Thursday 16 February 2012

Reader asks: do we really have to take the baby to the National Police to prove he exists?

(Illustration only)
Maybe one of our readers can answer this question (it's a very long time since Prospero had to deal with live babies): "When we applied for the baby's NIE number at the National Police station in La Línea, we were told that he had to be presented in person. This despite the fact that he has his own British passport and we had gathered all the documents needed to get his NIE. Has anyone been through this lately?" If you have, or know someone who has, please click on the word 'comments' below and tell us about it. We have to admit we were astonished by this one!

3 comments:

Philip Heinzl said...

Being of a devious mind like I am, and having had dealings with methods of

identification, I can sympathise with the Police on this matter. Any Police Officer taking

everything at face value would not be doing his or her job properly and who would the

first people to take the blame for the mistakes?.
Identification theft is one of the highest crimes being committed in present times and

using documents, falsified or obtained under false pretences is something which needs to

be stamped on with maximum force. Andalucia´s past in respect of babies going missing

and the corruption which surrounded the past baby trafficking and false adoptions, is one

area that the Spanish wish to remain in the past.
Was it not recently that false details were used by a Jimena person to obtain several

mobile phone accounts without having to pay for them?
I am not being stupid , which is the first people will say, and the second will be do we

look like criminals. The answer is quite simple, as a Police Officer

working in some ares of society, you trust nobody and nothing that they say until it can

be verified.
To obtain NIEs for our children, from the Police station in La Linea, we had to have our

children with us, even though we had all and more documentation with us at the time.The

family of the child obviously feel that they were treated with overdue caution, but if you

choose to live in Spain then you must be prepared to follow their laws, however daft you

think they may be.

PROSPERO said...

RECEIVED BY EMAIL ON CampoPulse: "Yes I had exactly the same experience when we adopted our son (then aged 3). I got his NIE in spring 2011. When I first went to the police station in La Linea I had all his adoption papers and passport with me but was told that they needed to see him in person. So we returned and queued for nearly an hour so that eventually he could play with the official's paperclips while the form was stamped!

Melissa said...

Yes I do believe you need to go with the child. I was doing my NIE a little while back, and in front of me there was a mother getting her week year old baby´s done. To everyones surprise the police was taking his little finger prints !!