# Get your TIE card

> How to apply for your foreigner ID card (TIE), which proves your permit and shows your foreigner ID number (NIE).

- Page: https://autonomo.eus/steps/tie-card
- Part: Part B: Settle in
- For: Non-EU citizens
- Last checked: 14 October 2026

Your foreigner ID card (*TIE*) proves your permit and shows your foreigner ID number (*NIE*). You need it for almost every later step.

## Before you start

- A granted permit or visa. See [Check your right to work](https://autonomo.eus/steps/right-to-work).
- Your passport and a copy. The police check the entry stamp from the border.
- Your visa, if you came with one, and the decision that granted your permit (*resolución*), if you have one.
- A recent colour photo, ID size (*tamaño carné*), with a white background. This is the [Ministry of the Interior's photo rule](https://www.interior.gob.es/opencms/es/servicios-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-gestiones/extranjeria/regimen-general/tarjeta-de-identidad-de-extranjero/).
- Form EX-17, filled in and signed, plus a copy
  - Download it from the [Ministry of Inclusion forms page](https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/modelos-generales). Choose "Formulario solicitud Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero" (TIE application form). There is also an editable version you can fill in on screen.
  - Write in capital letters with a black pen. In section 4.1, tick "TARJETA INICIAL" (first card).
- Proof that you paid the fee with form 790 código 012
- Proof that you are registered with Social Security (*alta*), if your permit requires it

## What it unlocks

- A [bank account](https://autonomo.eus/steps/bank-account)
- Your [FNMT digital certificate](https://autonomo.eus/steps/fnmt-certificate)
- Your [Social Security number](https://autonomo.eus/steps/social-security-number)
- Registering as an autónomo

## How to do it

1. **Apply within 1 month** of arriving in Spain, or of your permit being granted.
2. Book a fingerprint appointment (*cita previa*) on the [police appointment website](https://icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus/index.html). Choose your province (Álava, Bizkaia or Gipuzkoa). Then choose the procedure that starts "POLICÍA-TOMA DE HUELLAS (EXPEDICIÓN DE TARJETA)" (fingerprints to issue the card). Have your NIE and passport at hand. Save or print the confirmation.
3. Pay the fee with form 790 código 012. Open the [police fee form](https://sede.policia.gob.es/Tasa790_012/ImpresoRellenar) and enter your NIE, name and address. Tick "TIE que documenta la primera concesión de la autorización de residencia temporal, de estancia o para trabajadores transfronterizos" (TIE for a first permit). As the payment method, choose "En efectivo" (cash). Type the security code and press "Descargar impreso rellenado" (download the filled-in form). Print it, pay it in cash at a bank, and keep the copies the bank stamps.
4. Go to the appointment with all your documents. The police take your fingerprints.
5. Go back to collect the card when it is ready. Bring your passport, to prove the card is yours, and proof that you paid the fee.

## Where

Policía Nacional, by appointment only. [Book an appointment](https://icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus/index.html). You apply in the province where you live. For all police offices in Euskadi, see [Find an office](https://autonomo.eus/steps/offices#book-a-police-appointment).

### Álava

**Vitoria-Gasteiz:** the Policía Nacional foreigners' unit (*Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras*). The Policía office list gives Oñate s/n, phone 945 209 642. Check the address on your appointment confirmation. See [police offices in Vitoria-Gasteiz](https://autonomo.eus/steps/offices#book-a-police-appointment).

### Bizkaia

**Bilbao:** Gordóniz 8.

### Gipuzkoa

**Donostia:** José María Salaberría s/n.

**Irún:** Plaza del Ensanche 1.

## Cost and time

- Cost: the fee on form 790 código 012. The form shows the current amount. In October 2026, the [police fee list](https://sede.policia.gob.es/portalCiudadano/_es/tramites_extranjeria_tasas.php) gives €16.08 for a TIE for a first permit.

## Only need the number?

If you need only the number and will not live here, ask for the NIE alone. You can do this at an immigration office (*Oficina de Extranjería*), a police station or a Spanish consulate. The form is EX-15, on the same [Ministry of Inclusion forms page](https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/modelos-generales).

EU citizens do not get a TIE. Your NIE is on your EU registration certificate.

## Common mistakes

- Missing the 1-month deadline.
- Going to collect the card without proof that you paid the fee.

## Official sources

- [Ministry of the Interior: the TIE card](https://www.interior.gob.es/opencms/es/servicios-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-gestiones/extranjeria/regimen-general/tarjeta-de-identidad-de-extranjero/)
- [Police: appointment website](https://icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus/index.html)
- [Police: fee form 790 código 012](https://sede.policia.gob.es/Tasa790_012/ImpresoRellenar)
- [Police: immigration fees](https://sede.policia.gob.es/portalCiudadano/_es/tramites_extranjeria_tasas.php)
- [Ministry of Inclusion: forms EX-15 and EX-17](https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/modelos-generales)
- [Basque Government: how to apply for the NIE and TIE](https://www.euskadi.eus/contenidos/informacion/aux_conversacion_english/eu_def/adjuntos/How_to_apply_for_the_NIE_TIE.pdf)
- [Ministry of the Interior: the NIE](https://www.interior.gob.es/opencms/es/servicios-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-gestiones/extranjeria/ciudadanos-de-la-union-europea/numero-de-Identidad-de-extranjero-nie/)
- [Government Delegation: offices in Euskadi](https://mptmd.gob.es/portal/delegaciones_gobierno/delegaciones/paisvasco/servicios/extranjeria)
- [Basque Government: collecting the card at immigration offices](https://www.euskadi.eus/contenidos/informacion/aux_conversacion_tram_estancia/es_def/adjuntos/Tramites_a_realizar_en_oficinas_de_extranjeria.pdf)

Next step: [Rent a flat](https://autonomo.eus/steps/rent-a-flat.md)

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