Getting your first residence card (TIE)
You will know exactly what to do, by when and what to bring so your first residence card is issued without a missed deadline.
Approval is not the end of the process in Spain. Once your residence is approved, or once you arrive on a visa, you still have to get the physical residence card, the Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE).
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What the residence card (TIE) is and who gets one
The TIE is the plastic card that proves who you are and that you may live in Spain. Your residence authorisation must last more than six months to lead to one.
How long you have to apply for your residence card (TIE)
The month ends on the same calendar day of the next month. Enter Spain on 15 March and your last day is 15 April; be notified on 31 January and your last day is 28 February. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it moves to the next working day.
Booking your residence card (TIE) fingerprint appointment (toma de huellas)
Your fingerprints are taken at the Oficina de Extranjería or the national police station (Comisaría de Policía, Brigada de Extranjería) assigned to your province. The booking portal shows the offices available for the province you choose.
What to do when no residence card (TIE) appointments are available
An empty appointment portal does not stop the clock (how the month is counted). Keep trying through several routes and write to the office, so that you can show you acted in time if the month ends before you find a slot.
Applying for your residence card (TIE) after the deadline
Yes. In practice offices take late applications, and nothing happens to your authorisation. Your lateness is counted from the end of your one-month window (how the month is counted).
Waiting for and collecting your residence card (TIE)
The standard wait is 3 to 6 weeks from the day you are fingerprinted. Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and other large provinces take 2 months or more, especially in busy periods.
Getting a residence card (TIE) for your children
The TIE is required at any age, including babies under one. The month for a child is counted like yours (how the month is counted). A child who joins you later has their own month, counted from their own entry.
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Key rules
- Form and fee: Apply with form EX-17 and pay €16.40 in 2026 with modelo 790 código 012, for each person including each child.
- Application deadline: One month, counted from entry on a long-stay visa or from notification of an approval granted in Spain.
- Processing: The card is ready 3 to 6 weeks after fingerprinting, and takes longer in large provinces such as Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante.
- Collection: Collect the card yourself within one month of issue; the police cancel and destroy a card left for three months.
- Late application: The fine is up to 500 euros.
Getting your first residence card (TIE): the whole process, step by step
- Check that your authorisation leads to a card: only stays of more than six months get a TIE (what the card is).
- Work out when your month starts (deadline).
- Pay the fee, complete form EX-17 and book the fingerprint appointment inside that month (booking).
- No slot yet: keep checking, try nearby offices and write to the office to show you tried (no appointments).
- Attend the appointment with your passport, the form and the stamped fee receipt, and keep the fingerprint receipt you are given.
- Wait, then collect: go yourself, or send a representative with a signed authorisation (collection).
- Missed the month: apply straight away (applying late).
- Family: each child, and each adult family member with their own authorisation, needs their own card (children).
Documents you may need
Identity and residence
- Your original passport and a copy — booking
- Your visa or approval resolution and a copy — booking
- One recent colour passport-style photo, 32 x 26 mm — booking
- Padrón certificate — booking
- For a child: the child's valid passport, photo, birth certificate or family book, and the parent's ID or TIE — children
Payments and receipts
- Form EX-17, completed and signed — booking
- The stamped bank copy of the fee payment — booking, children
- The fingerprint receipt (resguardo), which you hand over to collect the card — collection
Other documents
- Proof of the date you were notified or entered Spain, and of why you were late — applying late
- A signed authorisation letter or power of attorney and your representative's ID, if someone collects the card for you — collection
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Renewal rules by permit type
You will know what your own permit type is re-tested on at renewal and what to do if your circumstances changed.
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Need certainty before you act?
For important relocation decisions, speak with a qualified human specialist.
Always verify important information with the relevant official authority or a qualified adviser before acting. This website uses large language models together with various public data sources, official government documents and other established sources. Due to the amount of data on this website, some information might be wrong. Information may also be incomplete or outdated.