TIE and NIE: how to apply, requirements and renewal

The NIE (Foreigner Identity Number) is a personal, unique and exclusive number that the Administration assigns to a foreigner to identify them. It is assigned for life: it does not expire or change, even if your situation or card changes. Someone who does not even live in Spain can have one, when they interact with the country for economic, professional or social reasons.

The TIE (Foreigner Identity Card) is a physical document that proves your legal residence status in Spain. It includes your photograph, your personal details, your NIE number and the type of authorisation you hold. Unlike the number, the card has an expiry date and is renewed periodically along with your residence authorisation.

The simple way to remember it: the NIE identifies you and the TIE proves that you reside legally. That is why you first obtain the number and, when a residence authorisation is granted, it is documented with the card.

It is worth clarifying a frequent case: citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland do not obtain a TIE, but a Certificate of Registration of Union Citizen (the well-known green certificate) which also includes their NIE. The TIE is the specific document for third-country nationals.

You need a NIE whenever you are going to carry out an act in Spain with significance for the Administration without residing here: buying or selling a property, accepting an inheritance, setting up or participating in a company, opening certain bank operations or paying taxes on income, among other cases.

The application is formalised with the official EX-15 form and the payment of the tasa (official fee) modelo 790 código 012. According to the Electronic Headquarters of the National Police, the resolution of the NIE assignment procedure at the request of the interested party is expected within a maximum of 5 days from its submission.

It can be processed within Spain (Directorate-General of the Police, Immigration Offices or Police Stations) or from abroad through the corresponding Spanish Consular Office. It is not essential that you appear in person: it is possible to act through a duly authorised representative.

At Managora we prepare the form and submit the application for you. You pay the official fee yourself at a bank, using the form we leave filled in with your details: the police only accept it stamped in the applicant's own name. You can see the updated amount in the file for the non-resident NIE procedure.

When you are granted a residence authorisation (for work, studies, arraigo (exceptional circumstances residence), family reunification, non-lucrative residence or other), that resolution entitles you to reside, but you still need to document yourself with the physical card. That is where the first TIE comes in.

The deadline is short: from the notification of the grant you generally have 1 month to apply in person for the TIE at the Police Station or Immigration Office of your place of residence. Letting that deadline pass can complicate the procedure, so it is advisable to request an appointment as soon as possible.

The application is submitted with the EX-17 form, the proof of payment of the official fee modelo 790 código 012, your valid passport, a recent passport-sized photograph and the resolution granting the authorisation.

Managora gathers and reviews all that documentation, prepares the official fee form for you to pay at the bank before the appointment and gets you the 2 appointments required by the Police Station, the fingerprinting one and the card collection one, so that you only have to attend on those 2 days. You can check the updated amount in the file for the first TIE procedure.

The fingerprinting appointment is requested in the immigration prior appointment system of the General State Administration, choosing the province and the office, which can be an Immigration Office or a Police Station. They are 2 distinct and separate appointments in time: one for the fingerprints and signature, and another later to collect the card. We request both of them for you and in your name.

The issuance of the TIE requires you to appear in person those 2 times. They are the only 2 steps of the procedure that no one else can do for you, because the card is personal and non-transferable and is only delivered to its holder.

On the day of the fingerprint appointment you must bring your valid passport, the granting resolution, the EX-17 form, the proof of the official fee modelo 790 código 012 already paid and stamped, and the photograph. If any of those 5 papers are missing, the appointment is lost and must be requested again.

The real bottleneck of this procedure is not the paperwork, it is getting the appointment. Managora requests it as soon as your grant arrives, so as not to exhaust the 1 month deadline, and informs you of the exact day, time and address you must attend.

The renewal is requested during the 2 months prior to the date your authorisation expires. Submitting it within that period extends the validity of the previous authorisation until the procedure is resolved, so that you continue residing and, where appropriate, working with full legality while you wait.

It is also permitted to submit it within the 3 months following the expiry, and that submission equally extends the previous authorisation until it is resolved. But there is a difference you should know: a delay of up to 3 months in requesting the renewal of an already expired authorisation is a minor infringement of Ley Orgánica 4/2000, punishable by a fine of up to €500.

After those 3 months the situation changes category. Being in Spain with the authorisation expired for more than 3 months without having requested the renewal within the foreseen period is a serious infringement, with a fine of €501 to €10,000. That is why the previous 2 months are not a recommendation: they are the only window that has no cost.

Once the renewal is granted, the card circuit is repeated: from the notification of the resolution you have 1 month to apply in person for the new TIE, with new fingerprinting and a new official fee. Your NIE, on the other hand, remains the same: the number is never renewed or changed.

Managora monitors your expiry date, prepares the renewal and then processes the card. You can see the scope and the amount in the TIE renewal file.

If your TIE has already expired, you can still submit the renewal within the following 3 months, and that submission extends your previous authorisation until the procedure is resolved. The sooner you act, the lower the cost: within those 3 months the delay is a minor infringement, with a fine of up to €500; after the 3 months without having requested anything, irregular stay is a serious infringement, from €501 to €10,000.

If what has expired is the card of a long-term resident, the situation is different and calmer: not submitting the card renewal does not in any case extinguish the long-term authorisation. What expires is the plastic, not your right to reside, although it is still mandatory to renew it.

The most common mistake is confusing the number with the card. Having the NIE does not mean having residence: the NIE identifies you, but it is the TIE that proves you reside legally. The card expiring does not mean you lose your number.

Other common oversights: letting the month following the grant pass without requesting the first TIE, turning up at the police station without the paid official fee or with a photograph that does not meet the DNI format, and not attending on the day of the fingerprint appointment or the collection day. Any of these forces you to start with the appointment again.

