Getting your first residence card (TIE)Article 4 of 7 · 2 min read
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.
Key rules
- The month keeps running: An empty portal does not pause your one-month deadline.
- Written request: Email or write to the office asking for an appointment, so there is a record that you asked.
- Proof: Keep dated, timed screenshots of failed attempts across several days and times.
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.
Keep checking the portal
Slots are released at different times, so check on different days and at different times of day.
Widen your search
- Other offices in your province. Try neighbouring offices and police stations in the same province, not only the one closest to you.
- Another province. Not allowed: you must file in the province where you live, the one where you are registered on the padrón, so do not book in another province.
Write to the office
Send an email or a letter to the foreigners' office of your province, or to the Government Delegation (Delegación or Subdelegación del Gobierno) that oversees it, asking for an appointment. Keep a copy: a written request with proof of your attempts protects you against a late-filing fine if the month ends before you get a slot (applying late).
Complain if nothing works
You can file a complaint through the Defensor del Pueblo, Spain's national ombudsman, or through the complaints channel on the official online office. Keep the registration receipt.
Keep proof of every attempt
- Take screenshots of each failed attempt showing the date, the time and the "no hay citas disponibles" message.
- Save every email, registered complaint and reply from the office in one folder.
If you travel with children
Book one slot for each child, including a child under 12, who attends but is not fingerprinted (age rules).
If you are a family member of an EU citizen
You do not use this procedure: non-EU family members of an EU citizen apply for the family residence card.
More in Getting your first residence card (TIE)
- What the residence card (TIE) is and who gets one
- How long you have to apply for your residence card (TIE)
- Booking your residence card (TIE) fingerprint appointment (toma de huellas)
- Applying for your residence card (TIE) after the deadline
- Waiting for and collecting your residence card (TIE)
- Getting a residence card (TIE) for your children
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