, and bank details required by the RETA process. Merely obtaining a NUSS does not register autónomo status.
After starting, check Importass for your current situation and later review the informe de vida laboral. Name, NIE, passport, phone, address, and employment details should match. Resolve duplicate or incorrect records with TGSS rather than applying for a second number.
Does a NUSS give you a health card?
No. Social Security identification, healthcare entitlement, and the regional tarjeta sanitaria are connected but distinct.
The INSS or another competent body must recognise or verify the basis for public healthcare where required. The health service of Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia, Andalusia, or another autonomous community then handles the individual health card and assigned health centre.
Likewise, an EU citizen registration certificate or non-EU TIE does not automatically prove that a specific employer registered your work.
Common misconceptions
One misconception is that NIE and NUSS are the same number. NIE belongs to foreigner identification; NUSS belongs to Social Security. Another is that a job offer alone creates an active Social Security record.
It is also wrong to request a new number when you cannot remember the old one. Recover and correct the existing record.
Summary
Check Importass first, then request the NUSS through TGSS if Spain has never assigned one. Save the accreditation and give the correct number to the employer or use it in your self-employment process.
After work begins, verify the alta separately. Your number identifies the record, but active registration determines whether the work relationship appears in Social Security.
Sources
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