TIE collection appointments 3 months out in Barcelona, any hacks?
don't bother looking in Sabadell or Terrassa. for the TIE collection you strictly have to go to the same police station where you did your fingerprints. the system won't let you pick up a card in a different municipality because that's where the literal plastic card is physically sitting in a box. you are stuck with the Barcelona city locations if that is where you did the first step. it is a total nightmare this year.
this is 100% correct. i tried to be clever and book in Badalona and they turned me away at the door. you have to wait for the specific office to show up on the dropdown menu. it sucks but trying a different town is just a waste of a train ticket.
The Wednesday morning thing is still somewhat real but it usually happens around 9:30 or 10:00 am. I spent three weeks refreshing every morning and finally got one for the Mallorca street office. The bots are definitely still a thing though. If you see a slot you have to click faster than humanly possible or it disappears before you can even type your NIE.
Don't pay the gestors. They are the reason there are no appointments left for the rest of us. They have scripts running 24/7 to grab them.
Totally agree. If you pay them you are just feeding the monster. Try refreshing the site on Monday mornings at 8:00 am sharp. That is when I got mine.
it is crazy that the lawyers leave us hanging for the most frustrating part of the process. mine did the same thing. they charged a fortune for the UGE filing but then said good luck with the police. if you are desperate try the telegram groups for barcelona appointments. people sometimes post when they are about to cancel a slot they don't need so someone else can try to grab it. it takes perfect timing though.
I actually managed to get a slot in Manresa by checking at 2:00 pm on a Thursday. It was a trek from the city center but way faster than waiting three months in Barcelona city.
Have you checked if you can just travel with your approval resolution and your passport. For DNV holders I've heard mixed things about whether the TIE is strictly required to re-enter if your visa is still technically valid on the paperwork. obviously having the card is better but you might want to ask your lawyer if an autorizacion de regreso is an option for you while you wait for the card collection.
i am in the same boat as you. my DNV was approved in February and the earliest collection I found was for late May. the system is completely broken in Barcelona right now. i tried checking at 2am and 4am like people suggested in the old threads and it did nothing. it seems like they only upload new batches during business hours now. and yes the bots are winning.
The 50 euro gestor thing isn't necessarily a scam but it is annoying that we have to pay it. They basically have scripts that run 24/7 to grab the slots the second they drop. If you have the wedding in June and need the card to get back into the country without a headache it might be worth the peace of mind. Just make sure they don't ask for payment until the appointment is actually confirmed in your name.
Just be careful with those guys. Some of them ask for your digital certificate and I wouldn't give that to a random person from Telegram under any circumstances. If they just need your NIE and name it's probably fine but stay cautious.
The collection appointment is different from the fingerprint one. sometimes for collection you don't even need a specific time if you just show up and wait, but i think Barcelona stopped allowing that post-covid. i would honestly just keep that 90 day slot as a backup and keep checking every single morning at 8:59am. don't give up yet. June is still a bit away so you might get lucky.
they definitely don't allow walk-ins at the Mallorca or Guipuzcoa offices anymore. security is super strict about seeing the printed paper appointment before they even let you in the building. do not show up without a cita thinking you can charm them. it won't work.
I tried the Monday morning trick for three weeks and got nothing. Spain really needs to fix this system for digital nomads if they want us to stay.
I am in Bilbao right now and the situation is basically the same here. The Extranjeria is totally overwhelmed by the number of DNV applicants this year.
If you need to travel for a wedding look into getting an Autorizacion de Regreso. It is a temporary paper that lets you re-enter Spain while your card is processing. It costs about 10 euros at the police station.
Can you use a slot in Manresa if your padron is in Barcelona city. A friend told me the police will turn you away if it is the wrong office.
For the fingerprinting (toma de huellas) you usually have to stay in your province but you can often use different offices within that province. For the actual collection though you must go back to the exact same office where you did the fingerprints.
The Regreso is great but keep in mind it is only valid for direct flights back to Spain. If you have a layover in Germany or France they might not let you board because it is not a Schengen visa.
Badalona is a good shout. It is close enough on the metro and usually has more availability than the Mallorca street office.
Hiring a gestor worked for me last month. I know it sucks to pay but I had no choice. Got a cita for the following Tuesday in Badalona. Time is money.