Green A4 Certificate to TIE

Hello,

I have decided to apply for the T.I.E. For the past 10 years I have had a green A4 certificate (permanent). Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find the original (although I have a scanned copy, colour photocopy and laminated mini version). I assume this will present a problem when visiting the immigration office. Has this happened to anyone else? Would a police report to report it lost suffice in applying for a duplicate and/or the T.I.E.? I will be making an appointment with my local immigration office but would appreciate any advice/comments before my appointment. Thanks in advance.

Hello cloudnine

You need to go to the Policia Nacional, Foreigners Office in your area and ask for a duplicate ´duplicado´. Most offices require you to make an appointment first ´cita previa´. Some offices ask you to present a denuncia re the lost/stolen original documents.

Why do you want a T.I.E.?

Hello Kavanagh,

Thanks for your message. I have (or had) the A4 paper version. I thought it would be easier and more recognisable to have the new T.I.E. Are there any disadvantages for getting it?  The only concern I have had is regarding the duration. It seems that the green one never expires but the T.I.E. would only be for 10 years and then I would have to renew. Also, I was concerned about travelling with it (I read a few stories where there had been issues though I hope these teething problems have now been sorted out).

If you are interested in knowing the steps here is a blog post on how to go about it...

https://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/ianandspain/20681/how-to-swap-your-green-residency-certificate-for-the-new-tie-photo-id-card.aspx

There are only benefits to having it, to be honest. It will make life easier in general.

The new TIE is very handy. Simply a credit card sized ID and is accepted by hotels and internal airlines instead of a passport as ID. Yes, some say they will accept a driving licence but none of the hotels I've stayed at in Spain would and required a passport. Vueling to Mallorca wouldn't accept the Spanish driving licence either and wanted a DNI or passport although Iberia to Barcelona a while back were happy with driving licences. 

When hubby bought a car a while back, they wanted green residency card, padron or utility bills. Just bought a new one and the TIE was all that was required as it has your address on as well as your NIE. (in both Spanish and English).

We changed ours purely because our passports were due to run out and the bank informed us our account would be locked until we provided up to date ID. As we only had 6 weeks before they expired, we got the TIE which the bank accepted (not the green card or a driving licence, though, as neither of them were on the list of acceptable documents). As it was the passport was very quick and we got them back in 4 weeks but they were saying allow 11 weeks at the time.

The cost for the TIE is €12 and it is free to renew when it does run out so hardly going to break anybody's bank, I hope. Unlike the passports which cost £105 each.

No, we've never been stopped and asked for ID. The only time was when I got my second vaccine and a jobsworth asked for photo ID. In that case the driving licence was accepted but nobody else was asking for ID.

We were surprised at how easy it was to change it. A simple hand in the forms (and there are plenty of advice sites showing how to fill the form in) and a trip to the bank to pay the €12 tax plus go back in 3 weeks to collect the card. 

We weren't going to change them but it was just the bit with the passports running out that decided us. Great now with just another credit card thing to carry around. Hubby has one of those RFID holders which has the driving licences, TIE cards, SIP cards, bank card and credit card in them. 

As cloudnine says he can't find the green A4 certificate, it would only be replaced by a TIE anyway. Yes, it's only valid 10 years but that's because the photo needs updating (same as your passport). 

Some things are easy and it is also easy to say why bother. Glad we got ours before they do make it compulsory and the system gets overloaded again.

Thanks for your response, Mariedav. It is very useful.