TIE renewal cita 4 months out, what to do in the gap
Man, the Bilbao situation is getting ridiculous lately. I had to wait three months just for a digital cert hurdle last year. if you are stuck in that gap, just make sure you carry your renewal submission receipt (resguardo) everywhere. It legally extends your stay while the decision is pending even if your card says it is expired. and definitely do not try to leave the country without an autorizacion de regreso if you want to get back in easily.
it is crazy that bilbao is four months out for appointments. are you checking the site at 8am or 9am? usually they drop new slots on thursdays or fridays and you can sometimes move your date up if you are fast. i managed to pull mine forward by two months just by refreshing the page like a crazy person for three days straight.
i am in the same boat right now with a march appointment. my main concern is the bank. last time my card expired, bbva blocked my account within a week because they said my document was invalid. i had to go into the branch with the proof of the renewal application to get them to unfreeze it. have you checked if your bank is going to give you trouble? some are way more aggressive than others.
santander is the worst for this. they dont care if you have a pending resolution. they just see an expired date in their system and lock everything down. i had to upload my papers three times last year before they stopped texting me threats.
are you sure about the airport thing in bilbao? i was told specifically by a lawyer that the resolution alone is not enough to re-enter spain if you are flying from outside schengen. if you had gone to the uk instead of portugal it might have been a disaster. for anyone else reading this, if you leave the schengen zone you absolutely need the autorizacion de regreso. it is a separate appointment and costs about ten bucks. don't risk it just based on a lucky interaction with a border guard.
he said he was in portugal which is schengen so there is basically zero passport control anyway. if you fly bilbao to lisbon you don't even see a cop usually. but yeah, outside schengen without a regreso is asking for a deportation record.
honestly the best advice for the gap is to just stay put in spain. theoretically the resguardo works for travel in the schengen area but i have had friends get grilled at the gate in germany because the airline staff did not understand the spanish extension process. it is much less stress to just wait for the physical card before booking flights.
Hard agree. I got stuck in Paris for four hours explaining my expired TIE. Never again.
wait, did you actually get your approval before the cita? for most of us the headache is waiting months just for the digital approval (resuelto) before we can even book the fingerprinting. if you already have the favorable resolution then you are golden. the 790 code 012 fee is the easy part. just make sure you dont pay it too early because sometimes the rates change slightly at the start of the year in january.
Can you share which office you went to for the fingerprinting? I have heard the one in Barakaldo is sometimes faster than the central Bilbao one but i am not sure if they allow DNV renewals there or if it is just for the first tie. those fees you listed look about right though. thanks for sharing the actual numbers because people usually just guess.
I tried Barakaldo last month and they sent me back to the main office for DNV stuff. Save yourself the trip.
the gap is actually fine for staying in the country because the law says your status is extended automatically while the renewal is pending. the real pain in bilbao is that the oficina de extranjeros is totally backlogged right now. did you have any issues with your padron being too old? i heard they are being strict about the padron being issued within the last 90 days for the actual fingerprinting appointment.
the bilbao office is such a drive if you dont live right in the center. i had to go out to the suburb area for mine and it was a mess. one thing people forget is that you need a new photo. even if you think you look the same as three years ago, they will often reject the old photo if it matches the one on your expired card. spend the five euros at the booth and save yourself the stress.
This is super helpful. I am about six months out from my renewal and seeing your dates makes me think I should start prepping the paperwork now. Did you find that the padron certificate had to be super fresh for the appointment or did they accept one that was a few months old? Sometimes they are picky about that 90 day rule.
The gap is the worst part honestly. It is such a weird limbo state. I am curious about the agency fee you mentioned. Did you feel like they actually sped things up or did they just handle the document uploads? I am debating doing it myself to save the 300 euro but if they have a back channel for appointments it might be worth it.
In my experience the agency does not have a secret link for citas anymore. They literally just have a script that refreshes the page same as us.
thanks for being honest about the costs. i think people forget about the regional variations in fees and wait times. bilbao is definitely slower than some of the smaller towns. just curious if your health insurance price jumped when you renewed for the second year. mine went up almost thirty percent and really messed up my budget.
i disagree with the advice about flying within schengen being zero risk. even if there are no formal borders, airlines can still ask for a valid residence card at the gate. if they see it is expired and you don't have a regreso or a very clear explanation, they can technically deny boarding. it happened to a friend flying to germany. it is rare but it happens. glad it worked out for you though.
airlines are definitely getting pickier. ryanair is notorious for checking dates more than the actual police do. i always carry the printout of the ley de extranjeria section that says the card is extended. it usually shuts them up.