A TIE - a Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero or Foreigner’s Identity card - is an identity card that acts as proof of your permission to reside in Spain. It contains your NIE, personal details, fingerprint and date the card (and your residency) expires. It will be your principal form of ID during your stay in Spain.
If you need a visa to stay in Spain, you need a TIE. Officially, you need to apply for your TIE within 30 days of your arrival in Spain - however, the waiting time for an appointment is usually more than this. As long as you book your appointment within these 30 days, it’s okay.
The first step is to make an appointment. To do this;
Before your TIE appointment, you need to get a Certificado de Empadronamiento and pay the TIE application fee.
This is proof of your legal Spanish address. The process and forms required are slightly different depending on the region, so you will need to go to a Padrón Municipal in your region and ask what the process is for you.
Fill in the Modelo 790-012 tax form online, download and print the completed version, then take all pages to a bank. Pay the required fee and get proof of payment.
On the day of your TIE appointment, go to the appropriate office (this will be listed on your appointment confirmation PDF) with the following documents:
A civil servant will examine all your documents, scan your fingerprints and give you a piece of paper stating a time frame in which you need to return to the office to collect your TIE, e.g. 40-45 days. At the appropriate time, return to the office with your passport, visa and the piece of paper. You will then (finally!) be given your TIE.
Unfortunately, your TIE will feature an expiration date determined by your right to reside in Spain. If circumstances change and you extend your residency, you will need to renew your TIE.
When applying for your TIE, you must provide proof of the date you arrived in Spain/the Schengen Area via an entrance stamp in your passport or on your visa. If you travel directly from outside the Schengen Area to Spain, get your passport/visa stamped when you pass through Spanish security.
If you do not travel directly from outside the Schengen Area to Spain - so travel to a different Schengen Area country and then to Spain - it’s a bit more complicated. In this case, you need to get your passport/visa stamped when you pass through security in the first Schengen Area country you arrive in and keep all evidence of onward travel to Spain. For example, if you fly from outside the Schengen Area into France and then travel to Spain by train, get your passport/visa stamped when you pass through French security and keep your train ticket from France to Spain. Take your passport/visa containing your French entrance stamp and your train ticket (from France to Spain) to your TIE appointment.