Map legend
Legend: the words on the paperwork
Every sign in Madrid’s immigration offices uses the same few Spanish terms and form numbers. Here they are, each with the symbol this site uses for it.
- NIE
- Short for Número de Identidad de Extranjero. A foreign national’s number for life, assigned by the Policía Nacional.
- TIE
- The non-EU resident’s card (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero): photo, fingerprint, NIE and authorisation type on one piece of plastic.
- Certificado de registro
- The EU registration certificate, often called the green NIE. It records an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen as a resident and shows their number.
- Cita previa
- A prior appointment. Spanish public offices, police desks included, only see you with one.
- SACE
- Servicio de Atención Ciudadano Extranjero: the police service desks for foreign nationals. Madrid has one on Avenida de los Poblados and one on Avenida Padre Piquer.
- Toma de huellas
- Literally the taking of prints: the appointment at which your TIE is set in motion.
- Resguardo
- The receipt handed to you at an appointment. For a TIE, it shows that the card is in process.
- EX-15
- Asks for the number alone, without residence.
- EX-17
- The form for a TIE card, handed in at the fingerprint appointment.
- EX-18
- What EU, EEA and Swiss residents file to register and receive the green certificate.
- EX-19
- Family member card form, for a non-EU spouse, partner, child or parent of an EU national.
- Modelo 790, código 012
- Fee form of the state for NIE, certificate and TIE procedures; you pay it before the appointment.
- Empadronamiento
- Registering your address on the padrón, the municipal register kept by the ayuntamiento.
- Autorización de regreso
- A permit to come back to Spain when you travel while a card is being issued or renewed.
- Oficina de Extranjería
- The government immigration office that handles residence and work authorisations. Madrid’s main one is on Calle Silva.
- Delegación del Gobierno
- Madrid’s representation of the national government. It publishes the official list of immigration procedures and desks.
- Comisaría
- A Policía Nacional station. Eleven in the towns of the region have a foreigner unit that handles NIE and TIE procedures.
- Línea Madrid
- The Ayuntamiento’s citizen service offices (Oficinas de Atención a la Ciudadanía), where the empadronamiento is done by appointment.
- Autónomo
- A self-employed person, registered for tax and for social security.
Plan your route
Tell us where you stand, we map the rest
A few lines are enough. We reply by email with your line, your stops in order and what we can do for each of them.
- Tell us where you stand
- We map your route
- Paperwork prepared
Prefer email? desk@nie-madrid.com