Britons and other non-Europeans
Huellas TIE Torrevieja: the steps to your residence card
Soon after arriving, non-EU residents of Torrevieja book the toma de huellas (fingerprints) with Alicante as the province, bring form EX-17, a photo and the paid 790-012, and collect the card later. The TIE, Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, shows your NIE, your kind of residence and its end date.
Request helpWhen the prints can be booked
You can book once you hold either a residence visa in your passport or a resolución, the written decision granting your authorisation. If you came on a visa, do not wait: the time you have to request the card is short and counts from the day you entered Spain.
What to bring to the toma de huellas (fingerprinting)
- The EX-17, filled in and signed
- The passport holding your visa, with copies of its key pages
- One recent colour photograph, passport style, white background
- The 790-012, paid, with the box for the card ticked
- The resolución, if the authorisation was granted while you were in Spain
- Padrón certificate, should the office want one
Which office takes the prints
policia.es lists non-EU residence, régimen no comunitario, at the Comisaría de Torrevieja on Calle Arquitecto Larramendi 3 and at the station in Orihuela. In Alicante, a unit of the Brigada on Calle Campo de Mirra 6 lists residence cards. The Torrevieja entry does not name the card on its own, so let the booking decide: pick the fingerprint trámite with Alicante as the province, then follow the slip.
The resguardo, and collecting the card
When the prints are done you are handed a resguardo: your receipt until the card exists, kept inside your passport from then on. Collection is in person, resguardo and passport in hand, once the card has been made. Some offices want a separate booking for that step; ask at the desk on the day of the prints.
Renewals and changes
Every renewal of your authorisation means a fresh card, and with it fresh prints, another EX-17 and another payment of the fee. A change of address should be reported to the police. And if you must travel while a renewal is pending, see the page on the return authorisation first.
Questions
I arrived with a non-lucrative visa. Do I book the fingerprints straight away?
Yes, in your first days. The time allowed is short and runs from your date of entry, which the stamp in your passport shows.
We are a family of four. One appointment?
No: one per person, children included, each with an EX-17, a photo and a fee. Booking the slots one after another keeps you together.
My visa runs out before the card is ready. Can I fly home?
Check first: leaving with an expired visa and no card can make the return difficult. Ask the office what applies to your case before you book anything.
The pages these facts come from
- policia.es, Unidades de Extranjería: every police office of the province of Alicante and the foreigners’ procedures it lists
- Booking an appointment with the administration (cita previa), on sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es
- Policía Nacional online office: the 790-012 fee form, to complete and pay
Read again, line by line, on .