NIE and TIE appointment chaos worsens as 'citas previas' become nearly impossible to get

The chaos surrounding NIE and TIE appointments in Catalonia continues to worsen, with many applicants now forced to turn to black-market services or pay lawyers to secure the elusive 'cita previa.' 

After weeks of investigation, Catalan News has spoken to around 20 affected applicants and received dozens of additional messages. Of those, only two were able to obtain an appointment through the official website. 

Many interviewees, some of whom have been navigating the system for years and are now renewing their TIE cards, say the process has become even more difficult than when they first arrived five years ago. 

Experts point to the use of bots and an easily breached technological system, combined with a lack of identity verification, as the reasons why this supposedly free public service has effectively become a paid one. 

Black-market options have surged, and although this is illegal activity, sellers are easy to find. A simple online search returns several pages offering appointment bookings, while social media is inundated with people advertising their services. 

Prices range from €40 to €200 depending on location and timing, with those in greater urgency paying higher fees.  

Families, who must book separate appointments for each member, often bear the highest costs and are forced to travel longer distances due to appointments being available only in different locations. 

The official position of the Spanish government, which is responsible for the service, is that the system works and that no one is left without an appointment. 

While acknowledging the high volume of demand, authorities insist that with patience, all applicants will be able to secure an appointment and complete their process on time. 

However, accounts from multiple testimonies shared with Catalan News suggest the system is effectively blocked, leaving applicants with no option but to resort to third parties to obtain the coveted 'cita previa.' 

Confirmation of the ongoing problem came on Friday, when the Spanish government delegation in Catalonia announced the launch of a new pilot scheme that will automatically assign appointments for fingerprinting and TIE issuance once applicants receive their residence permit.

'We've spent hours and hours trying, and it's just impossible' 

Mother of two teenagers, Kate moved with her family from the United States to Barcelona in 2019, selling their house in the process. For non-EU citizens like her, a TIE, Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, the Spanish ID, is mandatory. 

"We have become experts," Kate tells Catalan News, having dealt with the issue when they first arrived and now again five years later to renew all their cards, as well as obtaining 'regreso' authorizations in the meantime to travel back home or visit their children in London. 

"Every time we have to get an appointment, the four of us sit down with all our laptops and phones trying to get an appointment," she explains. "We have tried with and without VPNs, several times a day, and especially on Thursdays at 3pm, when supposedly they release the appointments." 

The day and time have become famous by those who have gone through it, and although it might seem arbitrary, the government itself encourages people to try that day, when they say new appointments are released. 

But as perfect as it seems, it often does not work. "The website is timed out, it says 'unable,' 'error,' 'you've tried too many times.' We've spent hours and hours trying, and it's just impossible," she says. 

On top of that, Kate needs four appointments for each process, which amounts to a total of eight appointments for both 'regreso' and renewal. 

'No matter what I did, there were no appointments available' 

The same situation happened to Ruslan, who arrived with his wife at the end of 2024 after having lived in several other countries. With extensive experience navigating bureaucracy, they were confident they could manage Spain’s red tape as well. 

"At first, it all went very smoothly, but then when we started doing the TIE all problems started," he explains. "I was checking the website every day, multiple times a day, and I was not able to secure a single appointment in four and a half months." 

"It was very frustrating. I couldn't do anything, no matter what I did, there were no appointments available. I was even checking in other places as far as Madrid. And the worst part is that I needed two: one for my wife and one for myself," he tells Catalan News.  

Eventually, they gave up and were forced to secure an appointment through a third party. "They got us an appointment really quickly, and in one week we were at the appointment, and just like that, we got our TIEs a few months later," he says. 

'There's a lot of anxiety beforehand, and then it takes 10 minutes' 

Alex and Michelle, from the UK and South Africa, faced the same problem after spending hours trying to secure appointments. They also booked through a website found via Google search and quickly obtained the six appointments they needed to renew their TIEs and 'regresos' to travel home for Christmas. 

"The cherry on the cake is when you go to the appointment, bring a whole set of files, and it just takes ten minutes, and many are not even looked at. They send you out the door and say, 'See you in 30 days.' There's a big buildup and a lot of frustration and anxiety leading up to it. And then on the day, it is not as bad as you've heard," they explain. 

In addition, the outcome often depends on the mood of the officer. In one of Michelle’s appointments to renew her TIE, the officer offered to process her 'regreso' authorization as well, since she had all the documentation ready. 

"Within ten minutes I had both documents sitting in front of me, and I actually started crying because it was such a shock that it was just done," she explains. Alex attempted the same approach at his own appointment, but the officer declined.

The rush to meet deadlines and the need to travel home or see loved ones creates significant anxiety. On top of that, TIE card renewals often cannot be done until the card is actually expired, according to lawyers assisting applicants. 

'This appointment is your right, and someone is stealing it' 

Despite these cases of frustration and missed appointments, there are still some examples of success, such as Metehan's. He arrived from Turkey in 2017 and has had to deal many times with the infamous orange-and-white government website. 

He is one of only two people interviewed who said they managed to secure an appointment through the official system, although at a significant cost in time and personal exhaustion. 

"On principle, I never paid a single euro for this silly thing, but all my friends gave up and purchased one," he explains. 

Metehan describes the frustration of spending hours trying to find an appointment, only to see it disappear in front of his eyes once he finally does. 

"Finally, when you are able to find an appointment, you start filling out the details and suddenly it disappears, and there were several more available and they disappear too. Then you get suspicious; someone is using a bot," he says. 

Despite eventually managing to secure appointments after many hours of effort, Metehan remains deeply critical of the system.  

"I don’t understand how a state system lets itself be taken over by people with bad intentions," he says. "This appointment is your right, and someone is stealing it."