Most of my sellers do not live in Spain. Selling without flying over for the completion is possible — it is ordinary practice rather than an exception. But it rests on the one document that takes longest to arrange: the power of attorney.
Which is why the order of work is the reverse of the intuitive one. Not "find a buyer, then work out how to sign", but the other way round: the power, the NIE and the account are ready before the property goes to market. A buyer who waits three weeks while you get a consular appointment is a buyer who finds another flat in those three weeks.
Why video link will not do
A fair question: since 2023 Spanish notaries work with an electronic protocol, and some acts can be performed by video link without attending in person. But the sale of property is excluded from that list, along with gifts, mortgages and wills. The legislator's reasoning is straightforward — through a screen a notary cannot satisfy themselves that a person is signing freely and without pressure.
One qualification is worth making, because it is usually missed. What is excluded is the conveyance itself. The law does allow a power of attorney to be granted by video link, other than general and preventive powers. In practice this rarely helps someone who is abroad: that route requires Spanish electronic identification, which a non-resident does not normally hold.
So in substance there are two options: fly over for the signing, or grant a power of attorney.
The power of attorney: three routes
1. The Spanish consulate in your country
The least troublesome option. The document is drawn and signed at the consulate, which means it is Spanish from the outset: no apostille, no sworn translation, valid in Spain immediately.
The consular fee is usually a few tens of euros. The lawyer who drafts the wording for your particular sale is paid separately — and that is not the place to economise, for the reason in the next section.
The real difficulty is the appointment. At large consulates the queue runs to four or five weeks, and that is the timescale that wrecks plans when it is remembered at the last moment.
2. A local notary, plus apostille, plus sworn translation
Where the consulate is far away or the appointment cannot be had, the power can be granted before a notary in your own country. Two steps are then added: the apostille, issued in your country on its own timetable, and a sworn translation into Spanish by a translator accredited in Spain — usually €40–80 a page.
More expensive and longer, but sometimes faster than the consular route. It depends entirely on where you live.
3. A Spanish notary
If you are coming over anyway — to show the property or settle other business — the power is simplest to grant here, in a single visit. You then do not need to return for the completion itself.
Who to grant it to
Usually the lawyer or the gestor running the transaction. Less often a relative living in Spain. I do not take that role myself: an agent who is selling the property and signing on behalf of the owner at the same time is in a conflict of interest, and the market is right not to do it.
A power can be revoked at any time, but the revocation also goes through a notary and has to be notified to the party the representative is acting before. A sensible expiry date and a precise list of powers are better protection than relying on revocation.
The NIE: you already have one
Since you bought property in Spain, you have a NIE — that purchase could not have completed without it. Two things are worth checking: that you still know the number, and that the document evidencing it has not been lost. If the paper is gone, what is reissued is a certificate of the number, not the number itself — the number is assigned once and does not expire.
The Spanish account
You need one to receive the price and to close the utilities, and afterwards to wait for any tax refund.
For a non-resident the bank will ask for a certificado de no residencia, the certificate that you are not resident. The police or a Spanish consulate issue it; it takes about ten days. It is valid for three months from issue, and the bank will then ask for it to be renewed roughly every two years to keep the account active.
What the timings look like
| Step | How long | When to start |
|---|---|---|
| Consular appointment | up to 4–5 weeks of waiting | first of all |
| Lawyer drafting the power of attorney | a few days | alongside the appointment |
| Apostille and sworn translation, if not via the consulate | a week upwards | instead of the consular route |
| Certificate of non-residence for the bank | about 10 days | in parallel |
| Opening a non-resident account | a few days to a couple of weeks | in parallel |
| Documents on the property (cédula, energy certificate and the rest) | a day to several weeks | in parallel, the list is here |
All of it runs in parallel, and before the advertisement goes up. Then a buyer appearing is not the start of a scramble, and the deposit contract is signed inside the time they are willing to wait.
The money: how it reaches you
At completion the buyer normally hands over a banker's draft (cheque bancario) or evidence of a transfer. Your representative under the power receives the payment and gives a receipt for it in the body of the deed. The money then goes to your Spanish account, and from there wherever you need it.
Two deductions are worth knowing about in advance, because they reduce the sum in your hands on the day itself: the 3% the buyer is obliged to withhold and pay over to the tax authority on your behalf, and the outstanding mortgage, where there is one, which is repaid out of the buyer's money at the same notary appointment.
Frequently asked questions
Can the sale be signed over video link?
No. Ley 11/2023 permitted video link for some notarial acts, but the sale of property is excluded from that list. That leaves attending in person or a power of attorney. The power itself can be granted by video link, but that requires Spanish electronic identification, so from abroad the route does not usually work.
What does a power of attorney cost?
At a consulate, the consular fee — usually a few tens of euros — plus the lawyer's work on the wording. Before a local notary, their tariff plus the apostille plus a sworn translation at €40–80 a page. The exact figures depend on the country.
Do I have to fly over at least for the viewings?
No. I conduct the viewings, and you get a report once a week whether or not there is news. Coming over is necessary only if you want to.
What if the property is in two names?
A power is needed from each owner. They can be granted separately and in different countries — what matters is that the property and the authorities are described identically in both.
I have lost the document with my NIE. Is that a problem?
No. The number is assigned once and does not expire; what is reissued is a certificate of it. Start early — it is a matter of weeks rather than days.
How long does the whole sale take?
One to three months from publication to the notary, and what decides it is almost entirely the price. Add the two to four weeks of document preparation before publication — the weeks in which the power of attorney is arranged.
Selling from another country differs from an ordinary sale not in difficulty but in sequence: what takes a day from here takes weeks from there, and you have to start with the longest item. I run the sale end to end — saying what to order first, ordering it myself where there is a power of attorney, and holding the lawyer and the gestor to their timings.
The place to start is the price: send me the address and the floor area and I will reply within one to two working hours.
Sources
Links checked on 29 September 2026.
- Ley 11/2023, de digitalización de actuaciones notariales y registrales — BOE
- Poderes notariales en consulados de España — Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores
- Convenio de La Haya: apostilla — HCCH
- Retención del adquirente de un inmueble (modelo 211) — Agencia Tributaria
- Certificado de no residente — Policía Nacional: the certificate a bank requires for a non-resident account
For general information, current as of September 2026. Consular requirements, appointment waits and banking rules differ by country and change; the wording of a power of attorney is always drafted by a lawyer for the particular transaction.
