How To Get Your TIE Card—FAST

The way I did It

How I Got My TIE Card

I’ve made all the mistakes so that you WON’T.

What is a TIE Card?

A TIE card, or Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (Foreigner’s Identity Card), is a physical residency permit card for non-EU citizens living in Spain longer than six months.  It serves as official identification, proving legal residency and including your personal data, photo, and your unique NIE (foreigner’s identification number).  

What is an NIE?

A NIE, or Número de Identidad de Extranjero (Foreigner Identity Number), is a unique identification number for foreigners in Spain who have economic, professional, or social ties to Spain. It is required for official procedures such as buying property, opening a bank account, or starting a business. The NIE number itself is not a residence permit, but it is a mandatory first step for many foreigners to carry out official actions. 

Before you start…

Here is the TIE site with instructions.
Here is the TIE appointment site.
If you have a VPN on, turn it off or the TIE site will not load.

The Fast Way

This option allows you to bypass the need to set up a separate appointment for fingerprints because you will do them during this appointment.

Forms Needed:

*Note: Most browsers have the ability to translate languages. If you don’t understand Spanish, just translate it.

Choose Your Location

Choosing any office doesn’t matter because the next step will determine the actual office

This option is what I learned is the option if you DO NOT have a Padron.

Special TIE Appt

Spanish
English

Enter your NIE and your First & Last Name or whatever is listed on your NIE paperwork. For example, my middle name is listed on my NIE document, so I listed all three of my names.

This screen is also where you can find information about your upcoming appointment(s) once you’ve secured one.

Spanish
English

***The screenshots below do not match the same type of appointment***

After the you select the type of appointment, the following steps are the same except choosing the office because different offices handle different types of appointments.
When selecting a location, you will select the office located at Carrer de Guipúscoa, 74, Barcelona. It is a police station in Sant Marti.

*Note: Sometimes there are no appointments available. More appointment are usually released at 3PM on Thursdays.

Enter your Spanish phone number without “+34”

Make your selection within 5 minutes.

Confirm your information & print this page. I printed in English and Spanish.

Your confirmation information. You will need your “appointment proof number” the day of your appointment. Print in both English and Spanish.

More information about your appointment. It may differ from what you see below but it will have important information regarding what to bring to your appointment etc.

You will go to the police station located at Carrer de Guipúscoa, 74 with the document showing that you have ‘una cita previa’. You’ll check in and get a number. Watch the screens on the wall for your number to be called. Then go to the desk listed next to your name.

You’ll give the person your paperwork and passport and do your fingerprint scans.

The attendant will give you a paper document that has more information and a QR code at the bottom.

The QR code will allow you to see when your lot—batch of IDs that yours is a part of—is ready for pick up.

Note* if you have a VPN on, turn it off or the website won’t load. The site will ask for some identifying information and give you the option to make an appointment, but you do not need one to pick up your card. You can make an appointment if you want.

The site will bring you to a page that lists the year and the most recent lot number. Your lot number is listed in the middle of the paper you get after your fingerprints. It will be listed like:

Lote: YYYY/NNN (your 3-digit lot number)

Lote: 2025/268

You’ll look for this number or a number higher than yours. If the number is higher, your card is ready to pick up.

To Collect Your Card…

You’ll go to your designated police station. The address will be listed on the bottom left of your document along with the hours of operation.

You’ll stand in line—there were 30+ people in line ahead of me around 4PM on a Thursday. But the line took maybe 30 minutes.

You’ll hand your paper to the police officer, then head inside and grab a seat. When they call your name, you’ll go to the desk.

NOTE: Listen closely because they may butcher your name. The lady called Shawn-Nay for Shane. Thankfully, I had been called that at 10 years old when I won a raffle at Toys “R” Us (RIP Geoffrey). I just laughed and went to collect at the desk.

Give them your passport to verify your identification—they’ll give it back. Then your right and left index fingers will be scanned. After that, they’ll give you your card.

CONGRATS! You now have your TIE card. Also called a DNI or NIE by locals.

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