If you are not sure what timeframe you are in, Managora reviews your file, tells you exactly which procedure applies to you and submits it for you.

To get the TIE for the first time you need 5 things and nothing else: the EX-17 form, the proof of the official fee modelo 790 código 012 already paid, your valid passport, a 32 by 26 millimetre colour photograph with a white background, and the resolution granting you the authorisation. With that you go to the fingerprint appointment, which is in person and personal.

The prerequisite is to already have a visa or an authorisation granted that allows you to stay in Spain for more than 6 months. This is established by article 209 of the Immigration Regulation approved by Real Decreto 1155/2024: whoever has a title of more than 6 months has the right and the duty to obtain the card, and must apply for it in person within 1 month from their entry into Spain or from when the authorisation is granted or takes effect. In residence and employment authorisations, that 1 month is counted from the registration in the corresponding regime of the Seguridad Social (the Spanish social security system).

The photograph is the most frequent reason for rejection at the police station. The Regulation refers to the requirements of the DNI one, which Real Decreto 255/2025 sets as follows: recent, in colour, 32 by 26 millimetres, with a uniform smooth white background, taken from the front, with the head completely uncovered and without dark-lensed glasses. A photo cropped from your mobile or with a grey background will force you to repeat the appointment.

If your authorisation lasts 6 months or less, there is no TIE to request: the visa or the resolution itself proves your situation. Managora reviews your resolution, prepares the EX-17, generates the official fee form for you and gets you the 2 police station appointments. You can see the scope and amount of our work in the first TIE file.

Renewing the TIE is, in reality, renewing the authorisation that the card documents, and the requirements change depending on which one is yours. What is common to all is little: official form, valid passport, the paid official fee and the photograph. The specifics depend on whether you reside for employment, self-employment, without lucrative activity, for studies, for family reunification or for long-term.

Residence and employment: it is renewed if you prove the continuity of the employment relationship that gave rise to the authorisation, or if you have worked at least 3 months per year and have signed a contract with a new employer while registered or in a situation assimilated to registration. The renewed authorisation is granted for 4 years and already allows you to work as an employee and as autónomo (self-employed) throughout the national territory.

Self-employment: the renewed one also lasts 4 years and ceases to be limited to an autonomous community and a sector. Non-lucrative residence: you must continue to prove sufficient financial means without working, and the renewed authorisation has a validity of 2 years. Family reunification: the renewed one lasts 4 years, is conditional on the sponsor's authorisation being maintained and requires proving the schooling of the minors in your care of compulsory school age.

Stay for studies: it is not renewed, it is extended, and the extension is requested by electronic means, so here you do not have to travel until it is time for the card. Its validity coincides with the duration of the course, with a limit of 1 year.

Long-term: your authorisation is indefinite and is not renewed. What is renewed is the card, at 5 years and every 5 years thereafter, and every 10 once you reach 30 years of age. Not submitting this renewal does not in any case extinguish your long-term residence, although failing to comply with the obligations relating to the card can be penalised.

Managora controls your expiry date, checks which requirements apply to you and submits the renewal within the right timeframe. You can see the details in the TIE renewal file.

There is no legal timeframe for manufacturing the card. No rule sets it, so distrust anyone who gives you a fixed figure: the real time depends on the police station where your fingerprints were taken. What is certain is the circuit: fingerprints, manufacturing and a second appointment to collect the card at the same premises.

On the day of the fingerprints the police station gives you a receipt. That paper is your proof that the procedure is underway and carries the reference with which the premises can tell you if your card has already arrived, so keep it until you have the physical card in your hand.

The card is personal and non-transferable and is only delivered to its holder, so the collection cannot be done by another person for you. Managora requests that second appointment as soon as the procedure allows it and notifies you of the day, time and address.

If you have to travel in the meantime, there is the return authorisation: it allows you to leave Spain and return while your authorisation is in the renewal or extension period, it has a validity of no more than 90 days and during those 90 days it does not limit the number of entries and exits. You can see it in the return authorisation file.

If your TIE is stolen, lost or destroyed, what you have to request is a duplicate of the card, not a renewal: your residence authorisation remains intact and the only thing missing is the document. The Immigration Regulation expressly contemplates the 4 scenarios, theft, loss, destruction and rendering useless.

The duplicate is requested with the EX-17 form marking that scenario, with the valid passport, a photograph that meets the DNI requirements and the proof of the official fee modelo 790 código 012. In case of theft it is advisable to provide the police report. It is an in-person procedure, because the card is only issued and delivered to its holder.

While waiting for the duplicate you can request a return authorisation, provided you prove that you have already submitted the duplicate application. It is the foreseen route so as not to be left unable to leave Spain with the lost card.

The amount of the duplicate official fee depends on the heading that corresponds to the authorisation your card documents, so it is advisable to check it at the electronic headquarters of the National Police before paying. We explain it in the immigration official fees guide.

Yes, and they ask for the certificate, not the flyer: it is the document with full evidentiary value of the address and the date from which you are registered. Almost all immigration procedures, and also nationality, rely on it to prove where you live and since when.

Registering on the padrón (municipal registry) does not depend on your administrative situation. Every person living in Spain is obliged to register on the padrón of the municipality where they habitually reside, whether or not they have a residence authorisation, and the city council must register you if you prove that you reside there.

There is a detail that is overlooked and costs dearly: if you are a non-EU foreigner and do not have a long-term residence authorisation, your registration on the padrón expires after 2 years and must be expressly renewed. If it expires, the city council deregisters you and the continuity of residence that is later measured for arraigo and for nationality is broken.

You have the full details in our empadronamiento guide, and the procedure, if you prefer us to submit it, in the empadronamiento file.