Question
What should one do if their Spanish visa expires before their TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) appointment or before obtaining the TIE card in Spain? Seeking advice and experiences from the group. Stay or leave the country?
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
”You should stay. Just get a TIE as soon as you can”
”Ours expired in May and had our acceptance in October. Tie renewal last week and picking up our tie cards next week. Murcia region”
”No, as long as you have the appointment”
”I left the country before my TIE appt after the expiration and no one said anything”
”Once you have applied to renew your residency it is automatically extended until a decision has been made. You will get a document to prove you have applied for the renewal.
Once approved you have a month to get your tie, but of course it depends when you can get appointments. Then after you have your tie appointment you have to wait to pick up your card. It took us almost 6 months from start to finish and despite applying 60 days beforehand, our TIE’s had expired.
We just used our residency approval papers where needed to prove our status and there was no problem”
”DO NOT leave the country! My lawyer made a very big deal about this. Do NOT leave Spain with an expired TIE. You must stay until you have the new one in hand or you will have huge problems”
Conclusion
In conclusion, according to Spainguru Facebook group members, individuals should stay in Spain even if their visa expires before their TIE appointment or before obtaining the TIE card. The general consensus is that once the renewal process is initiated, residency is automatically extended until a decision is made.
It is advised to carry the documents proving the renewal application, and some members share experiences of successfully using these documents to prove their status during the processing period. Leaving the country with an expired TIE is strongly discouraged, as it may lead to significant complications. Therefore, the prevailing advice is to stay in Spain until the new TIE card is obtained.
