Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
For anyone that has renewed their visa- my renewal just got accepted and now I have to go to the police station to do fingerprinting and wait for the new card. I’m trying to make travel plans so I’m wondering how long it took to get the card after fingerprinting if anyone has done it recently (December 2022)
Related Guide: Track your TIE card lote number to check your renewal status.
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These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“Madrid was 40 days. We did fingerprints end of September and picked up first week of November.”
“We were the same time frame but took 35 days start to finish and that included the holiday on October 12. Móstoles police station. A bit far from us but had open appointments.Easy to get to off of the train.”
“Depends on each police station. Rule of thumb is between 30-40 days. If you show up before 35 days and it’s not available, then you’ll have to return to try again. (Madrid)”
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“Since you’ve been approved, you can now make an appointment for the fingerprints and bring the payment and form for that. At that appt they will tell you when to come back to pick up your new card. Usually it’s 30-45 days later. About one week prior you can go online to make that cita”
“I just did mine this year in Barcelona. It depends on the police station, really. Ask them when you go and ask how to get the lote number, some post it outside or on a web page. Or, call the station to get a hold of the lote number (that will be on the resguardo they give you at the fingerprinting). Mine took 72 hours, seems like I was an exception. Good luck.”
“Generally it’s 45 days, but it’s region specific. If you want to travel outside the EU while you’re waiting for your card, you’ll want a Regreso.”
“6 weeks. But if you need to travel you can get a regreso to cover you in the meantime.”
“40 days for new card , if you need to travel on your expired card in that time get a “regreso“, it takes about 2 weeks.”
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