(Updated 2023)
After successfully getting your visa (see here, here and here), you have three months to use it to come to Spain. Once in Spain you have a month to apply for your TIE card (or Tarjeta de identidad de extranjero). This is the card for foreigners that can be used as identification and proves you have been granted residency. This is the end of the journey, if you have got this far, well done – the goal is in sight!
Book an appointment
To apply for your TIE you will need to book an appointment online at Cita previa de extranjería for each person. Scroll down and click “Acceder al Procedimiento”
Choose your region in the drop-down list and click “Aceptar”
In Murcia, there used to be several offices around the region where you could go for your TIE appointment. As of the end of December 2022 these have closed and everything has been centralised to the Oficina Unica de Extranjeros just outside Murcia city here. Also, when we went we took the opportunity to go to Ikea which is just five minutes away.
See the screenshot to the left, choose the correct office, and then in the drop down next to Trámites cuerpo nacional de policía (or processes of the national police) pick “Toma de Huella (expedición de tarjeta)” (or fingerprint taking – card issuance).
You will be taken to another page, just scroll down and hit “Entrar”. You will (finally) be able to put in your NIE or passport number, full name and nationality. Hit “Aceptar”
This will then take you to the booking page. You will need a valid telephone number to receive a code that is texted to you to confirm your contact details. You will also receive an email confirmation of all the details.
If necessary you can use the same process to amend an existing booking. You can cancel a booking up to the day before it is due. Not sure what happens if you are a no-show.
What documents are needed?
With a booking confirmed, now is the time to get your documents together. You will need:
- Your visa which should be stuck inside your passport – plus photocopies.
- Passport – plus photocopies.
- Form EX17 completed and signed.
- Payment form 790-012 completed and proof of payment. The cost was 16,08€ for us here in Murcia.
- A recent passport photo
- Your padrón certificate (see this article)- plus a photocopy. The padrón should be less than three months old.
For the payment form above, we went to a cash machine (or ATM) and chose “pay taxes and fines” from the menu. The machine asked for some details from the 790-012 form and then took the money straight from our bank card. It then spat out a receipt which is the proof of payment.
The appointment
The actual appointment was very straight forward. I took a ticket and was called within five minutes. I gave the official my wallet full of documents. She went through them one at a time, taking the bits that were needed. I had my fingerprints taken electronically, and provided a copy of my signature.
Within ten minutes it was all done. I was given an A4 sheet with details of my case on it. I was told to make an appointment in 40 days, bring this sheet along and I should be able to collect my TIE!
Collecting the TIE card
I booked an appointment for just over 40 days later. Using the same website as above. The day before an email arrived reminding me of the appointment.
When I turned up, there was quite a queue, but they were nearly all for people who were going through the initial fingerprinting stage. My appointment was due in five minutes, so I resisted the British in me and went to the security guard at the front of the queue. I showed him my email appointment and the letter I was given at my last appointment and he waved me in to a seperate queue for collecting TIE cards.
This queue moved quick. When it was my turn, I handed the letter and my passport over, and was fingerprinted again (to confirm I was who I said I was). The computer said yes, and I was given my TIE card.
And that was it! Almost an anticlimax after a process that had taken over six months with plenty of ups and downs along the way. Hopefully some of this blog will help you. If you want to ask anything from someone who has been through the entire process then please leave a comment.
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