Spanish for the NIE and TIE appointment

Your appointment is at 9:20 at the Oficina de Extranjería. When a screen finally shows your number you have about four minutes at the window, and the official is not unfriendly, just fast: two questions you half understand, a finger tapping a line on your form, a word from no lesson you ever had.

This is the Spanish for those four minutes. The paperwork changes from province to province; the sentences do not.

NIE and TIE are not the same thing

The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is a number — a letter, seven digits and a check letter — that identifies you to Hacienda, your bank, your employer, Seguridad Social. It is not a card, and by itself it says nothing about your right to live in Spain.

The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) is the physical card issued to non-EU nationals with a residence authorisation, and it expires. EU citizens get no TIE — they register and receive the certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión, the small green certificate, which also carries a NIE.

• Ya tengo NIE, pero no tengo tarjeta. — I already have a NIE, but not a card.

Booking the cita previa

Almost everything starts on the government's sede electrónica, under Cita Previa de Extranjería. The words on screen:

• Provincia — you book inside one province; an appointment in another is no use.
• Trámites disponibles — the dropdown of procedures. The wrong line gets you turned away.
• Oficina — an Oficina de Extranjería or a comisaría of the Policía Nacional, depending on procedure and province.
• Justificante de cita — the confirmation with a reference code. Print it.

Entries in that dropdown include toma de huellas, asignación de NIE y certificados and recogida de tarjeta; which one fits your case depends on province and permit, so check before booking. And sooner or later: En este momento no hay citas disponibles. Not a bug — try another office, or another day.

• Quería pedir cita previa para la toma de huellas. — I'd like to book an appointment for fingerprinting.
• No me salen citas. ¿Puedo ir a otra oficina de la provincia? — No appointments come up. Can I go to another office in the province?
• No puedo ir ese día. Necesito anular la cita y pedir otra. — I can't make that day. I need to cancel the appointment and book another.

The first thirty seconds at the window

Say why you are there, hand over the documents, stop talking.

• Buenos días. Tengo cita a las nueve y veinte, a nombre de Anna Weber. — Good morning. I have an appointment at 9:20, in the name of Anna Weber.
• Aquí tiene el justificante. — Here's the confirmation.
• Vengo a la toma de huellas. — I'm here for the fingerprinting.
• Vengo a recoger la tarjeta. — I'm here to collect the card.

Surnames cause real trouble: Spanish records expect two, and a single one often ends up split or reversed. Say Mi primer apellido es Weber y no tengo segundo apellido. And learn to spell your name the local way, disambiguating letters by city: B de Barcelona, V de Valencia.

The words on the forms

The forms are the modelos EX: EX-15 for a NIE and certificates, EX-17 for the TIE, EX-18 for the EU registration certificate. You download, fill in, print and sign them beforehand — not at the window.

The fee goes on a tasa modelo 790, which comes in several códigos. Which one applies depends on the procedure, so read the document list for your own case rather than copying a code off a forum. You pay at a bank and bring back the stamped proof.

• Traigo el impreso EX-17 relleno y firmado. — I've brought form EX-17 filled in and signed.
• ¿Qué código del modelo 790 corresponde a mi trámite? — Which código of form 790 applies to my procedure?
• Ya he pagado la tasa. Aquí está el justificante sellado por el banco. — I've paid the fee. Here's the proof stamped by the bank.

When a document is missing

This is the usual way an appointment ends badly, and the moment most people go quiet. Ask three things: what is missing, whether you need a new appointment, and by when.

• Creo que me falta un documento. ¿Cuál es exactamente? — I think I'm missing a document. Which one exactly?
• ¿Me lo puede anotar en un papel, por favor? — Could you write it down for me, please?
• ¿Tengo que pedir cita otra vez o puedo volver con esta misma? — Do I book again, or come back with this same appointment?
• ¿Hasta cuándo tengo de plazo para aportarlo? — How long do I have to submit it?

Two words to recognise: aportar, to provide a document, and subsanar, to fix a defect in your file. A requerimiento de subsanación is the letter that asks for what is missing.

Asking someone to repeat

Nobody minds. What causes problems is nodding at something you did not understand.

• Perdone, no le he entendido. ¿Me lo puede repetir más despacio? — Sorry, I didn't understand. Could you repeat that more slowly?
• Estoy aprendiendo español. ¿Me lo puede escribir? — I'm learning Spanish. Could you write it down?
• ¿Le he entendido bien: tengo que volver el martes? — Have I understood right: I have to come back on Tuesday?

What the official will say to you

Half the appointment is comprehension, not speaking:

• Coja número y espere a que le llamen. — Take a number and wait to be called.
• Pase a la ventanilla cuatro. — Go to window four.
• Necesito el original. Esta copia no me vale. — I need the original. This copy is no good.
• Le falta el justificante del pago de la tasa. — You're missing the proof of payment.
• Esto está caducado. — This has expired.
• Firme aquí. Ponga el dedo índice derecho. — Sign here. Right index finger.

Whether the certificado de empadronamiento is required varies by office and by procedure, which is why the useful question at the window is ¿qué me falta? rather than whatever a forum said last week. The evening before, read your own data out loud in Spanish — name, address, date of birth, passport number — and rehearse the sentence that opens the appointment. Two dozen sentences cover almost every window you will stand at, renewals included.