The TIE Card in Spain: First Card, Renewal, Changes and Loss
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Moving from the UK? Read our guide to the TIE card in Spain for Britons.
The TIE, the tarjeta de identidad de extranjero, is the card that proves you are in Spain legally for more than six months. Every later step with it happens in person at a police office: the card is renewed when the authorization is renewed, replaced when it is lost, and updated when your address or family situation changes. Where the first appointment fits among your early weeks is covered in your first month in Spain. This article is for informational purposes only and is not immigration or legal advice; verify current requirements with the relevant Spanish authority or a licensed professional.
When does a TIE stop being valid?
The card has no life of its own: according to the Interior Ministry, a TIE is valid for exactly as long as the authorization behind it, and it loses its validity with that authorization, whatever the cause, or when you lose the right to stay in Spain.
In practice, the date that matters is the authorization’s, not the card’s. What the administration looks at is the expiry of the authorization and the conditions for renewing it; a non-lucrative renewal, for example, requires more than 183 days of residence in Spain during the calendar year, and an authorization that is not renewed ends the card as well. The non-lucrative visa guide sets out those conditions.
The card goes back to the police station where you live when its validity ends, when a renewal is granted, or when you lose the right that justified it. According to the ministry, breaching the TIE obligations falls under the sanctions regime of Organic Law 4/2000 on the rights of foreigners.
The four TIE applications and what each needs
The Interior Ministry recognizes four TIE applications, and all of them begin with the same official form, EX-17 according to the Policía Nacional, completed and signed, together with original documents that the police check and hand back.
| Application | When it applies | What to bring besides the form |
|---|---|---|
| First card | Within 1 month of entering Spain, or of the date your authorization takes effect | Passport with the entry stamp, or passport and the entry declaration made within 72 hours of arrival; 1 recent color photo on a white background; the visa; the fee receipt; proof of Social Security registration if your authorization depends on it; the decision itself for permits under Law 14/2013, such as the telework permit |
| Renewal | After your authorization is renewed | Passport; 1 recent color photo; the fee receipt; a padrón volante or certificate under 3 months old if your address changed |
| Replacement | Loss, theft, destruction or damage | Police report of the loss or theft, or the damaged card; passport; photo; fee receipt; padrón document under 3 months old if you moved |
| Change of situation or details | A new status, or new details to print on the card | Passport; photo; documents proving the change; fee receipt |
The first-card list is the one the first-month guide follows step by step. Where the address has changed, the renewal and replacement lists add a padrón document issued less than 3 months earlier, and the empadronamiento guide explains how to obtain one. The NIE, the foreigner number you may already hold before this appointment, is covered in the NIE number in Spain for Americans.
Fees and the appointment itself
Every TIE application goes to the documentation unit of the Policía Nacional, in person, at the foreigners’ office or police station of the province where you live. The Interior Ministry says the appointment is booked through the Cita Previa de Extranjería service of the Administraciones Públicas electronic office.
Payment comes before issuance, on form 790 code 012, and the Policía’s fee table sets the amounts:
- 16.08 euros for a card that documents the first grant of a temporary residence, stay or cross-border worker authorization;
- 19.30 euros for a card that documents the renewal of a temporary residence authorization or the extension of a stay;
- 21.87 euros for a card that documents long-term residence.
Issuance falls to the police office that processed the file, and the card is handed to no one but you, once you prove that you are the person it is for and that the fees were paid. Where your authorization depends on Social Security registration, the police verify it themselves before issuing the card.
Renewing the card after a renewal
For a non-lucrative authorization, the Ministry of Inclusion’s renewal sheet allows 1 month from the notification of the renewed authorization to apply for the new TIE at the police station where you live.
The authorization is renewed first, and the card second. The Policía Nacional’s procedure page applies the same order to every temporary residence card: the TIE is requested once the favorable renewal decision has been notified. Telework permit holders have their own date on the card side, since the Washington consulate says a TIE renewal can be started in the 2 months before the card expires, provided the conditions still apply.
Whenever a renewal or other decision changes your legal or work situation, the new card is issued for the period that decision sets. After five years of continuous legal residence, the decision can be long-term residence, whose card has its own renewal cycle, as the long-term residence guide explains.
Lost, stolen or damaged cards
According to the Interior Ministry, a TIE that is lost, destroyed or made unusable obliges you to request a new one immediately, and the new card keeps the same validity as the one it replaces.
A replacement is not a renewal, since it runs only for the time left on the old card. When it is requested inside the renewal window of your authorization, the two procedures are handled together. The police report of the loss or theft, or the damaged card itself, goes with the rest of the replacement list above.
Changes that send you back to the police within a month
Even a card that is still valid has to go back before the police, in person and within 1 month, when one of three kinds of change occurs:
- a new habitual address, a move within the same city included;
- a new nationality;
- a change in your family circumstances or in any other detail recorded on the card.
Should the authorities raise the change with you first, the period becomes 15 days from their request. The report goes to the police station, or to the police service at the foreigners’ office, that covers the place where you live.
Put your next TIE date in the calendar now
Look up the date your current authorization expires, and set a reminder 2 months earlier, when its renewal can be filed. The card also gives foreigners access to the government’s Cl@ve login, which the Cl@ve and digital certificate guide walks through.
Most holders manage every TIE application alone once they can book appointments online and read the forms. Help is worth getting when your authorization type is changing, for example from a visa to a permit, or when a renewal is refused, because the card then depends on a decision you would first have to contest.
The Spain Navigator puts every step of your move to Spain in order, from the visa to settling in.
FAQ
Do I need a padrón certificate for my first TIE?
No, it is not on the Interior Ministry's list for a first card. That list asks for the passport with its entry stamp or entry declaration, a photo, the visa, the fee receipt and, where it applies, proof of Social Security registration. The padrón document enters at renewals and replacements after a change of address, and it must then be less than 3 months old.
Do I need a TIE for a stay of less than six months?
No. The Interior Ministry keeps the TIE for foreigners holding a visa or an authorization to stay in Spain for more than six months, and for the renewals, changes and replacements of those cards. Without such a visa or authorization, a U.S. passport holder is limited to 90 days in any 180-day period, as the Washington consulate notes.
What if my authorization expires while the renewal is pending?
The Ministry of Inclusion says that, for a non-lucrative authorization, an application filed on time, in the 2 months before expiry, keeps the previous authorization in force until the decision. If no answer comes within 3 months, the renewal counts as granted, and the office will certify it on request. The new card is requested once the renewal has been notified.
How do I pay the TIE fee?
Form 790 code 012 is generated on the Policía Nacional's website and then paid at a bank, savings bank or credit cooperative, where, according to the police, no account is needed. The Interior Ministry makes prior payment a condition for issuing the card, so the proof of payment goes to the appointment; the Policía's fee table gives the amount for each case.
Sources
Official pages this article was checked against, with the date we last read them.
