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How to renew your TIE as a British expat resident in Spain: Foreigner's identity card renewal instructions post-Brexit

Step-by-step guide to renewing your TIE card for Brits living as permanent residents in Spain

Image: Ayuntamiento de Madrid

Who needs a TIE in Spain?
When can I renew my TIE?
How long does it take to renew a TIE?
Step-by-step guide

The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero or Foreigner's Identity Card) in Spain is a residency permit for foreign citizens with residency status and permission to live in Spain.

These TIE cards are the foreigner's equivalent of DNI identity cards for Spaniards, containing personal information about the holder, such as their Foreigner's Identification Number (Número de Identidad de Extranjero or NIE).

The TIE a mandatory ID document for all permanent and temporary residents in Spain who are citizens of non-EU countries.

Do I need a TIE in Spain? Who needs to renew?

Before Brexit, the Spanish authorities gave out flimsy green pieces of paper as residency certificates for British citizens. These didn't even have a photograph on them and were useless as an identity document if not accompanied by a valid driver's licence or passport.

These green certificates are still valid in Spain to this day, and while they have the advantage of never expiring and needing to be renewed, the official advice from both the British Embassy in Spain and from the Spanish police is to trade in these NIE papers for an electronically chipped TIE.

The main reason for doing so is that it is much more comfortable to carry around as a compulsory identity document, being credit card-sized, and it also means you can move across European Union borders and through airport border control without having your UK passport stamped (in theory).

However, just like a Spanish DNI, the TIE needs to be renewed. While a DNI is renewed every 10 years, the TIE for Brits with residency in Spain on the post-Brexit agreement needs to be renewed after 5 years the first time, and then every 10 years after the first renewal.

Renewal requires a new photo and up-to-date details, and it'll cost you €12 for the privilege.

Below are detailed instructions for renewing a TIE as a British expat living in Spain.

When can I renew my TIE?

In theory, you can renew your TIE up to 3 months before its expiry date and up to 6 months after it.

However, in practice you are unlikely to face pushback if you want to renew a little bit earlier than 3 months before, should you wish to. It should be borne in mind, though, that any time remaining on your TIE when you renew it will NOT be added on to the validity period of your next TIE.

Under no circumstances should you wait more than 6 months after the expiry date.

Guide to TIE renewal process

Image: Ayuntamiento de Barcelona

1. Get an appointment at Extranjería

The TIE renewal must be carried out at an Office for Foreign Affairs, known in Spanish as 'Extranjería'.

There are Extranjería offices in every major Spanish city. If you do not live in a city that has an Extranjería office, you will have to go to the nearest one. In some places that don't have a large foreign population, TIE renewals can be handled at the local Policía Nacional police station, but that is not a given, and you should check first.

Appointments at Extranjería can be made online at www.icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus/index, and on this website you will find where your nearest Extranjería office is.

To get an appointment, select the province where you live from the dropdown list, then choose an office and then under 'Trámites Policía Nacional' select 'Toma de Huellas (Expedición de Tarjeta) Inicial, Renovación y Duplicado'.

Click on 'Aceptar' to accept and then, to confirm your appointment, go all the way down to the bottom and confirm your appointment using a Cl@ve digital certificate.

After it is confirmed, you will be given a número de justificante, a code that you will have to note down and present on the day of your appointment. This code will also be emailed to the email address you give on the website.

In some parts of the country, especially where there is a large foreign population, the appointments can be booked up for months in advance and are very difficult to obtain. In these cases, it is probably best to trust a 'gestoría' or paperwork and law expert company to handle the process for you as they will be able to get an appointment on your behalf, not to mention submit all the documentation and pay the requisite fees.

2. Prepare your documents

Ahead of your appointment, you should gather together all the documentation you will be require to present. This includes:

Your current TIE (along with a photocopy, just in case)
Your passport (along with a photocopy, just in case)
A recent passport-sized photo of yourself that meets the usual passport photo requirements.
A 'certificado de empadronamiento' issued by your local town hall within the last 3 months, showing the address where you are registered as residing in Spain. This is not necessarily required, but it could be a good idea to take it along anyway as additional proof of your residency status in the country.
Formulario EX-23, filled in with your details, signed and printed off in duplicate, just to be sure. This form can be accessed online, and is in Spanish. It is a good idea, if you don't read official Spanish legalese very well, to enlist the help of someone who does and can make sure you tick the right boxes according to your specific circumstances, whether applying for a first TIE, renewing one under the Brexit withdrawal agreement, applying for a temporary visa extension, or another option.
Modelo 790 form, with 'código 012' ticked. This form is your proof of payment, the 'justificante de pago', and it must be filled in correctly with the option to pay the €12 fee via bank transfer. After that, print off the form and take it to either your bank or a local locutorio business, or cybercafé, who can process the payment for you.

3. Go to your appointment

When you turn up at the Extranjería office on the day of your appointment, it is best to arrive early. The exact process differs between offices in different cities, but you will likely be asked to queue up by security guards and asked to pass through a security scanner before you can enter.

Don't be surprised if you find these security guards to be jaded and somewhat rude, perhaps putting you in mind of cattle being herded by a slaughterhouse employee in a rush. But politeness can get you a long way, and a simple smile and a 'Buenos días' never goes amiss, if nothing else to serve as a counterpoint to their brusqueness.

Once inside, you will need to get a number from the machine by inputting your NIE. Go to the waiting room and wait to be called to a desk. Luckily, the civil servants working at these desks are, contrary to their counterparts outside, generally very pleasant and helpful people.

However, you should be prepared for the strong possibility that they may not speak good English. Even if you do go through the preparatory phase of this process using a paperwork specialist company, you will still need to attend the appointment yourself. No one else can do it for you, and if your Spanish is not strong it may be a good idea to take someone with you who can help with translation and interpreting.

Provided you have paid your money and have all the paperwork in order, the process should go smoothly. You will be asked to scan your fingerprints on a scanner for identification's sake.

4. Pick up your new TIE card

After you are done, you will need to come back to the same Extranjería office to pick up your TIE in person, probably about three or four weeks later. It will not be mailed to you.

To pick up your TIE, you will be given a piece of paper with a code on it that you must present when it is time to retrieve the card. Do not lose this piece of paper. Be sure to bring it with you when you return to pick up your TIE.

On the day that you are told to come back, you will have to go through the same process of passing through security, and follow the instructions from staff to wait to be given your new card.

And that's it. Congratulations on getting your new TIE to prove your residency status in Spain for another 10 years!

How long does it take to renew a TIE in Spain?

It depends. The whole process, from when you ask for your appointment until you actually pick up the new card, could easily take upwards of 3 months.

In areas with a large foreign population, there will be more renewal applications and fewer appointments available, so the process may take longer.

If you want to know how long it takes in the Extranjería office when you go, whether for your initial appointment or to pick up your card, you can expect to be there for over an hour at the very least, and perhaps significantly more.

For more information about residency and documentation for foreigners in Spain, talk to Heniam & Associates experts for expats using the contact details below:

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