How to Get a Tarjeta Comunitaria in Spain

Recently married to an EU citizen? Or maybe you finally made it through the long pareja de hecho process. Congratulations! But your oddyssey isn’t over yet.

What now?

There’s just one thing left to do: get your tarjeta comunitaria.

Where do you start? Follow these easy steps, and you’ll be well on your way to your new-- and legal-- life in Spain!

Make an appointment

First thing’s first: you’ll have to make a cita previa at your local immigration office. Fortunately, you can do it online!

Gather your documents

Documents, documents, and more documents.

Bureaucracy, amirite? It’s never a fun time. But fear not! Here’s what you’ll need:

Your passport
Photocopies of your entire passport-- yes, every page!
An EX-19 form
Your NIE/TIE (if applicable)
Your marriage certificate or certified copy of your pareja de hecho (make sure it’s a certified copy!)
A copy of your EU-citizen partner’s DNI or passport
Proof of your EU-citizen partner’s employment, or University enrollment (if applicable)
3 recent passport photos

Head to your appointment

At your appointment, a government worker will review your documents, checking off each one on a checklist to ensure that you have everything needed.

Once everything is checked, the person reviewing your documents will give you a form with your case number on it. You can use this number to check the status of your application online.

Wait. Keep checking the status of your application. Wait some more.

And more. And some more.

You’ll probably have to wait around 2 months for any word on whether it’s been approved or not. Oy vey.

Do some deep breathing. Go to yoga. Try not to silently rage about the long wait.

But keep checking-- the process might go faster for you than average! Fingers crossed.

After approval

You’ve logged into the online portal, and finally the magic words are on the screen: approved!

Ok. Now what?

You should receive, by mail, both a letter of approval of your application and an appointment to go to the city’s central immigration center and apply for your TIE.

Apart from that?

More documents, of course. There are always more documents. Documents for days.

You’ll need:

Your passport
Your EU-citizen partner’s ID or passport (you need to bring the original, but they are not required to come with you to your appointment, if missing work is a problem)
A completed EX-17 form
A Tasa Modelo 790 form, which you can pay for at any bank
The letter of approval of your application

Go to your appointment

Take your literal forest of documents and go to your appointment! They’ll take your fingerprints, and send you on your way with another form with another case number that you can use to check the status of your tarjeta comunitaria.

Check the status of your card online

Remember when you had to check the status of your application online?

Do it again! (Ugh, I know, I know…)

When you see that magic APPROVED on the screen again, you can head straight down to the immigration center and pick up your new card, no appointment necessary.

Relax on a terraza

Inhale. Exhale. You did it!

Enjoy a well-deserved drink on some gorgeous terraza with the love of your life, and relax knowing that you’re finally-- finally!-- done with documents.

Still lost? If all else fails, you can find more information here!

Did we miss anything? Tell us about your experience getting a tarjeta comunitaria in Spain in the comments below!