Identity card application process opened for Britons
CBNews' Dave Jones brings you all the details and a personal account of how he went about getting his appointment for the new TIE card announced last week
From last Monday (July 6) we Britons were able to apply for the new biometric residence card which is being issued by the Spanish government.
It’s not an obligation to do so, as the British Embassy has stressed – and old green certificate will remain valid. However, from a personal point of view, I was seduced by the press release put out by the ministry of the interior about the benefits of having a photo ID card which sets out your rights in the uncertain postBrexit world, which will be with us at the end of this year.
My immediate thought was ‘why wouldn’t you want one?’
Of course, there is the ‘hassle’ of getting the paperwork together and heading to Alicante city to go through the procedure – but, I have to say, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In last week’s edition of the paper we published details of the process that has to gone through to get the foreigners’ identity card (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, or TIE) on page 3 of the news section – this is my personal account of the experience (for what it’s worth).
Alicante bound
The first thing that I did after reading the press release was to have cursory glance at the government website https:// sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es to see what it would entail. Clicking quickly though the steps, I was soon at the ‘available appointments’ section – and found I was being offered options for the following three days.
This was a totally new experience for me when entering the realms of Spanish officialdom. My surprise was such that I immediately clicked to get one, with a voice at the back of mind telling me that if I didn’t, then the next one wouldn’t be available until Christmas. This was on Monday and my appointment was at midday on Wednesday, so the race was on.
My immediate concern was my ‘padrón’ (municipal registry certificate). The website states that if the applicant has changed the address which is on their green certificate then they need a recent ‘padrón’ certificate (original and a copy), which should be from the last three months. I didn’t have a recent one, so needed to sort it. The introduction of Torrevieja town hall’s new online revolution would make it easy, I thought.
But it didn’t. Their ‘previous appointment’ system wasn’t working, I found, and there was no way of processing a ‘padrón’ online. I even went down to the office but – it was closed.
However, I didn’t want to lose the appointment so decided to risk taking an old certificate and most recent electricity bill.
As readers may have found, it sometimes depends on who is sitting behind the desk in the foreigners’ office, or equivalent institution. If they want to be difficult, then it’s not your day. If they are more amenable, you’ve got lucky.
I was lucky to get an ‘amenable’ official at Alicante city’s Calle Ebanistería headquarters, who listened to my explanation of why my certificate was out of date and was prepared to accept it, along the proof of the bill.
My other potential problem was the photo size. I’m not expert in this field (as some of the pictures in the paper will prove) but I was told that the size stipulated by the ministry (32x26 milimetres) is an unusual one and is smaller than most others such as the passport photo, etc. Again, time wasn’t on my side. So I got six passport photos and trimmed three of them to estimated smaller sizes. When I nervously offered a selection to my amenable officer he chose one of the larger unadulterated passport pics. Again, I tried not to show my surprise.
Another point is that the website does not tell people they need a photocopy of their passport – but they do – and I didn’t have one. My amenable officer pointed out that there is bar almost next door which does photocopies, so I was able to dash off and get a copy and be back a few minutes later.
Perhaps the most tricky aspect of the TIE is the fingerprinting process. You are not stabbing your digit onto an inky blotter and dabbing it on a page. It’s done via a small glass surface and they need digital prints from two fingers on different hands. You also have to roll your finger so they get a complete image. This can take around five minutes.
For me the whole process took around 20 mins, even with the dash to the bar. On completion, I was told that the card would be ready to collect in approximately three weeks from the foreigners’ office in Calle Campo de Mirra in Alicante city (a different location). It has to be done in less than 45 days because the ‘receipt’ you have been given is only valid for that period. The old residence certificate has to be handed in at this time and you have to show your passport (no mention made of photocopies!).
The online procedure to get the appointment
On the home page of https:// sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es go to ‘procedimientos’ and choose ‘extranjería’, then click on ‘cita previa’ (appointment).
At the bottom of the ‘cita previa’ page click on ‘acceder al procedimiento’.
The option to select a province (provincias disponsibles) will appear – select ‘Alicante’ then hit the ‘aceptar’ option (if you live in Alicante province).
Then under ‘trámites disponibles’ click on the ‘Policía-Exp tarjeta asociada al acuerdo de retirada ciudadanos británicos y sus familiares’ option.
This will take you to the page which sets out the paperwork needed to obtain the TIE.
Print off and fill in the fourpage EX-23 form.
You are told to take a valid passport to the appointment and the green residence certificate if you have one – and a municipal register (padrón) certificate from the last three months if you have changed their address (original and a copy) from the one on the green certificate.
It is also necessary to pay a €12 charge via the Modelo 790 012. Click on the link to print off this form and then take it to a bank to make the payment, which will be certified with a stamp.
After noting these requirements hit ‘entrar’ to go to the next page to enter a NIE number and name to move forward to the next section.
Press ‘solicitar cita’ to gain options for an appointment in the chosen province.
Once you have a date and time you must take all the paperwork, passport, etc to the appointment.